For the first time in a long time, Duke basketball is unranked.
In the latest Associated Press poll, the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was left out of the Top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2006-2007 season, when they lost as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the 167 weeks since the 2007-2008 preseason rankings were released, Duke has maintained a spot in those particular rankings -- until Monday.
Duke's 8+ year streak of 167 straight weeks in the AP poll is over.ICYMI, the full top 25: https://t.co/JCz6dAialC pic.twitter.com/HsfpA2Cmvr
— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2016
ICYMI, the full top 25: https://t.co/JCz6dAialC pic.twitter.com/HsfpA2Cmvr
— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2016
As was to be expected when the Duke-less rankings were released, Twitter exploded as the Duke haters started trolling the Blue Devils like crazy.
Celebrations break out across America as #Duke basketball is OUT of the Top 25 for the first time since 2007... pic.twitter.com/3iRiEaAYlC— Sports on Earth (@SportsonEarth) February 1, 2016
— Sports on Earth (@SportsonEarth) February 1, 2016
Duke basketball is no longer ranked in the top 25 @NdotSmitty @ARayfor3? pic.twitter.com/h4gUp7DhxW— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) February 1, 2016
— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) February 1, 2016
However, the Duke run from the men's team pales in comparison to the streak that just ended for the Blue Devils' women's team, who only two weeks ago dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time since November 1999. Their streak ended at 312 weeks, the third-longest in history. Only Tennessee (563) and Connecticut (425) have gone longer, and both of those streaks are still active. Connecticut and their 20-0 record received all 32 first-place votes and is No. 1 in the current poll while Tennessee snuck in at No. 23 with a 13-8 mark.
Duke didn't do themselves any favors on Monday night as they lost to No. 3 Notre Dame, 68-61, dropping their overall record to 16-7. Again, it's not as if Duke is in danger of missing out on the NCAA Tournament. It's just something that people aren't used to seeing. Duke women's coach Joanne P. McCallie summed it up perfectly.
"It shows the tremendous work that Gail [Goestenkors] and her staff did and shows the history of the program and the power of the players in the program. Our history is so fantastic and should be cherished. It's a different generation and time, and you have to work through things and work for each other since nothing is guaranteed."
With today's AP polls, the Duke men & women are both unranked for the first time since Dec. 29, 1986 (h/t @jbdolg): https://t.co/vMRIBr6Aiv— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) February 1, 2016
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) February 1, 2016
The next scheduled game for the Duke men is Tuesday night at Georgia Tech. Including that game, Duke has 10 regular season games remaining and five of those are against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
The Duke women have seven games remaining, but only two of theirs will come against ranked opponents.
Many people are loving the fact that Duke basketball is a little off right now, but there may never have been a time, especially on the men's side in the Coach K era, that it's a good idea to count Duke out of anything.
[Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]
