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CBS Sports Graphic

I spent Saturday night writing about North Carolina's struggles because I thought the Tar Heels getting blown out again, this time at home by a rival, was a more interesting topic to explore than Duke looking awesome again.

But Duke did look awesome again. 

The Blue Devils opened on a 19-5 run, led by as many as 28 points and cruised to an 87-67 victory that extended their winning streak to five games. They're now 19-3 with wins over Gonzaga and Kentucky and losses to Ohio State, Miami and Florida State. Those latter two losses fall in Quadrant 2, which obviously isn't great. But the fact that Duke's three losses have come by a combined eight points highlights just how close the Blue Devils are to being 20-2 or 21-1 or even 22-0 right now.

And how about AJ Griffin?

The 6-foot-6 freshman began the season still recovering from a knee injury and barely played early. He averaged just 10.4 minutes in Duke's first eight contests and played six-or-fewer minutes three times. But after a 71-66 loss at Ohio State in which Griffin only played two minutes, Mike Krzyzewski made it a point to prioritize getting the projected lottery pick comfortable in the rotation, and it's now paying off with the latest example being Griffin's career-best effort at North Carolina. He took 17 shots, made 11 of them and finished with 27 points and four rebounds against the Tar Heels.

"We wanted to run a couple of things for him," Krzyzewski told reporters afterward. "We ran one thing -- and he just, he went off."

Duke is up to No. 8 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 26th straight day. Bruce Pearl's Tigers are on a 19-game winning streak and remain the only team in the country that still hasn't lost in regulation.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers
4 Kansas
7 UCLA
Rk
Teams
  
Chg
Rcrd
1 Auburn Auburn is 12-1 in the first two quadrants and on a 19-game winning streak. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Arkansas. -- 7-3
2 Gonzaga Gonzaga has won 12 straight games by double-digits since losing to Alabama. The Zags' next game is Thursday against Pacific. -- 9-1
3 Kentucky Kentucky is 7-4 in the first two quadrants with all four losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at South Carolina. -- 6-4
4 Arizona Arizona is 7-2 in the first two quadrants with the losses coming at Tennessee and at UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Monday at Arizona State. 1 8-0
5 Kansas Kansas is 12-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Baylor, Michigan State and Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Monday at Texas. 4 7-3
6 Houston Houston's 11-game winning streak features nine double-digit victories. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Cincinnati. 1 8-1
7 Purdue Purdue is 10-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Villanova, Ohio State and Illinois. The Boilermakers' next game is Tuesday against Illinois. 1 8-1
8 Duke Duke is 7-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Gonzaga and Kentucky and losses to Miami and Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Monday against Virginia. 4 10-0
9 Baylor Baylor is 11-4 in the first two quadrants but just 4-4 in its past eight games with a 24-point loss at Kansas. The Bears' next game is Wednesday at Kansas State. 5 7-2
10 Texas Tech Texas Tech is 9-5 in the first two quadrants with all five losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Red Raiders' next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma. 1 7-2
11 Providence Providence's 5-1 Quadrant 1 record includes wins over Wisconsin, Texas Tech and Marquette. The Friars' next game is Sunday at Georgetown. 2 7-4
12 Illinois Illinois' 9-5 record in the first two quadrants includes two losses in which All-American Kofi Cockburn did not play. The Illini's next game is Tuesday at Purdue. 3 8-2
13 UCLA UCLA is 6-3 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Arizona State falling in Quadrant 3. The Bruins' next game is Tuesday at Stanford. 7 7-2
14 Marquette Marquette is 8-1 in its past nine contests with two wins over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at UConn. -- 5-5
15 Wisconsin Wisconsin is 10-4 in the first two quadrants with wins over Purdue, Houston, Ohio State and Marquette. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Michigan State. 1 7-2
16 Michigan St. Michigan State is 9-5 in the first two quadrants but just 3-3 in its past six games with a 21-point loss at Rutgers. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Wisconsin. 6 8-1
17 Villanova Villanova is 8-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at St. John's. -- 7-2
18 Ohio St. Ohio State is 6-5 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday against Iowa. 1 7-2
19 Texas Texas is 8-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Tennessee and Iowa State. The Longhorns' next game is Monday against Kansas. 4 7-3
20 Tennessee Tennessee is 8-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Vols' next game is Wednesday at Mississippi State. -- 7-3
21 Saint Mary's Saint Mary's is 5-4 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Gaels' next game is Tuesday at Santa Clara. 1 9-1
22 Iowa St. Iowa State is 7-7 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech, Xavier and Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday at West Virginia. 1 9-0
23 Davidson Davidson is 18-1 in its past 19 games with a win over Alabama. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against St. Joseph's. 2 7-2
24 Xavier Xavier is 9-5 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to DePaul falling in Quadrant 3. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday at Seton Hall. 6 7-3
25 UConn UConn is 5-6 in the first two quadrants with five of the six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Marquette. 1 9-1
26 Alabama Alabama's résumé includes six Quadrant 1 wins - among them victories over Gonzaga, Houston and Baylor. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Ole Miss. -- 7-2