The Duke Blue Devils have a slight improvement in the Associated Poll Top 25 rankings, as they go up from 22nd place to No. 21. That's some good news for Duke basketball, which snapped a two-game skid by blasting the Charlotte 49ers at home last Saturday to the tune of an 8-56 score.

Before that win, Duke basketball suffered back-to-back losses at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks (80-75) in Fayetteville and the Georgie Tech Yellow Jackets (72-68) in Atlanta. Those are brutal losses for the Blue Devils, especially since those were against teams ranked outside the top 100 in NET rankings.

Duke can't afford to lose to the Hofstra Pride this Tuesday if the Blue Devils still want to see their name inside the Top 25 next week. Duke basketball can also further improve its ranking by beating Hofstra, which wouldn't move the needle much for John Scheyer's team, and with a win against No. 6 Baylor Bears at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.

The Blue Devils have yet to face a top 10 team this season, so expect them to put extra focus on Baylor, which could potentially be the only opportunity for Duke to score a win against such a squad.

Duke is also just 1-1 against ranked teams this season. The Blue Devils lost to then-No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks (78-73) on Nov. 10 before taking down then-No. 18 Michigan State Spartans (74-65) on Nov. 16.

Last season, the Blue Devils made their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament but were eliminated in the second round in Scheyer's first season as head coach.