Duke's the 1

It's almost like Coach K knew this was coming.

A couple of weeks ago, Duke's coach was lamenting that his Blue Devils weren't being feted by the local media for being the nation's No. 2 team. They were 13-1, but behind Pitt. When Wake Forest upended UNC and Pitt lost, the Deacs went to the top spot.

And now? Duke is No. 1. For the 111^th week in school history. Only UCLA has been atop the polls more often.

"Any level of high success, even though it's not permanent with a No. 1 ranking, it's a good benchmark," Mike Krzyzewski said Monday.

Duke (18-1) hadn't been No. 1 since J.J. Redick's senior season, three long years ago. Seriously, when you're Duke and you haven't been No. 1 since the 2005-06 season, that's an eternity. The players have said as much. They want everyone to know just how good they are.

"For us, the last couple years, the one thing we've developed is a chip on our shoulder," Jon Scheyer told the Raleigh News & Observer. "Going into [the Maryland game], or going into any game, we just feel like we have something to prove."

Duke gets a chance to answer more questions Wednesday when it plays at No. 6 Wake Forest.

More news and notes from Monday:

• The Blue Devils, for tempo-free fans, also are atop kenpom.com's rankings and sports -- by far -- the best conference-only efficiency margin among BCS teams. Impressive indeed.
• Speaking of efficiency margins, SI.com's Luke Winn has targeted the sleeper team of the season that no one's talking about. Here's a hint: They're Tigers.
• Mark Gottfried, fired.
• Indiana charged $5 for balcony seats Sunday against Minnesota and actually made Assembly Hall a nasty place to play. It makes me sad that the Hoosiers can't fill the place.
• Houston's Aubrey Coleman is sorry for stepping on Chase Budinger's face.
• Brandon Jennings was going to attend Arizona, but opted for Europe instead. Turns out you don't have to go to college to learn about regrets.
• How to improve free-throw shooting and reach first place in the Pac-10, by the Washington Huskies.

• Lastly, a detailed look at NJIT, its 51-game losing streak and what happens next.