The days leading up to Christmas always make for a pretty uninteresting week in the sport of college basketball because most programs are getting ready to let their players break for the holiday. This season, it's a week that'll feature exactly one game between two ranked schools. That's obviously not fun. So if you were hoping to settle in for some can't-miss matchups, well, my condolences.
Three of the four remaining undefeated teams are playing Tuesday, though.
Undefeated UConn is hosting Georgetown. Undefeated Mississippi State is playing Drake inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Nebraska. Undefeated New Mexico is hosting Prairie View A&M. Of that group, only New Mexico is yet to crack the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, but the Lobos probably deserve more consideration than the predictive metrics suggest because they are 11-0 with a road win over the Saint Mary's team that is ranked 22nd at KenPom.com.
That's great stuff from Richard Pitino.
His team is on my radar.
UConn and Mississippi State are No. 2 and No. 11, respectively, in Tuesday morning's updated Top 25 And 1. The Huskies are 12-0 with four Quadrant 1 wins — among them an 82-67 neutral-court victory over Alabama. The Bulldogs are 11-0 with two Quadrant 1 wins — among them a 58-55 neutral-court victory over Marquette. If you were putting together an early list of national coach of the year candidates, UConn's Dan Hurley and Mississippi State's Chris Jans would both have to be on it. Hurley, now in Year 5 at UConn, has created this monster of a team exactly the way he promised he would. Jans, meantime, is proving his reputation as a man with real coaching chops is well-deserved. He won four Western Athletic Conference titles in five years at New Mexico State and now has Mississippi State on track to make the NCAA Tournament in his first season after replacing Ben Howland.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 69-61 win over Davidson. The Boilermakers' next game is Wednesday against New Orleans. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 68-46 win at Butler. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Georgetown. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jarace Walker finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 69-61 win at Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against McNeese State. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 75-70 win over Tennessee. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Montana State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 84-62 win over Indiana. The Jayhawks' next game is Thursday against Harvard. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Virginia missed 16 of the 22 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 69-61 loss to Houston. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday at Miami. | -- | 23-11 |
| 7 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and five assists in Sunday's 72-62 win over Stanford. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Louisiana. | -- | 21-13 |
| 8 |  | Drew Timme finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 100-90 win over Alabama. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Montana. | -- | 27-8 |
| 9 |  | Alabama allowed Gonzaga to shoot 57.1% from the field in Saturday's 100-90 loss to the Zags. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against Jackson State. | -- | 25-12 |
| 10 |  | Jordan Walsh finished with 18 points and four steals in Saturday's 76-57 win over Bradley. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against UNC Asheville. | -- | 16-17 |
| 11 |  | Tolu Smith finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 68-66 win over Nicholls State. The Bulldogs' next game is Tuesday against Drake. | -- | 21-14 |
| 12 |  | Keyonte George finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 65-59 win over Washington State. The Bears' next game is Tuesday against Northwestern State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 13 |  | Tennessee missed 19 of the 27 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 75-70 loss at Arizona. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Austin Peay. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 63-53 win over Kentucky. The Bruins' next game is Wednesday against UC Davis. | -- | 16-17 |
| 15 |  | Dariq Whitehead finished with 15 points and two assists in Saturday's 82-55 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | -- | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Indiana allowed Kansas to shoot 51.5% from the field in Saturday's 84-62 loss. The Hoosiers' next game is Tuesday against Elon. | -- | 19-14 |
| 17 |  | Mathew Mayer finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 68-47 win over Alabama A&M. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Missouri. | -- | 29-9 |
| 18 |  | Only one Kentucky starter finished with more than eight points in Saturday's 63-53 loss to UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Florida A&M. | -- | 23-10 |
| 19 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 69-58 win over Creighton. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 27-10 |
| 20 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 78-56 win over Lehigh. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | -- | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | Souley Boum finished with 28 points and seven assists in Friday's 102-89 win at Georgetown. The Musketeers' next game is Tuesday against Seton Hall. | -- | 16-18 |
| 22 |  | Erik Stevenson finished with 22 points and four assists in Sunday's 96-78 win over Buffalo. The Mountaineers' next game is Thursday against Stony Brook. | -- | 9-23 |
| 23 |  | Isaiah Wong finished with 22 points and 10 assists in Saturday's 91-76 win over St. Francis (Pa.). The Hurricanes' next game is Tuesday against Virginia. | -- | 15-17 |
| 24 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 21 points and six assists in Saturday's 74-48 win over Grambling. The Hokies' next game is Wednesday against Boston College. | -- | 19-15 |
| 25 |  | Armando Bacot scored 28 points and had 15 rebounds in Saturday's 89-84 overtime win over Ohio State. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Michigan. | -- | 29-8 |
| 26 |  | Ohio State finished with 16 turnovers in Saturday's 89-84 overtime loss to North Carolina. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday against Maine. | -- | 22-14 |
