The Duke Blue Devils have already beaten a number of tough teams this season and are looking like national title contenders. The team has definitive proof of that now as the Blue Devils ascended to No. 1 in the newest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
This season Duke has already beaten three teams ranked in the top five, including then-No. 3 Kentucky, then-No. 2 Louisville and then-No. 4 Ohio State in just a little over a two week span.
"We're proud of it. I think it's a lot different than a preseason ranking," forward Mason Plumlee said. "We feel like we've earned it, not like we've been given anything. (But) if we don't get any better during the season, we're not going to be No. 1 at the end of the season."
According to the Associated Press, Duke has reached the No. 1 ranking in a record 16 seasons under head coach Mike Krzyzewski "and has played more games as the No. 1 ranked team in 33 years under Coach K (209) than as an unranked team (141)."
Duke took advantage of a loss by the Indiana Hoosiers, who are now 9-1 after starting the year as No. 1 in the preseason poll. The team remained in the top spot until the loss, although Duke had started to take first place votes away from them. Indiana lost to in-state rival Butler 88-86 in overtime Saturday.
The Blue Devils have only played one game over the past two weeks and received 62 of 65 votes from the national media panel in the rankings. Michigan, who is ranked at No. 2 now, received the other three votes. The last game Duke played was a 90-67 win over Temple on Saturday, Dec. 8.
"I don't anticipate us being rusty -- if anything, we might be a little overanxious to play," Plumlee said. "This team loves to play, so when we don't get a game in a week or so, you can get a little anxious."
According to the Associated Press, "It is the 123rd week Duke has been ranked No. 1, 11 weeks behind UCLA. All but 31 weeks of Duke's stay on top have come since the 1991-92 season. The Blue Devils' last time at No. 1 was an 11-week run in 2010-11. North Carolina, with 107 weeks, is the only other school ranked No. 1 for at least 100 polls."
Syracuse moved up to the three spot behind Michigan, while Arizona, Louisville, Indiana, Ohio State, Florida, Kansas and Illinois finished out the top 10.
"We even know when we watch film on a team that they'll be a different team against us because that's almost always the case," Plumlee said. "They'll shoot a little better, play a little better and maybe the No. 1 ranking adds to that. We consistently get teams' best (effort)."
Butler moved into the rankings for the first time since the first week of 2010-11 at No. 19 after defeating Indiana this past week and North Carolina last month in the EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs made it to the national championship in back-to-back years, losing to Duke and Connecticut.
Wichita State spent two weeks in the Top 25 before dropping out after a 69-60 loss at Tennessee. Other teams that received votes this week included Oregon, Bucknell, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, VCU and Kentucky.
Duke has been one of the most impressive offensive teams in the country and currently have a resume unlike any other after defeating those top five teams earlier this year. The Blue Devils are scoring 80 points per game and are ranked 26th in the nation in field goal percentage.
Things got off to a good start for Duke after defeating the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 13 before taking down Louisville and Ohio State one week later. The team has ripped off two straight 20-plus point defeats since then, including an 88-50 win over Delaware.
The team has been leaning on forward Mason Plumlee, who is leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 19.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He notched a double-double against Temple of 16 points and 14 rebounds and has record a double-double in three straight games, including 21 points and 17 rebounds against Ohio State.
Guard Quinn Cook is leading the team in assists with 5.7 per game, while senior guard Seth Curry is second on the team with 16.1 points per game. He had 23 points and three assists in the win against Temple and scored a season-high 25 points in the win over Minnesota in November.
Duke is in a prime position to take control of the rankings as their upcoming schedule is fairly easy. Apart from a January matchup with NC State, no team the Blue Devils play over the next six games is ranked. Maryland is behind Duke in the ACC with a surprising 9-1 record, while Miami is 6-1.
The closest game Duke has had all season is the 73-68 win over Ohio State. The team has been dominant on offense, winning three games this season by at least 20 points.
Last season Duke went 27-7 and finished in second place in the ACC behind North Carolina with a 13-3 record. The team reached the semifinals of the ACC tournament and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost in the first round in an upset 75-70 loss to No. 15 Lehigh.