Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer reacts in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Duke Basketball Gifts Tar Heels Slight Rankings Bump

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Feb 9, 2026 3:31 PM ET

Jon Scheyer and his fourth Duke basketball squad remain at No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll released on Monday afternoon. The Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 ACC), who did not trail their archrival UNC Tar Heels (19-4, 7-3 ACC) in Saturday night's 71-68 road loss until UNC senior guard Seth Trimble drilled the game-winning three with less than a second left on the clock, are still the highest-ranked ACC team.

However, Duke's inability to put the Tar Heels away in the second half ultimately led to UNC jumping three spots to No. 11 this week.

I asked third-year Duke guard Caleb Foster about his leadership in responding to the loss at UNC:

"We're gonna learn from this, use this to bring us together and bring us forward." pic.twitter.com/KDE3GLZGgl
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) February 8, 2026

"We're gonna watch film," Duke basketball junior guard Caleb Foster, the only player on the Blue Devils' roster who had experienced a loss to the Tar Heels prior to Saturday night, explained to Duke Blue Devils On SI following the defeat in Chapel Hill. "We're gonna learn from this, use this bring us together and bring us forward."

Other Notable AP Rankings This Week

The Arizona Wildcats (23-0, 10-0 Big 12) and Michigan Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) remain at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. And the Houston Cougars (21-2, 9-1 Big 12) climbed five notches to No. 3 in the country.

Meanwhile, the Duke Blue Devils, who saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end and are now sitting in a tie with the Clemson Tigers atop the ACC standings, and the Tar Heels, who have now won five straight games and stack up at fifth in the conference race, are not the only ACC squads in this week's AP Top 25 Poll.

No, as things stand, three more ACC programs have a ranking by their name: the Virginia Cavaliers (20-3, 9-2 ACC) at No. 15, Clemson Tigers (20-4, 10-1 ACC) at No. 20, and Louisville Cardinals (17-6, 7-4 ACC) at No. 24.

Up next for the Blue Devils is a road bout against Duke basketball alum Jeff Capel's unranked Pitt Panthers (9-15, 2-9 ACC). The Blue Devils and Panthers square off in the Petersen Events Center at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).

Duke will then welcome Clemson to Cameron Indoor Stadium for their showdown at noon ET Saturday (ESPN).

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