Duke Knocked Out Of AP To 25

Yahoo

Duke out of AP men's poll for 1st time in over 8 years - For the first time in nearly nine years, Duke is not in the AP Top 25.
The Blue Devils fell out Monday after Miami handed them their fourth loss in five games last week.

Duke had previously appeared in every AP poll since it was absent from the final poll of the 2006-07 season. The Blue Devils fell out that season in mid-February, returned briefly and then tumbled out once again when they lost to VCU in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA tournament.

Duke's 167-week streak falls well short of the UCLA's record of 221 consecutive polls from 1966-80. Kansas now owns the longest current run of 136 polls, while Arizona is next at 72 consecutive polls and Iowa State is third with 50 straight.

Why has Duke struggled this season after winning the national title last April? The Blue Devils have been unable to reload on the fly after losing four starters from last year's team including NBA draft picks Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones.

Ill-prepared for Jones to leave after just one season, Duke did not have a point guard on its roster until Mike Krzyzewski managed to persuade Derryck Thornton to not only commit but also reclassify to the Class of 2015 last spring. Thornton has struggled with his decision making with the ball in his hands at times and has come off the bench behind Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard and Matt Jones.

Duke's frontcourt is also paper-thin with senior forward Amile Jefferson injuring his foot and McDonald's All-American Chase Jeter proving unready to contribute. As a result, Marshall Plumlee has been Duke's lone true big man since mid-December and freshman combo forward Brandon Ingram has seldom come out of games and has logged most of his minutes at power forward.

There's hope for Duke to turn things around this season if Jefferson returns at full strength and helps solidify the frontcourt, but nobody will cry for the Blue Devils even if that doesn't happen.

Duke welcomes an elite recruiting class that should either be No. 1 or No. 2 next season. The Blue Devils will begin a new AP Top 25 streak in no time.