Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: North Carolina, Vanderbilt move up in college basketball rankings prediction
The top 10 will largely remain the same, and several teams will likely draw first-place votes again
By
Kyle Boone
•
6 min read
AP voters earned an early holiday gift from the college basketball gods with a chalky, sleepy week of results in which all teams ranked inside the top-11 either did not play or did not lose. In total, only five teams ranked in last week's poll sustained a loss.
Voters can't mail in their ballots without exerting some effort but the top-10 very well could remain the same as it was last week. And that's how I'm expecting it to look when the poll is released Monday.
The big tweaks will come in the teens this week with No. 12 Alabama, No. 13 Illinois, No. 16 Texas Tech and No. 18 Florida all sustaining losses. No. 23 Nebraska's win over No. 13 Illinois and No. 25 UCLA's loss to No. 8 Gonzaga should also be a factor in the final tabulations.
The biggest riser should be Nebraska, which only appeared last week in the AP poll for the first time this season at No. 23. Its win over a No. 13 Illinois team all but guarantees it will bump up into the teens -- ahead of Illinois. Nebraska is one of only seven undefeated teams still standing.
So how else might the rankings shift around Monday?
My projection for how voters will cast their ballots is below -- with Arizona and Michigan clinging to the top two spots after another perfect week.
| 1 |  |
| Beat No. 12 Alabama 96-75. Arizona made a statement after ascending to No. 1 in the AP poll last week with a 96-75 win over No. 12 Alabama on Saturday. It is 9-0 on the season with five wins over top-20 foes. Last week: 1 | |
| 2 |  |
| Beat Villanova 89-61; beat Maryland 101-83. Michigan flipped the script in a big way Saturday in turning a nine-point second-half deficit into a win over Maryland in College Park. UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points and nine assists in the comeback as UM improved to 10-0. Last week: 2 | |
| 3 |  |
| Did not play. Duke won three consecutive games over three ranked opponents before its idle week that should keep it at No. 3 in the rankings Monday. Last week: 3 | |
| 4 |  |
| Beat Eastern Illinois 78-53. A win over in-state rival Iowa pushed the Cyclones to 10-0 this week with just over two weeks of nonconference play remaining. Iowa State will be favored by double digits in each of its next three games before Big 12 play. Last week: 4 | |
| 5 |  |
| Beat No. 18 Florida 77-73; beat Texas 71-63. Wins over Florida and Texas by four and eight points, respectively, should keep UConn comfortably inside the top five this week. The Huskies are 10-1 and off to their best start since their last title season in 2023-24. Last week: 5 | |
| 6 |  |
| Beat Minnesota 85-57; beat Marquette 79-59. Purdue responded from its 81-58 loss at home last Saturday with wins over Minnesota and Marquette this week by margins of 28 and 20 points, respectively. Those beatdowns helped Purdue take over as the top offense in adjusted efficiency margin at KenPom. Last week: 6 | |
| 7 |  |
| Beat Jackson State 80-38; beat New Orleans 99-57. Houston extended its winning streak to four this week with wins over Jackson State and New Orleans at home. It is 10-1 with its lone loss coming in Vegas to Tennessee during Thanksgiving week. Last week: 7 | |
| 8 |  |
| Beat No. 25 UCLA 82-72 A perfect start to December continued this week with a win over UCLA. It has defeated Kentucky and North Florida in the last two weeks since suffering its first loss of the season to Michigan on Nov. 26. Last week: 8 | |
| 9 |  |
| Beat Penn State 76-72. Michigan State passed its first true road test of the season Saturday with a 76-72 win at Penn State. It is 2-0 in Big Ten play and 9-1 on the season. Last week: 9 | |
| 10 |  |
| Beat Clemson 67-64; beat UC Riverside 100-53. AJ Dybantsa scored a combined 54 points in two BYU wins this week -- including in a remarkable second-half comeback vs. Clemson in which he scored 22 of his 28 points in the final 20 minutes of play. The Cougars' (9-1) non-league schedule lets up significantly before Big 12 play opens Jan. 3. Last week: 10 | |
| 11 |  |
| Beat Memphis 99-73. The resilience of this Louisville team was on full display this week with wins over Indiana and Memphis after falling to Arkansas on Dec. 3 in disappointing fashion. Cardinals left no doubt in each win and blew Memphis out, 99-73, on Saturday. Last week: 11 | |
| 12 |  |
| Beat USC Upstate 80-62. Losses by last week's No. 12 and No. 13-ranked teams could push UNC up the ranks this week. UNC handled business in its only outing with an 80-62 win over USC Upstate. Last week: 12 | |
| 13 |  |
| Beat Central Arkansas 83-72. I'm projecting another rise for Vanderbilt for a fourth consecutive week. It beat Central Arkansas over the weekend and two ranked teams ahead of it in the poll last week suffered losses. Last week: 15 | |
| 14 |  |
| Beat No. 16 Texas Tech 93-86. Arkansas secured a big win over Texas Tech in Dallas over the weekend for its second win over a ranked opponent in its last three outings. The Razorbacks (8-2) also own a huge win over Louisville on its resume. Last week: 17 | |
| 15 |  |
| Lost to No. 1 Arizona 96-75. We'll see Alabama drop several spots in the rankings this week after taking its licks vs. No. 1 Arizona on Saturday. That's Alabama's third loss of the season. Last week: 12 | |
| 16 |  |
| Beat Wisconsin 90-60; beat No. 13 Illinois 83-80. Do not be surprised if Nebraska is the biggest riser in the poll Monday. Its undefeated season stayed alive over the weekend with a road win over Illinois, 83-80, to move to 11-0 on the year. Last week: 23 | |
| 17 |  |
| Beat Ohio State 88-80; lost to No. 23 Nebraska 83-80. Illinois has fallen in three of its last seven outings, culminating with its first home loss of the season Saturday to Nebraska. AP voters have no choice, logically, but to put the Illini below Nebraska on their ballots this week, but the gap should be small. Last week: 13 | |
| 18 |  |
| Beat North Carolina State 77-76, OT. Darryn Peterson returned to action last Sunday and, not coincidentally, that resulted in Kansas stringing together two important wins over Missouri and NC State. KU won the latter in overtime on Saturday with Melvin Council exploding for 36 points. Last week: 19 | |
| 19 |  |
| Lost to No. 17 Arkansas 93-86. Another opportunity for a big ranked win was squandered by Texas Tech on Saturday in a 93-86 loss to Arkansas. It also lost to Illinois by four points in November and no-showed vs. Purdue on a neutral floor in November. Last week: 16 | |
| 20 |  |
| Did not play. Tennessee did not play this week and the timing couldn't have been better. It is in the midst of a three-game losing skid with Louisville on deck Tuesday in Knoxville. Last week: 20 | |
| 21 |  |
| Beat Chattanooga 92-78. Keyshawn Hall scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds and six assists in a sensational outing vs. Chattanooga over the weekend. The performance led Auburn to a win over Chattanooga on the heels of a tough road loss to Arizona by 19 points. Last week: 21 | |
| 22 |  |
| Lost to No. 5 UConn 77-73; beat George Washington 80-70. Reigning champion Florida suffered its fourth loss of the season this week before bouncing back with a win over George Washington. The Gators have been competitive but struggled to close out close contests. Last week: 18 | |
| 23 |  |
| Beat Iona 91-64. Rick Pitino led his current team (St. John's) to a win over his former team (Iona), 91-64, in the Red Storm's final game before their first conference showdown. They open league play vs. DePaul at home Tuesday. Last week: 22 | |
| 24 |  |
| Beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 84-60. Virginia improved to 9-1 under first-year coach Ryan Odom this week with a resounding win over Maryland Eastern Shore. Last week: 24 | |
| 25 |  |
| Beat San Diego 94-81. USC could be back in the rankings this week after No. 25 UCLA lost over the weekend to Gonzaga. Iowa could also be in the mix to jump into the rankings. Last week: NR | |
