The Associated Press top 25 ballot of Kevin Dunleavy (Washington Examiner).
1. Duke (12-0)
Blue Devils will ease into new year with home games against Davidson, Wake, Clemson.
2. Louisville (12-1)
Perimeter trio — Smith (21 points, 7 rebounds), Behanan (20 points, 7 rebounds), Silva (19 points) – too much for Kentucky.
3. Michigan (13-0)
Lots of quality wins – Pitt, Kansas State, N.C. State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Bradley.
4. Arizona (12-0)
In last seven games, Wildcats have trailed inside the 8-minute mark in four and inside the 15-second mark in two.
5. Kansas (11-1)
Host giant-killing Temple on Sunday.
6. Indiana (12-1)
Interesting test Monday afternoon at vastly improved Iowa (11-2).
7. Syracuse (11-1)
Boeheim getting to 900 feels a little like Craig Biggio reaching 3,000 hits.
8. Ohio State (10-2)
At Illinois on Saturday.
9. Missouri (10-2)
In loss at UCLA, Pressey (19 points, 19 assists) broke single-game program assist mark by six.
10. Illinois (13-1)
The Illini’s forgotten guard, Abrams (27 points, 8 rebounds, five assists, four steals), held off upset bid of Auburn.
11. Gonzaga (12-1)
Pangos (31 points, seven 3-pointers) shot Bulldogs past Baylor.
12. Florida (9-2)
Impressive November, not so much in December.
13. Cincinnati (12-1)
Good Big East opener – Monday at noon at Pitt.
14. Butler (10-2)
Have won seven straight with rout at Vandy.
15. Michigan St. (11-2)
With Appling, Nix in high-gear, Spartans ready for tough Big Ten opener Monday at Minnesota.
16. San Diego State (11-2)
Lost to Arizona because Diamond Head MVP Hill limited Franklin to six shots and nine points, both season lows.
17. Creighton (12-1)
McDermott (29 points, 10 rebounds) steadied Blue Jays in MV opener against Evansville.
18. Notre Dame (12-1)
Did Santa deliver Bray a new mock turtleneck? Answer comes Saturday against Seton Hall.
19. New Mexico (12-1)
How good of a big-game coach is Alford? Lobos have won six of last seven against ranked teams.
20. Minnesota (12-1)
Golden Gophers for real? Answer comes quickly. They start Big Ten with Mich. State (MON), NW, at Illinois, at Indiana, and Michigan.
21. Georgetown (10-1)
After 13-day layoff, play at Marquette in Big East opener on Saturday.
22. Pittsburgh (12-1)
Cold winter in Pittsburgh: With Steelers done and Penguins locked out, Panthers are the only game in town.
23. VCU (10-3)
No surprise here: Rams lead nation in steals per game (12.7).
24. Okla. State (10-1)
Host Gonzaga on Monday night.
25. N.C. State (10-2)
Top three scorers — 6-8 Warren (68.9), 6-8 Howell (67.4), 6-9 Leslie (60.0) — rank 1-2-4 in ACC field goal shooting.
Next six in no particular order
Kansas State
North Carolina
UNLV
Maryland
UCLA
Maryland
Contact Kevin Dunleavy at [email protected].
