The Duke men’s basketball team is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press preseason poll, marking the 13th consecutive season that the Blue Devils have debuted in the top 10.
Duke’s streak of being ranked in the top 10 at least some point during a season now extends to 25 consecutive years – the longest active streak in the nation. Kansas is second at 15. Duke has also been ranked in 84 consecutive polls dating back to 2016, the nation’s second-longest active streak.
Entering the 2020-21 season, 41st-year head coach Mike Krzyzewski has had Duke in the AP top 10 for 77 percent of the team’s games (1,060 of 1,375). His Duke squads are 870-190 (.821) when playing as a top-10 ranked team.
Duke returns five letterwinners from last year’s squad that went 25-6 overall and 15-5 in the ACC during the pandemic-interrupted season. The squad also welcomes seven newcomers, including six freshmen that comprise the No. 2-ranked recruiting class.
