Duke was ranked in the top 10 of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll for many reasons — partly because it's Duke, partly because Mike Krzyzewski remains the coach, partly because a top-three recruiting class was enrolled, and partly because two of the top five scorers from last season's team were returning. The logic was that if sophomores Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore made a jump, the Blue Devils could compete for Coach K's sixth national title.
Then the season started.
Things did not go as planned.
Though Moore played well in the opener against Coppin State, he missed 20 of the 21 shots he attempted in the subsequent four games, lost his starting job, and was arguably the most disappointing high-profile player in the country. He only played nine minutes in a win over Notre Dame, just seven minutes in a loss to Illinois. But, on Wednesday night, something clicked. Moore took 13 shots, made eight of them and finished with a career-high 25 points in Duke's 83-82 victory over Boston College. He added four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes.
"Just seeing that first one go through, I feel like it took everything that was on my shoulders off of me and gave me a chance to play free," Moore explained after the Blue Devils improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Whatever the cause, it was nice to see, if only because it can't be easy to be a former five-star prospect struggling so publicly on the grand stage Duke provides. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. Whether it's a turning point in the season, or just a random one-off, who knows? But, either way, Moore was the main reason Duke got past Boston College despite the fact that Krzyzewski was not on the sideline because of contact-tracing connected to COVID-19.
Associate head coach Jon Scheyer coached in Krzyzewski's absence.
Duke remains No. 19 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Blue Devils' next scheduled game is Saturday against Wake Forest.
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Thursday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Drew Timme finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-62 victory over San Francisco. The Zags' perfect record also includes double-digit wins over Kansas, Iowa and Virginia. | -- | 9-3 |
| 2 |  | MaCio Teague made four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in Wednesday's 76-61 victory over Oklahoma. The Bears have won all 10 games by double-digits. | -- | 7-3 |
| 3 |  | Collin Gillespie made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 85-68 victory at Marquette. The Wildcats' lone loss is an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. | -- | 8-5 |
| 4 |  | Andrew Jones finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists in Tuesday's 78-72 victory over Iowa State. The Longhorns' lone loss is a single-digit loss to VIllanova. | -- | 10-2 |
| 5 |  | David McCormack finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 93-64 victory at TCU. The Jayhawks' two losses are to Gonzaga and Texas. | -- | 9-2 |
| 6 |  | Damien Jefferson finished with 19 points and four steals in Wednesday's 89-53 victory over Seton Hall. The Bluejays will take a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game with St. John's. | -- | 8-5 |
| 7 |  | Kofi Cockburn finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 66-58 victory over Purdue. All three of the Illini's losses are to schools also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 8-3 |
| 8 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 82-57 victory over Minnesota. The Wolverines' perfect record also includes victories over Northwestern, Maryland and Penn State. | -- | 9-3 |
| 9 |  | Luka Garza finished with 25 points on 11 field goal attempts in Saturday's 77-75 victory at Rutgers. The Hawkeyes' resume also includes wins over Northwestern and North Carolina. | -- | 9-3 |
| 10 |  | Josiah-Jordan James finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 79-74 victory over Arkansas. The Vols' resume also includes wins over Colorado and Missouri. | -- | 12-0 |
| 11 |  | Derek Culver finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds in Monday's 87-84 victory at Oklahoma State. Two of West Virginia's three losses are to Gonzaga and Kansas. | -- | 9-2 |
| 12 |  | Quentin Grimes made four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 70-63 victory over Wichita State. The Cougars' resume also includes wins over Texas Tech and SMU. | -- | 8-3 |
| 13 |  | Mac McClung finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 81-71 victory over Kansas. Two of Texas Tech's three losses are to Kansas and Houston. | -- | 9-2 |
| 14 |  | Micah Potter finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 71-59 victory over Minnesota. The Badgers' resume also features wins over Louisville and Loyola Chicago. | -- | 10-3 |
| 15 |  | The Golden Gophers missed 21 of the 28 3-pointers they attempted in Wednesday's 82-57 loss at Michigan. Minnesota's other two losses are to Illinois and Wisconsin. | -- | 7-5 |
| 16 |  | Northwestern missed 13 of the 18 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 85-66 loss at Michigan. Two of the Wildcats' three losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 9-3 |
| 17 |  | Aaron Henry finished with 20 points and eight assists in Tuesday's 68-45 victory over Rutgers. The Spartans will take a two-game winning streak into Friday's game with Purdue. | -- | 10-2 |
| 18 |  | The Scarlet Knights shot 30.5% from the field in Tuesday's 68-45 loss at Michigan State. Rutgers is 1-3 in its past four games. | -- | 7-5 |
| 19 |  | Wendell Moore finished with 25 points and three steals in Wednesday's 83-82 victory over Boston College. The Blue Devils' two losses are to Illinois and MIchigan State. | -- | 10-2 |
| 20 |  | CJ Walker missed all five shots he attempted in Sunday's 77-60 loss at Minnesota. Two of the Buckeyes' three losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 8-4 |
| 21 |  | Chris Duarte finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 73-56 victory over Stanford. The Ducks' lone loss is a season-opening loss to Missouri. | -- | 11-1 |
| 22 |  | David Johnson finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 73-71 victory over Virginia Tech. The Cardinals' lone loss is a shorthanded loss at Wisconsin. | -- | 7-5 |
| 23 |  | Jordan Goodwin finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 62-46 victory over UM Kansas City. The Billikens' lone loss is a single-digit loss at Minnesota. | -- | 6-6 |
| 24 |  | Nick Honor made five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points in Tuesday's 74-70 overtime victory over NC State. The Tigers have seven victories over teams ranked in the top 100 at KenPom. | -- | 10-3 |
| 25 |  | The Wolfpack finished with 14 turnovers and just eight assists in Tuesday's 74-70 overtime loss at Clemson. NC State's only other loss came at Saint Louis. | -- | 8-4 |
| 26 |  | Tyler Polley finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 65-54 victory at Marquette. The Huskies' lone loss is an overtime loss to Creighton. | -- | 10-3 |
