Duke Basketball: The Newest Projected Top 25 Only Includes Two ACC Teams Since the sophomore campaign under current head coach Jon Scheyer, the Duke basketball program has never begun a season outside of the top 10.

For much of the 2024-25 season, Duke often stood alone—or was joined by just one other team—as the ACC’s sole representative in the AP Top 25, highlighting the conference’s recent decline in national perception.

With many ACC rosters viewed as underwhelming heading into next season, analysts are already predicting another lackluster year for the league.

On Thursday night, FOX Sports’ John Fanta released his updated Top 25 projections for the 2025-26 season, with only two ACC teams making the cut: Duke and Louisville. However, both appear in his top 10—Louisville at No. 7 and Duke at No. 9.

Should Duke begin the season ranked ninth or higher, it would extend its streak of single-digit preseason rankings to 18 consecutive years, a run that began with a No. 8 ranking in 2008-09—the junior season of current head coach Jon Scheyer, who is now entering his fourth year at the helm.