Record: (7-0) This week: beat Eastern Illinois 109-62 Purdue made the most of its lone outing during the holiday week with a victory vs. Eastern Illinois . Daniel Jacobsen had 24 points and nine rebounds in the win and Braden Smith , second in the NCAA in assists, finished with 10 dimes in 23 minutes of action. Last week: No. 12
Record: (7-0) This week: beat Denver 103-73; beat Norfolk State 98-61 Two outings led to two Arizona wins this week over Denver and Norfolk State in nonconference tune-ups heading into December. The Wildcats face Auburn and Alabama in their first games of December over the next two Saturdays. Last week: No. 23
Record: (8-0) This week: beat No. 22 Arkansas 80-71 Cameron Boozer and Duke put on a clinic Thursday vs. Arkansas in an 80-71 win. Boozer had a career-high 35 points and added nine rebounds in the win as the Blue Devils advanced to 8-0 on the season. They face Florida on Tuesday. Last week: No. 44
Record: (6-1) This week: beat No. 13 Illinois 74-61 Since that Nov. 19 loss to Arizona, UConn has played angry and played well, winning both its games vs. Bryant and most recently vs. Illinois . The win over the Illini was an important and impressive one as the Huskies held them to a season-low in scoring. Last week: No. 55
Record: (7-0) This week: beat San Diego State 94-54; beat No. 21 Auburn 102-72; beat No. 12 Gonzaga 101-61 A 3-0 week with wins over SDSU, Auburn and Gonzaga by an average margin of 36.7 points? [Tim Robinson voice]: Yeah, that’ll do. I’d say that’ll do. Michigan is 7-0 now on the season heading into December. It’s the first time since 2020-21 the Wolverines are unbeaten heading into December. Last week: No. 76
Record: (7-1) This week: beat Syracuse 78-74, OT; lost to No. 17 Tennessee 76-73; beat Notre Dame 66-56 I’d say Houston so far this season has had its B- game. That’s impressive considering it is 7-1 heading to December with its lone loss coming to Tennessee this week by a final margin of three points. Last week: No. 37
Record: (7-0) This week: beat Eastern Michigan 87-46; beat NJIT 104-47 Undefeated entering the month of December, six of Louisville ‘s seven wins have come by double figures. It leads the country in scoring margin. Last week: No. 68
Record: (6-1) This week: beat Miami 72-62; beat Dayton 83-79 BYU won its third straight Friday since losing Nov. 15 to UConn. That win streak includes double-digit wins over Wisconsin and Miami and an 83-79 over a resilient Dayton club. Last week: No. 99
Record: (7-1) This week: beat No. 8 Alabama 95-85; beat Maryland 100-61; lost to No. 7 Michigan 101-61 The last time we saw Gonzaga on the floor, Michigan was wiping the floor with it in a beatdown of the Zags. I still project a move up the ranks this week for Mark Few’s team because of what it did earlier in the week in wins over Alabama and Maryland by 10 and 39 points, respectively. Last week: No. 1210
Record: (7-0) This week: beat East Carolina 89-56; beat No. 16 North Carolina 74-58 At some point Michigan State will get credit for its impressive start to the season. Perhaps this is the week. It defeated No. 16 North Carolina on Thursday for its third win over a ranked opponent this season. Last week: No. 1111
Record: (7-0) This week: beat No. 14 St. John’s 83-82; beat Creighton 78-60; beat Syracuse 95-64 Iowa State didn’t win the Players Era — much less play for the money by week’s end — but it was nonetheless an impressive week for TJ Otzelberger’s Cyclones as they went 3-0 and beat St. John’s , Creighton and Syracuse . Last week: No. 1512
Record: (5-2) This week: lost to No. 12 Gonzaga 95-85; beat UNLV 115-76; beat Maryland 105-72 Alabama could and should fall out of the top 10 this week after a second loss on the season, though both losses — to Purdue by seven and to Gonzaga by 10 — shouldn’t cause it to lose much respect among voters. Last week: No. 813
Record: (6-2) This week: beat Texas Rio Grande Valley 87-73; lost to No. 5 UConn 74-61 Illinois fell to 1-2 vs. ranked opponents on the season Friday when it fell to UConn. It still has the No. 13 offense in efficiency margin on the season scoring a blistering 1.242 points per possession — despite a season-low 61 points in the loss. Last week: No. 1314
Record: (5-2) This week: lost to TCU 84-80; beat Providence 90-78 The Florida we’ve seen this season looks like a shell of the one from last season that won the national title. So far. It fell for a second time this season on Thursday this time to TCU 84-80. It is 5-2 on the season with No. 4 Duke and No. 5 UConn on tap the next two games. It could get worse before it gets better in Gainesville. Last week: No. 1015
Record: (7-1) This week: beat Rutgers 85-60; beat No. 3 Houston 76-73; lost to Kansas 81-76 Tennessee played its first ranked opponent this week and acquitted itself well in a win over Houston — only to lose the next day to unranked Kansas . I still think voters move the Vols up a smidge this week in the polls but they should still remain in the mid teens. Last week: No. 1716
Record: (6-2) This week: beat Oregon 84-73; lost to No. 7 Michigan 102-72; beat No. 14 St. John’s 85-74 Auburn’s head-to-head win vs. St. John’s this week should give it a bump in the polls and push it past the Red Storm. It is 6-2 on the season with its lone losses coming vs. then-No. 1 Houston and No. 7 Michigan. Last week: No. 2117
Record: (4-3) This week: lost to No. 15 Iowa State 83-82; beat Baylor 96-81; lost to No. 21 Auburn 85-74 St. John’s is one of the teams I’m most fascinated to see how voters handle this week. It lost by one point to No. 15 Iowa State and by 11 to No. 21 Auburn in Vegas, sandwiched between a quality 96-81 win over Baylor . The losses aren’t egregious but the record isn’t ideal even if all three defeats came vs. ranked foes. Last week: No. 1418
Record: (5-2) This week: beat Tennessee Tech 104-54 Wins over Loyola-Maryland and Tennessee Tech won’t move the needle for voters even if they were by a gazillion combined points. UK will have chances to prove itself again soon, though, with UNC and Gonzaga on the schedule over the next week. Last week: No. 1919
Record: (6-2) This week: beat New Orleans 82-50, beat Wyoming 76-72 Coming off an ugly 30-point loss to No. 1 Purdue, Texas Tech blasted New Orleans on Wednesday behind Christian Anderson ‘s 23 points and JT Toppin ‘s 16 rebounds and then struggled vs. the Cowboys on Sunday. It’s been a mixed bag for the Red Raiders so far this season but there has been plenty to build on heading into December. Last week: No. 2020
Record: (8-0) This week: beat Western Kentucky 83-78; beat VCU 89-74; beat Saint Mary’s 96-71 Last week I correctly predicted Vanderbilt would be ranked in the AP poll. This week, I predict I will be correct again in the Commodores getting a nice bump up several spots. Their scoring offense is second in college basketball and that has led them to an 8-0 start. Last week: No. 2421
Record: (6-1) This week: beat St. Bonaventure 85-70; lost to No. 11 Michigan State 74-58 In what was a highly anticipated measuring-stick game for North Carolina, the No. 16 Tar Heels struggled this week vs. No. 11 Michigan State, suffering its first loss of the season by 16 points. Last week: No. 1622
Record: (7-0) This week: beat Kansas State 86-69; beat Bethune-Cookman 100-56 Indiana ‘s perfect start to the season now has some sparkle on it after beating Kansas State this week by 17 points in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are 7-0 entering December. Last week: No. 2523
Record: (5-2) This week: lost to California 80-72 Cal beat in-state rival UCLA this week in the Empire Classic Championship game to hand the Bruins their second loss on the season. Star guard Donovan Dent was held to just three points in the loss. Last week: No. 1824
Record: (6-2) This week: beat Notre Dame 71-61, beat Syracuse 71-60, beat No. 17 Tennessee 81-76 Without star Darryn Peterson in Vegas this week, Kansas managed to go 3-0 in wins over Notre Dame , Syracuse and Tennessee. The win over the Vols could push the Jayhawks back into the AP poll after dropping out last week. Last week: NR25
Record: (5-2) This week: beat No. 10 Florida 84-80, beat Wisconsin 74-63 Despite two losses on the season (one to New Orleans — woof!), TCU’s resume now includes wins over Florida and Wisconsin after a strong performance at the Rady Children’s Invitational. TCU could be earning votes and even appear in the poll this week, which seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago. Last week: NR
