Christmas week in college basketball provided a reprieve from the typical madness of the sport with six top-10 teams taking the week off and only three ranked teams of the many who did play suffering defeat. That should make for a relatively easy week for AP voters as they prep their ballots for Monday.
I'm not expecting any changes to the top 10 of the poll this week as a result of rest and lack of drama. However, there will be plenty of movement elsewhere in the latest rankings after No. 14 Gonzaga, No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 20 San Diego State all stumbled.
So below is how I expect AP voters will react to all the results that were in our weekly Tomorrow's Top 25 Today.
| 1 |  |
| Last week: No. 1 -- Tennessee lost some of its footing as the No. 1 team last week, but it appears voters will continue ranking the Vols over Auburn unless they take a loss. That won't happen this week; they went 1-0 with an 18-point win over Middle Tennessee. Record: 12-0 | This week's results: defeated Middle Tennessee 82-64 | |
| 2 |  |
| Last week: No. 2 -- No games for Auburn this week. The Tigers earned 21 of 62 first-place votes last week and should remain firmly planted at No. 2 again come Monday. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: No games | |
| 3 |  |
| Last week: No. 3 -- The only game of consequence for Iowa State the last two weeks came vs. Iowa. The Cyclones were off this week after back-to-back beatdowns vs. sub-300 KenPom teams. Record: 10-1 | This week's results: No games | |
| 4 |  |
| Last week: No. 4 -- Duke has a 10-day break between games and will resume its ACC schedule Tuesday vs. Virginia Tech. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: No games | |
| 5 |  |
| Last week: No. 5 -- Alabama handled its business at home Sunday in its only game of the week, defeating South Dakota State 105-82. Sophomore Aden Holloway and freshman Labaron Philon went for 26 and 21 points, respectively, in the win. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: defeated South Dakota State 105-82 | |
| 6 |  |
| Last week: No. 6 -- Nonconference play wrapped for Florida on Sunday with an 85-45 win for the Gators. They head into SEC play on Saturday with a perfect 13-0 record. Record: 13-0 | This week's results: defeated Stetson 85-45 | |
| 7 |  |
| Last week: No. 7 -- The preseason No. 1 Jayhawks were off this week and will begin their Big 12 schedule Tuesday at home vs. West Virginia. Record: 9-2 | This week's results: No games | |
| 8 |  |
| Last week: No. 8 -- Marquette won its first two Big East games heading into last week but is in the midst of a 10-day break before resuming conference play on New Year's Eve. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: No games | |
| 9 |  |
| Last week: No. 9 -- Oregon's near-perfect run through nonconference play finished up Sunday with an emphatic 89-49 home win over Weber State. The Ducks should be comfortably ranked in the top 10 for a third consecutive week. Record: 12-1 | This week's results: defeated Weber State 89-49 | |
| 10 |  |
| Last week: No. 10 -- Kentucky's nonconference finale is on deck for Tuesday at home vs. Brown. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: No games | |
| 11 |  |
| Last week: No. 11 -- With six consecutive wins after a three-game Maui skid, UConn will likely be just outside the top 10 again this week. Record: 10-3 | This week's results: No games | |
| 12 |  |
| Last week: No. 12 -- Freshman sensation Jeremiah Fears scored 19 points and led OU to a comfortable home win Sunday to get the Sooners out of nonconference play at 13-0. Record: 13-0 | This week's results: defeated Prairie View A&M 89-67 | |
| 13 |  |
| Last week: No. 13 -- Texas A&M's only game of the week came vs. Abilene Christian where the Aggies won by 38 points after entering the game as heavy favorites. It likely won't move the needle for voters who had them No. 13 last week. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: defeated Abilene Christian 92-54 | |
| 14 |  |
| Last week: No. 15 -- A loss by last week's No. 14-ranked team, Gonzaga, should give Houston a tiny bump this week despite not playing. Record: 8-3 | This week's results: No games | |
| 15 |  |
| Last week: No. 17 -- With No. 14 Gonzaga and No. 16 Ole Miss suffering losses this week, idle Cincinnati is in line to jump into the top 15. Record: 10-1 | This week's results: No games | |
| 16 |  |
| Last week: No. 18 -- Michigan State is in line to move up in the poll for the third consecutive week after Gonzaga and Ole Miss losses. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: No games | |
| 17 |  |
| Last week: No 19 -- No games for Chris Jans' Bulldogs this week. They're back in action Monday for their nonconference finale vs. Bethune Cookman. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: No games | |
| 18 |  |
| Last week: No. 22 -- A big win Saturday over No. 14 Gonzaga served as a nice bounceback for the Bruins after coughing up a big lead the week prior in a close loss to North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: Defeated Gonzaga 65-62 | |
| 19 |  |
| Last week: No. 14 -- Gonzaga's been competitive in each of its four losses, all to quality teams, but at some point voters will have to dock them considerably. A fall out of the rankings seems possible, but a close loss to another ranked team may be enough to keep them in this range, I suspect. Record: 9-4 | This week's results: Lost to UCLA 65-62 | |
| 20 |  |
| Last week: No. 21 -- Braden Smith scored a career-high 34 points Sunday to lead the Boilermakers past Toledo at home and into the heart of Big Ten play starting next Sunday. Purdue is 9-4 and back in the winner's circle after losing back to back games in mid-December to Texas A&M and Auburn. Record: 9-4 | This week's results: defeated Toledo 84-63 | |
 | |
| Last week: No. 23 -- No games this week for John Calipari's Razorbacks. They're back in action Monday for their nonconference finale vs. Oakland before SEC play begins. Record: 10-3 | This week's results: No games | |
| 22 |  |
| Last week: No. 16 -- A road loss to a Memphis team that has shown it is capable of playing at a high level shouldn't be enough to kick the Rebels entirely out of the top 25 but should be enough to get them out of the top 20. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: lost to Memphis 87-70 | |
| 23 |  |
| Last week: No. 24 -- The only game of the week for Illinois was hardly a game at all. Tomislav Ivisic led all scorers with 23 points in a 117-64 win over Chicago State, while Kylan Boswell had a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Record: 9-3 | This week's results: defeated Chicago State 117-64 | |
| 24 |  |
| Last week: No. 25 -- Baylor played Arlington State in its final nonconference game of the regular season Friday and won by 54 points to improve to 8-3 on the year. Record: 8-3 This week's results: Defeated Arlington Baptist 107-53 | |
| 25 |  |
| Last week: NR -- A San Diego State loss could, and should, make way for Maryland to appear in the poll this week for the first time all season. The Terrapins beat Maryland Eastern Shore 81-66 on Saturday to improve to 11-2 and lead college basketball in scoring margin on the season. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 81-66 | |
Projected to drop out: San Diego State
