After two top-25 games this week for the Blue Devils, a new AP Poll dropped Monday afternoon. With Duke remaining at No. 16, the Blue Zone breaks down the new rankings:
Duke slips late
It was a week of ups and downs for the Blue Devils, defeating then-No. 12 Virginia Tech before losing to then-No. 24 Florida State. The Hokies put up a fight, but the Blue Devils managed to shut down Virginia Tech’s two most dangerous players. Senior center Elizabeth Kitley was held to just four points on 11.1% shooting from the field, and guard Georgia Amoore scored just seven points, going a weak 2-for-12 from the field. In Florida the story was different. The Seminoles dominated both ends of the floor, and Duke seemed to have no answers. This week, the Blue Devils proved themselves defensively, locking down what has been a high-scoring Virginia Tech attack, but ultimately struggling to score when it mattered against Florida State. The second game cost them, and the Blue Devils stayed at No. 16.
Texas returns
After a brief stint in the top 25 a few weeks ago, the Longhorns have returned to the rankings. In large part, this was due to an impressive showing against then-No.14 Oklahoma in which Texas came away with a 78-58 victory, holding the Sooners to just six points in the third quarter. The Longhorns have been on the bubble for a while now, receiving the second-most votes of an unranked squad last week, and the big performance against Oklahoma pushed them over the edge. They rejoined the top 25 at No. 24 this week.
Oklahoma losing ground
It was a difficult week for the Sooners, who dropped both their games in upsets. After the aforementioned loss in Austin, Texas, to the Longhorns, Oklahoma visited then-No.18 Iowa State, dropping that game too, albeit by a much slimmer margin of just eight points. This was a tough week for the Sooners, and they paid for it in the rankings. They dropped to No. 20.
Ohio State slides
The Sooners weren’t the only ranked team to struggle this week, as the Buckeyes dropped two ranked matchups. Ohio State lost 83-72 to then-No.10 Iowa Monday, starting off slow and struggling to pull itself back into the game. Then Thursday, the Buckeyes floundered again, losing by 13 to then-No. 6 Indiana. They also fell to unranked Purdue, surrendering their No. 2 ranking. Ohio State slid to No. 10 this week.
Full rankings
1. South Carolina
2. Stanford
3. LSU
4. Indiana
5. UConn
6. Iowa
7. Utah
8. Maryland
9. Notre Dame
10. Ohio State
11. North Carolina
12. Iowa State
13. Virginia Tech
14. UCLA
15. N.C. State
16. Duke
17. Gonzaga
18. Michigan
19. Villanova
20. Oklahoma
21. Middle Tennessee
22. Arizona
23. Florida State
24. Texas
25. South Florida
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