Duke Surges Past Florida to Claim No. 2 Ranking Behind Auburn in Latest College Basketball Top 25

Last Saturday was not a wild day in college basketball, but it sure highlighted two of the top teams—Auburn and Duke—along with their standout players, Johni Broome and Cooper Flagg.

Final Scores:

• Auburn 82, Georgia 70
• Duke 110, Illinois 67

Auburn secured its 17th victory by ten points or more, thanks to Broome’s incredible performance, scoring 31 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. This win improved Auburn’s record to 19-2 in their first two quadrants, including 14-2 in Q1, making it the most impressive resume in college basketball. Meanwhile, Duke’s dominating win against Illinois marked their overall record at 24-3 and 6-3 in Q1, showcasing Flagg’s contribution of 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

The Blue Devils’ performance was remarkable, especially considering it was Illinois’ worst defeat ever. If someone claims Duke is the best team in college basketball, there’s a solid argument for that. However, as of now, Auburn would still hold the top seed in the NCAA Tournament if it started today—by a significant margin.

As a result, Auburn continues to sit at No. 1 in CBS Sports’ Top 25 And 1 rankings for the 47th consecutive day, with Duke moving up to No. 2. Florida dropped to No. 3 as a consequence of Duke’s rise.

Why did Duke take the second spot over Florida? Well, Duke has a stronger record in Q1, boasting six wins against top-25 NET teams compared to Florida’s five wins with two against the same level.

In my opinion, if I were to seed the NCAA Tournament right now, it would look like this: Auburn at No. 1, followed by Duke, Florida, and Alabama.