Duke's incoming recruiting class ranked third nationally, according to 247Sports. So the Blue Devils are loaded again and widely considered to be a threat to win the national title. But, that said, it should be noted that this is the first time since 2012 that Mike Krzyzewski did not enroll a consensus top-10 prospect — although you would not have been able to tell while watching Duke's season-opener.
Final score: Duke 81, Coppin State 71.
So, yeah, the game was closer than it should've been — but don't blame Jalen Johnson. The 6-foot-9 freshman, who was ranked 13th in the Class of 2020, took eight shots, made all eight of them, and finished with 19 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in 35 minutes. His 15 defensive rebounds set a single-game record for Duke freshmen. His 19 points are the most ever for a Duke freshman while shooting 100% from the field. And he's just the third Duke freshman to ever record a double-double in a debut.
"This has always been a dream of mine — so I finally got a chance to live out that dream today," Johnson said after the win. " Everything went how we wanted."
DJ Steward was also great.
The 6-2 freshman, who was ranked 26th in the Class of 2020, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench. It was the most points a Duke freshman has ever scored off the bench in a debut.
"I'm not really surprised by their performances because I've seen it since August," said Duke sophomore Wendell Moore, who finished with 13 points and four rebounds. "DJ can really score the ball — and he really showed that tonight, being open and in the right spot at all times and ready to shoot the ball. He was aggressive in the lane. And Jalen — that's just Jalen being himself. He's grabbing the defensive board and going [and] making plays for himself, for others. Those two are a great addition to our team."
Duke is No. 6 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. Elsewhere in the Top 25 And 1, Virginia Tech jumped from unranked to No. 12 after Saturday's 81-73 victory over Villanova. That pushed West Virginia, Virginia, Houston, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Rutgers and Indiana down one spot each, no fault of their own.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Drew Timme finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 90-67 victory over Auburn. Both of Gonzaga's victories are double-digit wins over power-conference schools. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | MaCio Teague finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 112-82 victory over Louisiana. L.J. Cryer added 17 points off the bench. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Luka Garza finished with 41 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 103-76 victory over Southern. The CBS Sports Preseason National Player of the Year was 14-of-15 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. | 1 | 19-15 |
| 4 |  | Ayo Dosunmu made two late free throws to secure Friday's 77-75 victory over Ohio. The junior guard is averaging 25.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists through three games. | 1 | 29-9 |
| 5 |  | Christian Braun finished with 30 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 94-72 victory over Saint Joseph's. The Jayhawks' lone loss is a loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Jalen Johnson finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds in Saturday's 81-71 victory over Coppin State. DJ Steward added 24 points and nine assists off the bench. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Four of the five starters from a team that was the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament are back - most notably Marcus Zegarowski, a CBS Sports First Team Preseason All-American. It's a core that should give Creighton a realistic chance to make its first Final Four in school history. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 8 |  | D'Mitrik Trice finished with 15 points and three assists in Friday's 92-58 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Badgers' two wins have come by an average of 22.0 points. | 1 | 22-14 |
| 9 |  | Aaron Henry finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 80-70 victory over Notre Dame. Rocket Watts added 13 points and six assists off the bench. | 1 | 20-15 |
| 10 |  | Tennessee is adding five-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson to a proven core of John Fulkerson and Yves Pons. It's an experienced and talented roster that most believe will result in a nice bounce-back season for Rick Barnes' Vols. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | B.J. Boston finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 81-45 victory over Morehead State. Terrence Clarke added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. | 1 | 23-10 |
| 12 |  | Keve Aluma finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 81-73 victory over Villanova. The junior forward is averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 rebounds through two games. | NR | 19-15 |
| 13 |  | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 81-73 loss to Virginia Tech. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Saint Joseph's. | 10 | 18-16 |
| 14 |  | Derek Culver finished with 15 points in Friday's 70-64 victory over Western Kentucky. The Mountaineers won the Crossover Classic by beating South Dakota State, VCU and WKU. | 1 | 9-23 |
| 15 |  | The Cavaliers uncharacteristically gave up 40 second-half points in Friday's 61-60 loss to San Francisco. Virginia missed nine of the 12 3-pointers it attempted. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 16 |  | Quentin Grimes finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 68-58 victory over Boise State. The former McDonald's All-American is averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds through two games. | 1 | 32-5 |
| 17 |  | Mac McClung finished with 18 points and two assists in Friday's 84-52 victory over Sam Houston State. The Red Raiders have won their two games by an average of 37.5 points. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Caleb Love made all eight of his free throw attempts and finished with 17 points, four assists and two steals in Wednesday's 79-60 victory over Charleston. Day'Ron Sharpe added 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 19 |  | Justice Sueing finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals in Wednesday's 94-67 victory over Illinois State. CJ Walker added 10 points and six assists. | 1 | 22-14 |
| 20 |  | Courtney Ramey finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds in Wednesday's 91-55 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley. Greg Brown added 11 points and 10 rebounds. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 21 |  | Two of the best three scorers from the Pac-12 champs are returning - among them former JUCO National Player of the Year Chris Duarte. If the Ducks get a waiver for St. John's transfer LJ Figueroa, they'll be even stronger and clearly talented enough to win back-to-back league titles. | 1 | 24-12 |
| 22 |  | Ron Harper Jr. finished with 30 points and four rebounds in Friday's 96-75 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Scarlet Knights won without senior guard Geo Baker, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. | 1 | 15-17 |
| 23 |  | Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 89-59 victory over Tennessee Tech. Trey Galloway added 13 points off the bench. | 1 | 19-14 |
| 24 |  | Remy Martin took eight shots but only made two of them in Thursday's 83-74 loss to Villanova. The Sun Devils finished with nine turnovers and only eight assists. | -- | 14-18 |
| 25 |  | The Seminoles lost three of the top four scorers from a team that won the ACC. But the arrival of Scottie Barnes will give Leonard Hamilton a chance to finish in the top four of the league for the fourth time in a five-year span. | -- | 17-16 |
| 26 |  | Isaiah Livers finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 96-82 victory over Bowling Green. Hunter Dickinson added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. | -- | 8-24 |
