CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Duke, Duke, Duke. Say that 65 times, a unanimous choice for the second straight week atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll, which was announced Monday.
But that doesn't mean coach Mike Krzyzewski's undefeated crew will stay there all season.
The Blue Devils have had their challenges, including against No. 3 Michigan State (88-81). And there are three other undefeated teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, where Duke resides. So if the Blue Devils go undefeated for the season, just cancel the NCAA Tournament.
The undefeated: The number of undefeated Division I teams is now down to 13, and we're not even 10 games into the season for most teams. Of those undefeated, nine are in the AP Top 25, and the bulk of those teams have played pretty solid non-conference schedules. All 13 undefeated teams received Top 25 votes.
No. 1 Duke has played Michigan State, Florida, Indiana and Texas. The ACC has four undefeated teams, with Florida State (6-0) being the only suspect team, playing no team tougher than Rutgers. That changes Monday night when the Seminoles play at rival Florida.
Five of the basketball power conferences have 11 of the 13 undefeated teams: ACC (4), Big 12 (2), Big East (2), SEC (2) and Pac 12 (1). The two outliers are Valparaiso (Missouri Valley) and Nevada (Mountain West).
Valpo's best victory is probably a 77-67 win over Kent State. That was actually a one-point game with 30 seconds to play before the Crusaders pulled it out. Nevada's best victory is over Rhode Island, with games this week vs. Texas Tech and TCU.
My bad: As for my vote in this week's poll, I included undefeated Valparaiso, but upon reflection probably should have added Mississippi State (7-0) instead. Like Valpo, Mississippi State is undefeated, but that 61-59 road win Sunday over Dayton was clearly a better victory than anything the Crusaders have, even if the Flyers (3-4) have a losing record.
Newcomers: There were four new teams in the latest AP Top 25, and a whopping 23 others getting votes, which is indicative of the parity after the first 10-12 ranked teams.
My ballot this week had five new teams from 20-25. Only two (Seton Hall, Nevada) made the final cut but all received three or more votes.
ELTON ALEXANDER'S AP POLL BALLOT / Week 5
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Michigan State
4. Villanova
5. Kentucky
6. Wichita State
7. Texas A&M
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami
11. North Carolina
12. Gonzaga
13. Virginia
14. West Virginia
15. Xavier
16. Minnesota
17. Cincinnati
18. Arizona State
19. TCU
20. Texas Tech
21. Kansas State
22. Seton Hall
23. Valparaiso
24. Nevada
25. Texas-Arlington