Duke jumps to No. 1 in poll

Duke jumped four spots to the top of Monday’s poll following a win against Gonzaga. That adds to a record haul of top rankings both for the Duke program and for Krzyzewski, who is set to retire after the season.

This is the 127th week at No. 1 for Krzyzewski and the 145th for the Blue Devils, ahead of the late John Wooden (121) and UCLA (134).

The Blue Devils are No. 1 for the first time since spending two weeks there in November 2019, and it comes after a tumultuous season amid the pandemic that saw the program fail to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995.

Duke (7-0) reloaded with a top-tier recruiting class featuring 6-foot-10 star Paolo Banchero and is back among the nation’s elite.

When the Blue Devils visit Ohio State on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, it will mark Duke’s 255th game as a top-ranked team under Krzyzewski compared with 161 games as an unranked team.

Gonzaga fell to third while reigning national champion Baylor rose two spots to No. 4 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. UCLA fell three spots to No. 5 after a 20-point loss to Gonzaga last week, while Villanova, Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, and Arkansas round out the top 10.