Duke claims No. 1 spot in AP Top 25 for record 135th week

WTVD-AP
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Duke breaks record for most weeks at No. 1
Powered by Zion Williamson, Duke soared to No. 1 in the rankings this week.

NEW YORK -- Duke has supplanted Kansas atop the new AP Top 25 poll after its dominating win against Kentucky, giving the Blue Devils a record number of appearances at No. 1.



The Blue Devils jumped from fourth to first in Monday's first regular-season poll. That allowed Duke to set a record with its 135th week at No. 1, breaking a tie with UCLA for most all-time. It also marked the third straight season that Duke has spent at least one week at No. 1.



The Atlantic Coast Conference has seven teams in the top 20:



1. Duke


2. Kansas


3. Gonzaga


4. Virginia


5. Tennessee


6. Nevada


7. North Carolina


8. Villanova


9. Auburn



10. Kentucky


11. Michigan State


12. Kansas State


13. Oregon


14. Florida State


15. Syracuse


16. Virginia Tech


17. Mississippi State


18. Michigan


19. Clemson



20. UCLA


21. TCU


22. LSU


23. Purdue


24. Marquette


25. Buffalo



Duke (2-0) claimed 48 of 65 first-place votes after beating then-No. 2 Kentucky by 34 points in the Champions Classic to open the season, the program's most lopsided win against a top-5 opponent. The Blue Devils followed that with a win Sunday against Army at Cameron Indoor Stadium.



Duke's Kentucky win was impressive enough to bump the preseason No. 1 Jayhawks, who fell to No. 2 despite a quality win of their own against then-No. 10 Michigan State in the Champions Classic's first game. Kansas went from having 37 first-place votes in the preseason to just 14 this week.



Gonzaga stayed at No. 3, followed by Virginia and Tennessee each climbing a spot to round out the top 5. Nevada, North Carolina, reigning national champion Villanova and Auburn were next, while Kentucky slid eight spots to No. 10.



There were two new teams in the poll with No. 24 Marquette and No. 25 Buffalo, which made the program's first AP Top 25 appearance after a win at then-No. 13 West Virginia. The Mountaineers fell out of the poll after the loss.

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