AP and Coaches' Polls

[BandAlum83]

UNC received a lot more voter points than we did this week.

If only we had beaten them last Thursday, maybe we could have moved up more, and made them move down.

[Olympic Fan]

UNC received a lot more voter points than we did this week.

If only we had beaten them last Thursday, maybe we could have moved up more, and made them move down.

I know you are being sarcastic, but head-to-head is not the be-all, end-all ... if it were, you'd have to rank NC State, FSU and Virginia Tech ahead of Duke.

UNC has a slightly better record (21-5 vs. 20-5) against a slightly tougher schedule.

I don't think it's ridiculous for the voters to drop them from No. 8 to No. 10 this week, while Duke climbs from No. 18 to No. 12 -- we've gone from 10 spots below them to two spots below them in one week.

That's pretty good and, I think, fair.

[CDu]

I know you are being sarcastic, but head-to-head is not the be-all, end-all ... if it were, you'd have to rank NC State, FSU and Virginia Tech ahead of Duke.

UNC has a slightly better record (21-5 vs. 20-5) against a slightly tougher schedule.

I don't think it's ridiculous for the voters to drop them from No. 8 to No. 10 this week, while Duke climbs from No. 18 to No. 12 -- we've gone from 10 spots below them to two spots below them in one week.

That's pretty good and, I think, fair.

Yeah, that feels about right. It is slightly better than Pomeroy and RPI have us. And it is spot on or slightly below what those sites have for UNC.

[dukebluesincebirth]

I'm very pleased to have moved back up to #12. This could be a huge week for us. If we can somehow pull out wins over UVa and Wake (tall order but very possible), I think we climb our way back into the top 10 with 4 regular season games remaining. With the adversity this team has faced this season, to be in that position next week would be incredible! Then we can switch gears and start thinking about controlling our own destiny, and positioning for tourney seeds. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyhow, big week guys! Lets lock in and get 2 Ws!!! Go DUKE.

[Reilly]

There have been eight seasons where Duke was #1 in the AP pre-season poll: http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duke/

In the seven completed other seasons, Duke won at least one sort of championship (ACC regular season, ACC Tourney, NCAA regional, national).
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/acc/

Will be interesting to see what hardware this 2017 squad might bring home.

2017
2011 – ACC Tourney champs
2006 – ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
2002 – ACC Tourney champs
1999 – Final Four, ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
1992 – National champs, Final Four, ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
1989 - Final Four
1979 – ACC regular season champs

[BandAlum83]

#'s 4, 9 and 11 have so far lost this week.

4 Baylor lost a road game to unranked Texas Tech. I doubt that is a bad enough loss to drop them out of the top 10. Their next game this week is against #3 Kansas at home. Could a loss to Kansas coupled with a loss to Kansas at home drop them down?

#9 West Virginia lost on Kansas' court in OT. Hardly something that could drop them out of the Top 10, especially if they hold serve Saturday at home against that Texas Tech team that beat Baylor.

#11 Wisconsin lost at unranked Michigan. That will probably make them move back.

So it seems for us to break into the top 10, we need to beat Wake of course, and we need some loss(es) among the teams ranked ahead of us:

#9 WVU losing to Texas Tech at home
#10 UNC losing at home to UVA
#8 Louisville losing to VT at home

Seem like the best candidates. Even if Baylor looses to Kansas, they probably won't drop far. The other teams ahead of us are also very likely to win.

So absent a needed loss, I would think we come in at 11 next week. Unless the voters start recognizing we are not the same team we were 6 weeks ago and jump us ahead of some other teams.

Not that it really matters, I suppose, but it does shape a story for the selection committee even if they don't publicly acknowledge it.

[TruBlu]

#'s 4, 9 and 11 have so far lost this week.

4 Baylor lost a road game to unranked Texas Tech. I doubt that is a bad enough loss to drop them out of the top 10. Their next game this week is against #3 Kansas at home. Could a loss to Kansas coupled with a loss to Kansas at home drop them down?

#9 West Virginia lost on Kansas' court in OT. Hardly something that could drop them out of the Top 10, especially if they hold serve Saturday at home against that Texas Tech team that beat Baylor.

#11 Wisconsin lost at unranked Michigan. That will probably make them move back.

So it seems for us to break into the top 10, we need to beat Wake of course, and we need some loss(es) among the teams ranked ahead of us:

#9 WVU losing to Texas Tech at home
#10 UNC losing at home to UVA
#8 Louisville losing to VT at home

Seem like the best candidates. Even if Baylor looses to Kansas, they probably won't drop far. The other teams ahead of us are also very likely to win.

So absent a needed loss, I would think we come in at 11 next week. Unless the voters start recognizing we are not the same team we were 6 weeks ago and jump us ahead of some other teams.

Not that it really matters, I suppose, but it does shape a story for the selection committee even if they don't publicly acknowledge it.

The bolded (above) is by far the most popular outcome.

[OldPhiKap]

The bolded (above) is by far the most popular outcome.

I'm okay with that too.

[CDu]

The crazy thing is that we just beat a top-20 team in their gym with one of our best players hobbled with an ankle injury and one of our most talented players still trying to shake off the physical and mental/psychological rust from 2 major knee injuries. Allen will eventually get healthy. That's less than a week after beating a top-10 team. But if Giles gets going? Yikes.

I know, I know, ifs and buts, candy and nuts. Something about aunts being uncles. As is, the team is capable of winning it all. If Giles gets even remotely close to where he was in high school? We could approach the level we thought we'd be at the beginning of the season.

I think Giles' performance in the UVa game shows signs for promise. He looked like a player out there, not so much like a guy battling with his body. Even on the Kennard pass that he fumbled out of bounds, he was trying a very athletic and clever basketball move. I think he's getting close. Let's hope he can build off of that performance with another strong game tomorrow in Cameron.

[Steven43]

There have been eight seasons where Duke was #1 in the AP pre-season poll: http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duke/

In the seven completed other seasons, Duke won at least one sort of championship (ACC regular season, ACC Tourney, NCAA regional, national).
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/acc/

Will be interesting to see what hardware this 2017 squad might bring home.

2017
2011 – ACC Tourney champs
2006 – ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
2002 – ACC Tourney champs
1999 – Final Four, ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
1992 – National champs, Final Four, ACC Tourney champs, ACC regular season champs
1989 - Final Four
1979 – ACC regular season champs

Sincerely hope Duke does not bring home the championship hardware of the ACC tournament. I would rather lose in the semis and rest up for the NCAAs, just like in 2015.

[BoiseDevil]

Sincerely hope Duke does not bring home the championship hardware of the ACC tournament. I would rather lose in the semis and rest up for the NCAAs, just like in 2015.

Rest is overrated, let's win both!!!

[camion]

Rest is overrated, let's win both!!!

Yep. Don't be afraid to give it all you've got because even if you come up short it's good training for the next challenge.

I believe someone with the last initial 'K' said something similar.

[OldPhiKap]

ACCT ends on a Saturday, and the earliest we could play would be on a Thursday. Plenty of time to rest.

Plus, if we win, we increase the chances of having our first round in Greenville SC. Easy trip from Durham for the team and for fans. Better to play in Greenville on a Thursday (at worst) than Sacramento or Salt Lake City on a Thursday or even Friday.

[jv001]

ACCT ends on a Saturday, and the earliest we could play would be on a Thursday. Plenty of time to rest.

Plus, if we win, we increase the chances of having our first round in Greenville SC. Easy trip from Durham for the team and for fans. Better to play in Greenville on a Thursday (at worst) than Portland or somewhere else out West on a Thursday or even Friday.

Right down I-85 and not that far at all. Let's win it all. The thread on the Duke 1965 team has me really fired up. GoDuke!

[MrPoon]

My guess is that a win against Wake by anything more than about 4-5 will move Duke into the top 10.
Not that it matters. Based on the committee's mid season report show/thingy, they ignored the conventional "wisdom" of the polls.
But it would be nice to see the trend line of this late season run get recognized. There is a lot of talk that this team is "one of the most dangerous" and perception is all the AP is about. Plus a home win against UNC (while reflected already) and road win against top 15 team (who Vegas had as 5+ favorite) and a potential top 30ish team in Wake will be enough I suspect even without massive upsets higher in the polls.

I've watched a lot of college BB lately and there are several good teams but no team that is a clear great team, conference play is hitting everyone. I haven't seen the Zags (until they actually deliver up to their seeding, I'll keep discounting them) but there is no team that Duke can't play with based on current form. Very exciting. Seems like this is the trajectory of this program in the OAD era. Competitive early in non-conf, struggle early on road against experienced conf teams (cause panic on DBR board), figure out team play and D late. Hope momentum and legs are strong enough for strong tournament run.

[BandAlum83]

Duke returns to the top ten in this week's poll coming in at #10 as west virginia drops from 9 to 12 after losing last week to Kansas.

The ACC has 3 in the top ten now, with Louisville at 7 and UNC at 8.

After losing twice last week, Baylor dropped like a rock to #9. The openning is there, it seems, for the ACC to get a number 1 seed by the end of the year, but 3 Pac teams will also vie for a #1 NCAAT seed also. Arizona is at #4 now, with UCLA and Oregon in 5 and 6 respectively.

Which conference will cannibalize more down the stretch to keep the conference from getting the 4th #1 seed?

[CDu]

Duke returns to the top ten in this week's poll coming in at #10 as west virginia drops from 9 to 12 after losing last week to Kansas.

The ACC has 3 in the top ten now, with Louisville at 7 and UNC at 8.

After losing twice last week, Baylor dropped like a rock to #9. The openning is there, it seems, for the ACC to get a number 1 seed by the end of the year, but 3 Pac teams will also vie for a #1 NCAAT seed also. Arizona is at #4 now, with UCLA and Oregon in 5 and 6 respectively.

Which conference will cannibalize more down the stretch to keep the conference from getting the 4th #1 seed?

Well, the Pac-12 has - at most - 3 games left between their 3 top teams. And that's if all 3 are the last left standing in the conference. And none of the 3 face another serious test on their regular season schedule. By comparison, the ACC has two more regular season matchups (Louisville and Duke both go to UNC), a road game against a top-25 team (UNC at UVa), and two home games against top-25 teams (Duke hosts FSU, Louisville hosts Notre Dame). And that's before we even get to the conference tournament. So it would seem much more likely that the ACC cannibalizes its top teams from here on out than the Pac-12.

[BandAlum83]

Well, the Pac-12 has - at most - 3 games left between their 3 top teams. And that's if all 3 are the last left standing in the conference. And none of the 3 face another serious test on their regular season schedule. By comparison, the ACC has two more regular season matchups (Louisville and Duke both go to UNC), a road game against a top-25 team (UNC at UVa), and two home games against top-25 teams (Duke hosts FSU, Louisville hosts Notre Dame). And that's before we even get to the conference tournament. So it would seem much more likely that the ACC cannibalizes its top teams from here on out than the Pac-12.

Alternatively, Duke wins 'em all, and gets the fourth #1 seed without any controversy.

Actually, there is a school of thought that they will want to keep the top Pac team as a number 2 in the west instead of a #1 in the south.

We'll see..

[FadedTackyShirt]

Actually, there is a school of thought that they will want to keep the top Pac team as a number 2 in the west instead of a #1 in the south

Brackets set up extremely well for the PAC this season. UA will play in SLC the first weekend along with Gonzaga. UO & UCLA will play in Sacramento.

Whoever stays in the West wil get Gonzaga in San Jose. The PAC school that gets the number 2 seed in the West will have an easier path than even number 1 seeds elsewhere. F4 in Phoenix is a bus ride for UA and UCLA and UO play in Phoenix almost every season.

[arnie]

Duke returns to the top ten in this week's poll coming in at #10 as west virginia drops from 9 to 12 after losing last week to Kansas.

The ACC has 3 in the top ten now, with Louisville at 7 and UNC at 8.

After losing twice last week, Baylor dropped like a rock to #9. The openning is there, it seems, for the ACC to get a number 1 seed by the end of the year, but 3 Pac teams will also vie for a #1 NCAAT seed also. Arizona is at #4 now, with UCLA and Oregon in 5 and 6 respectively.

Which conference will cannibalize more down the stretch to keep the conference from getting the 4th #1 seed?

Very surprised UVA ranked ahead of FSU. Guess pollsters liked Virginia O on Saturday.😎