Young Duke grabs top spot
Duke changed everything about who AP Top 25 voters considered to be the nation’s best team with a single dominating performance against a marquee opponent.
It also gave the Blue Devils yet another milestone under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski: a record number of appearances at No. 1.
The Blue Devils jumped from fourth to first Monday in the first regular-season poll, leapfrogging Kansas at the top after a blowout win against then-No. 2 Kentucky last week. That allowed Duke to set a record with its 135th week at No. 1, breaking a tie with UCLA for the most top rankings in poll history.
The 34-point win against the Wildcats in the Champions Classic to open the season marked the program’s most lopsided win against a top-5 opponent. Duke was practically flawless behind star freshmen RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish, and that created a buzz about the team’s already lofty potential being somehow even higher than anyone anticipated.
“Part of becoming good is keeping the noise out of your locker room,” Krzyzewski said. “And when something good happens and you have the start of the season ... there’s a lot of noise. When you have four freshmen and we don’t have veterans, you have to be more mature about listening to that.”
Gonzaga stayed at No. 3, followed by Virginia and Tennessee. West Virginia fell out of the top 25 after losing their first home opener since November 2003, falling to now-No. 25 Buffalo.
Women’s top 25
First-year coach Lindsay Whalen has Minnesota in the Top 25, becoming the 39th person to play and coach a team that was ranked. Whalen is the 12th to accomplish the feat at the same school. Minnesota won its opening game in front of about 14,000 fans Friday night. The poll’s top five remained unchanged with Notre Dame, Connecticut, Oregon, Baylor and Louisville leading the way.