CBS Sports Graphic
With a 29-3 record featuring a 7-3 mark in Quadrant 1 and zero losses to teams outside of the top 25 of the NET, Duke has already secured a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
That’s what Jerry Palm believes, at least.
And I agree.
So there’s no great reason for Cooper Flagg to play Friday against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals one day after spraining his left ankle in a win over Georgia Tech. A potential Flagg absence would be good for a UNC team desperately in need of a Q1 win, obviously if only because it theoretically makes the victory more gettable. But Flagg observing against UNC would also likely be best for a Duke program with eyes on a bigger prize.
“It’s not about being ready to go [against North Carolina],” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “That’s not the most important thing for us. We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the [NCAA Tournament].”
If you’re a Duke fan looking for positives, one is that the Blue Devils will likely open the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is a Friday-Sunday site. That means Flagg will probably have seven full days in between the game in which he sprained his left ankle and the Blue Devils’ first game in the NCAA Tournament. If Flagg doesn’t heal quickly and needs more time, Scheyer could hold him out of a first-round matchup Duke should cruise in with or without Flagg and turn those seven days off into nine days off.
Duke remains No. 2 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 65th consecutive day because of the strength of the Tigers’ 15-4 record in Quad 1. Auburn is the sport’s only team with more than 11 Quad-1 wins and four-or-fewer losses. That’s among the reasons the Tigers rank No. 1 in strength of record and likely would be the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament if the bracket were made this morning.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
1
Auburn Chaney Johnson was 1-of-3 from the field with four fouls in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime loss to Alabama. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 28-4 2
Duke Kon Knueppel finished with 28 points and eight assists in Thursday’s 78-70 win over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils’ next game is Friday against North Carolina. — 29-3 3
Houston Emanuel Sharp finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Thursday’s 77-68 win over Colorado. The Cougars’ next game is Friday against BYU. — 29-4 4
Florida Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 23 points and eight assists in Saturday’s 90-71 win over Ole Miss. The Gators are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 28-4 5
Michigan St. Tre Holloman finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Sunday’s 79-62 win over Michigan. The Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 27-5 6
Tennessee Chaz Lanier finished with 23 points and three steals in Saturday’s 75-65 win over South Carolina. The Vols are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 26-6 7
Alabama Grant Nelson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime win at Auburn. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 24-7 8
St. John’s RJ Luis Jr. finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s 78-57 win over Butler. The Red Storm’s next game is Friday against Marquette. — 29-4 9
Texas Tech JT Toppin finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s 76-74 win over Baylor. The Red Raiders’ next game is Friday against Arizona. — 25-7 10
Wisconsin John Tonje finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s 70-63 win over Northwestern. The Badgers’ next game is Friday against UCLA. 2 25-8 11
Purdue Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 30 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s 76-71 win over USC. The Boilermakers’ next game is Friday against Michigan. 2 22-10 12
Maryland Julian Reese finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-61 win over Northwestern. The Terrapins are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. 2 25-7 13
Texas A&M Zhuric Phelps was 3-of-19 from the field in Thursday’s 94-89 double-overtime loss to Texas. The Aggies were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. 3 22-10 14
Iowa St. Joshua Jefferson committed five turnovers in Thursday’s 96-92 loss to BYU. The Cyclones were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. 3 24-9 15
Louisville Terrence Edwards Jr. finished with 25 points and two assists in Thursday’s 75-73 win over Stanford. The Cardinals’ next game is Friday against Clemson. — 26-6 16
Clemson Chase Hunter finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Thursday’s 57-54 win over SMU. The Tigers’ next game is Friday against Louisville. — 27-5 17
Kentucky Otega Oweh finished with 27 points and five assists in Thursday’s 85-84 win over Oklahoma. The Wildcats’ next game is Friday against Alabama. — 22-10 18
Arizona Henri Veesaar finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Thursday’s 88-77 win over Kansas. The Wildcats’ next game is Friday against Texas Tech. — 21-11 19
Marquette Kam Jones finished with 28 points and five assists in Thursday’s 89-87 win over Xavier. The Golden Eagles’ next game is Friday against St. John’s. — 23-10 20
Memphis PJ Haggerty finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 84-68 win over USF. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament. — 27-5 21
Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas was 0-of-7 from the field in Tuesday’s 58-51 loss to Gonzaga. The Gaels fell in the title game of the West Coast Conference Tournament. — 28-5 22
Michigan Tre Donaldson was 1-of-5 from the field in Sunday’s 79-62 loss at Michigan State. The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 22-9 23
Oregon Jackson Shelstad finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Thursday’s 72-59 win over Indiana. The Ducks’ next game is Friday against Michigan State. — 24-9 24
BYU Richie Saunders finished with 23 points and five assists in Thursday’s 96-92 win over Iowa State. The Cougars’ next game is Friday against Houston. — 24-9 25
Illinois Kylan Boswell finished with 24 points and seven assists in Thursday’s 106-94 win over Iowa. The Illini’s next game is Friday against Maryland. — 21-12 26
UCLA Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 90-63 win over USC. The Bruins are the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 22-10
