Duke Drops to No. 6
Following Duke’s loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic last Tuesday, it wasn’t a question of if the Blue Devils would drop, but how far. Dropping down two spots to No. 6 seems fair, as the game was a close one, and Duke followed its defeat with a dominant home victory against Florida Atlantic. It also means that the Blue Devils' streak of consecutive weeks in the top 10 extends to an astounding 117 weeks. Duke kicked off the Preseason NIT tournament Monday with a win, and will look to continue its winning ways to move back up the polls.
Michigan State Claims No. 1 spot, Kansas Jumps to No. 2
The two teams that were victorious in the Champions Classic moved up to the top two spots in the poll. Michigan State, following its victory over previously No. 1 ranked Kentucky, took the top spot, while Kansas jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 after their win over the Blue Devils. The Spartans, on top of the polls for this first time since the 2000-2001 season, received 51 first place votes, while the Jayhawks received seven. Louisville, who dropped from No. 2 to No. 3, also received seven first place votes.
North Carolina Falls
If there’s anything that can make the Cameron Crazies fans feel better about losing to Kansas, it’s North Carolina losing to Ohio Valley Conference powerhouse Belmont. The Bruins, who headed into the Dean E. Smith Center with zero NCAA tournament wins, took down the Tar Heels 83-80, despite committing 31 fouls and 16 turnovers. It was the North Carolina’s first non-conference home loss in eight years. Converting from the foul line was the difference in the game, as The Tar Heels shot a meager 45.8% from the line, as opposed Belmont’s 90.9%. As a result of the loss, North Carolina dropped from No. 12 to No. 24 in the poll. Combined with a subpar performance against Holy Cross in their other game of the week, the Tar Heels have looked shaky early on this season.
VCU Joins the Top 10
Following strong wins against then-No. 25 Virginia and Winthrop, VCU climbed four spots in the poll to No. 10. It is their first time being ranked in the top 10 in program history. The Shaka Smart-led Rams have come from an NCAA Cinderella story to the best Mid-Major school in recent memory. With no more games against ranked opponents, VCU should remain near the top of the polls for a while and are a team to be reckoned with.
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