Dec. 20-26, 2027
32 games on the schedule this week, and no feature games, so let's get to it:
North Carolina (Ariel Pryde) -- 8-3, 0-0 ACC.
12/23/27 at St. Francis (PA) (W 81-67).
12/25/27 vs. ECU (W 74-51).
2 more wins for the Tar Heels who are on a 4 game win streak heading into conference play.
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 ACC.
12/21/27 at St. Francis (PA) (W 84-63).
Easy win for the Fighting Irish in their only game of the week, and they have 1 more tune-up before they start conference play.
North Florida (Felix Abel) -- 6-6, 0-0 Atlantic Sun.
12/21/27 at Florida (L 80-62).
Just 1 game for the Ospreys this week, and they take a lump on the chin against an in-state foe.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big 12.
12/20/27 vs. Sam Houston State (W 64-62).
1 game for the Horned Frogs this week, but they get a tough win heading into conference play.
St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 7-2, 0-0 Big East.
12/21/27 vs. Charlotte (W 104-94).
12/23/27 vs. Bowling Green (W 92-55).
2 more wins for the Red Storm, who are now starting to win those games they should be winning. Conference play awaits and they start with a bang.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-3, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/24/27 at Belmont (W 76-73).
The Wildcats win their only game of the week, a tough road win as they head into conference play.
#4 Ohio State (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-1, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/20/27 vs. Dayton (W 100-74).
12/24/27 vs. Cornell (W 87-67).
12/26/27 at Florida (L 72-63).
The Buckeyes win 2 out of 3 this week, and Coach Hawkins suffers his first loss as the Ohio State head coach. We'll find out if this team is for real, as always the Big Ten is stacked.
Wichita State (David Ginsberg) -- 7-3, 1-1 MVC.
12/22/27 vs. Southern Illinois (W 86-77).
12/25/27 vs. Northern Iowa (L 90-89, OT).
The Shockers split this week, a pair of conference games. It took overtime before they lost to Northern Iowa, but with the MVC not looking too strong this season, WSU can't afford too many losses.
San Jose State (Thomas Shepard) -- 5-5, 0-1 Mountain West.
12/22/27 at Nevada (L 73-55).
12/25/27 at Southern Utah (L 88-49).
Not a good week for the Spartans, who get dismantled in 2 games this week, 1 of them being a conference game. They'll look to quickly redeem themselves.
Bryant (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-6, 0-1 Northeast.
12/21/27 vs. St. Joseph's (L 70-56).
12/25/27 vs. St. Francis (PA) (L 79-55).
2 more losses for the Bulldogs, including a loss to start conference play.
Wagner (Will Brown) -- 7-4, 0-2 Northeast.
12/23/27 at Fairleigh Dickinson (L 69-55).
12/25/27 at Sacred Heart (L 88-71).
A surprising start in conference play for the Seahawks as they drop their first 2 conference games. Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come.
#11 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/27 at UC Davis (W 69-60).
12/26/27 at Iowa (L 76-70).
A split this week for the Cardinal, losing a tough game at Iowa, and they've got another road game against a tough Big Ten opponent next week.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/20/27 vs. Fresno State (W 97-85).
12/22/27 vs. Central Michigan (W 84-72).
A pair of 12 point wins for the Bruins this week as they have a couple more games before conference play.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-6, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/25/27 vs. Montana (L 69-64).
The Cougars fall back under .500 with another loss that they can't afford to have. Next week won't be easy as they stay on the west coast for a home game and a road game, both non-conference.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-4, 0-0 SEC.
12/25/27 at #1 Virginia (W 81-76, OT).
1 game for the Crimson Tide this week, and it was a big one as they defeat the #1 team in the nation, on the road. This is a marquee non-conference win they've struggled to get. They have a chance to get another one next week as they'll face the new #1 at home.
Alabama State (Randolph Childress) -- 1-9, 0-0 SWAC.
12/25/27 at #15 Tennessee (L 82-67).
Not a bad effort for the Hornets, but they still finish non-conference play with a whimper. The good news is that they are into conference play and things can only go up.
Arkansas Pine Bluff (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-9, 0-0 SWAC.
12/23/27 at #3 Wisconsin (L 86-77).
12/25/27 at Georgetown (L 68-52).
Everything that I said for Alabama State is ditto for the Golden Lions. Good effort, non-conference was bad, but now they are into conference play.
Troy (Benton Gale) -- 6-6, 2-1 Sun Belt.
12/23/27 vs. Miami (OH) (W 71-63).
12/25/27 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (W 75-65).
Much better week for the Trojans who win 2 and are back to .500 overall, and over .500 in the conference. I believe Miami (OH) is a new team to the Sun Belt this year, but I'm not sure. I haven't been doing a good job keeping up with conference movement.
San Diego (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 0-1 WCC.
12/20/27 vs. #8 California (L 78-68).
12/25/27 at BYU (L 85-72).
2 losses this week for the Toreros, and it doesn't get any easier as their next 3 opponents, all conference opponents, are a combined 34-6 so far this season.
Here's a look at the national top 25 as we head into the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Louisville (53) 11-0 1781 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Wisconsin (19) 9-1 1736 3 Big Ten Conference
3. Vanderbilt 11-1 1661 7 Southeastern Conference
4. Virginia 11-1 1574 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Ohio State 10-1 1499 4 Big Ten Conference
6. Indiana 9-1 1464 9 Big Ten Conference
7. Oklahoma 10-2 1289 12 Big 12 Conference
8. Pepperdine 12-2 1215 16 West Coast Conference
9. Providence 10-2 1205 13 Big East Conference
10. Duke 9-2 1186 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. California 8-2 1042 8 Pacific-12 Conference
12. UAB 9-1 944 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Seton Hall 10-2 932 23 Big East Conference
14. Florida State 8-2 911 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Minnesota 9-2 781 NR Big Ten Conference
16. Villanova 9-2 695 6 Big East Conference
17. Texas A&M 8-2 621 18 Southeastern Conference
18. LSU 8-2 491 10 Southeastern Conference
19. Stanford 9-2 470 11 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Syracuse 7-3 330 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Boise State 11-2 285 NR Mountain West Conference
22. Portland 11-2 253 NR West Coast Conference
23. West Virginia 10-2 202 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Arkansas 8-3 165 NR Southeastern Conference
25. Loyola Marymount 11-2 157 NR West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Michigan 9-2 103 Big Ten Conference
South Florida 9-2 102 American Athletic Conference
Texas 9-3 82 Big 12 Conference
St. John's 7-2 65 Big East Conference
South Alabama 10-2 54 Sun Belt Conference
Creighton 9-2 38 Big East Conference
Southern Miss 8-2 19 Conference USA
Northeastern 8-2 12 Colonial Athletic Association
Rice 9-2 11 Conference USA
Iowa 8-3 9 Big Ten Conference
Georgia Southern 8-2 7 Sun Belt Conference
Northern Colorado 8-2 7 Big Sky Conference
Southern Utah 7-2 2 Big Sky Conference