Duke Basketball Stays Put in Updated ESPN Way Too Early Top 25

The Duke Blue Devils are coming off a season in which they once again had high expectations. After a big regular season, the Blue Devils earned a ACC regular season title, tournament title and a No. 1 overall seed. 

As Duke rolled in the NCAA Tournament, they ran into a UConn team who was playing well and eventually came back from 19 points down to stun the Blue Devils. But now, going into the 2026 -27 season, the Blue Devils are once again entering with high expectations. 

Duke welcomes in the top recruiting class, a good transfer portal class and returns some key players. That's a recipe to earn some preseason recognition.

Recently, ESPN updated its way-too-early top 25 rankings for the upcoming season and for Duke, they stay put at No. 2 overall. Here is what ESPN had to say about the Blue Devils' ranking:

Coach Jon Scheyer brings in the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the country next season, headlined by a trio of top-25 recruits. But it's Blackwell who should make the most immediate impact for the Blue Devils. He was an All-Big Ten player at Wisconsin last season, averaging 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 39% from 3. Duke lacked a big-time perimeter scorer last season, and Blackwell should step up as the go-to guy right away.

There are some good points made there, especially with the addition of John Blackwell and him being the impact newcomer. Duke will have a bit of veteran experience as well as some talented freshmen coming in to help.

Jon Scheyer and his staff will look to get the most out of his team this season and try to bounce back from a disappointing end to last season. In Scheyer's four seasons so far, Duke has made the Elite Eight three times and has one Final Four appearance. 

As for the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Louisville checks in at No. 13 followed by No. 14 Virginia, No. 18 Miami and No. 25 North Carolina. It's safe to say that Duke will be the favorites moving forward this season.