Duke ascends to top spot in Coaches Poll, Florida continues its climb as postseason approaches
Duke and Florida are two top teams hitting their stride as March approaches
By
Will Backus
Feb 23, 2026
at
12:40 pm ET
•
1 min read
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There is another new team atop the college basketball mountain as March approaches. Duke, fresh off of its win against former No. 1 Michigan, ascended to the top spot in this week’s Coaches Poll.
The Wolverines didn’t fall too far, as they checked in at No. 3The Blue Devils, meanwhile, jumped past Michigan and Houston, which lost a pair of battles against top-10 opponents last week.
Duke, led by star freshman Cameron Boozer, who scored 18 points in the win against Michigan, is pushing for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils have only lost once (to top rival North Carolina) since the start of the new year and nine of their last 10 wins have come by at least 13 points.
Elsewhere, reigning national champion Florida continues to dominate in SEC play after struggling a bit against a tough non-conference slate. The Gators, who returned to the top 10 by leaping four spots to No. 7 are running away with the conference race at 12-2 in league play. The next three teams — Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — are all tied at 10-4.
Florida is riding a seven-game winning streak. The Gators boast an average margin of victory of 21.6 points per game in that span.
Here’s a look at the Feb. 23 Coaches Poll in its entirety.
