Dec. 21-27, 2026
29 games on the schedule this week, with no feature games, but a few season tournament games, so let's get to it:
#21 Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 10-2, 0-0 ACC.
12/22/26 at St. Bonaventure (W 66-37).
12/24/26 at Kansas (W 72-55).
12/27/26 vs. Xavier (W 94-75).
3 more dominating wins for the Fighting Irish, and Coach Mighty has this team rolling as we move into ACC play. The conference as a whole appears to be down this season, so if there is any season that Mr. Mighty can get Notre Dame to compete, this should be the season.
North Florida (Felix Abel) -- 5-6, 0-0 Atlantic Sun.
12/22/26 vs. #20 Boston College (L 65-52).
A good effort for the Ospreys in their only game of the week, but still a loss, and that's 5 in a row.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big 12.
12/24/26 at Houston Baptist (L 56-47).
A huge letdown for the Horned Frogs in their only game of the week, as they lose a lot of momentum heading into Big 12 play.
St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 9-2, 0-0 Big East.
12/22/26 vs. Davidson (W 86-81).
12/24/26 at Mt. St. Mary's (W 85-49).
The Red Storm got a scare from Davidson, but handled it and won 2 games this week, finding themselves still unranked heading into Big East play in what might be the most befuddling thing of the season so far.
Sacramento State (David Ginsberg) -- 4-4, 0-0 Big Sky.
No games this week for Coach Ginsberg and the Hornets, who went back home to enjoy the holiday.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-3, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/23/26 vs. Tennessee (W 71-60).
1 game this week for the Wildcats and they get a very solid win against a strong Tennessee team.
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-5, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/23/26 at Oakland (L 89-71).
12/25/26 at Oklahoma (W 59-52).
An interesting week for the Golden Panthers, who split their 2 games. A nice Christmas miracle as they steal a win at Oklahoma. No shame in losing to Oakland, as they beat Notre Dame earlier this season too.
Fairfield (Ariel Pryde) -- 8-3, 5-0 MAAC.
12/25/26 vs. Canisius (W 77-53).
1 game for the Stags this week, and another win, as they have made it a quarter of a way through conference play undefeated.
San Jose State (Thomas Shepard) -- 5-6, 0-0 Mountain West.
12/21/26- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (1) #2 Wisconsin (L 104-80).
12/22/26- Diamond Head Classic Consolation Round vs. (4) St. Joseph's (L 85-77).
12/24/26- Diamond Head Classic 7th Place Game vs. (2) Louisville (L 73-69).
An 0-fer for the Spartans in their season tournament, but at least they battled in their last 2 games. They are now under .500 heading into Mountain West play.
Bryant (Rob Nielsen) -- 3-9, 0-2 Northeast.
12/24/26 vs. St. Francis (PA) (L 73-71, OT).
12/26/26 vs. Sacred Heart (L 84-81).
The Bulldogs continue to struggle, picking up 2 more losses. Close losses, but losses none the less. Coach Nielsen continues to struggle.
Wagner (Will Brown) -- 8-3, 2-0 Northeast.
12/24/26 at #23 St. Francis (NY) (W 80-55).
12/26/26 at LIU Brooklyn (W 92-83).
2 more wins for the Seahawks, dominating wins at that. They went on the road and hammered a ranked St. Francis (NY) team and haven't missed a beat from last season.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/22/26 at St. Mary's (L 69-60).
Tough one for the Cardinal, as they lose to what will probably end up being a very good St. Mary's team in their only game of the week.
#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/26 at UC Irvine (W 90-74).
12/26/26 vs. George Mason (W 79-43).
2 more easy wins for the Bruins, and they have one more top 25 test before Pac 12 play.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 3-5, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/27/26 at #18 Cal State Northridge (L 78-67).
1 game this week for the Cougars, and they drop a tough one on the road against a solid team with an RPI of 5 currently.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-8, 0-0 SEC.
No games for Coach Rogers and the Crimson Tide, but they weren't allowed to go home for the holidays. Word is they were put through some tough practices this week to get ready for SEC play.
Alabama State (Randolph Childress) -- 3-7, 0-0 SWAC.
12/26/26 at Florida Atlantic (W 74-52).
Big win for the Hornets in their only game of the week as they head into SWAC play.
Arkansas Pine Bluff (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-8, 0-0 SWAC.
12/21/26 at Oklahoma State (L 75-63).
12/25/26 at Texas (L 100-97).
The Golden Lions took a trip through Big 12 country this week, faring pretty well, taking Texas to the wire. They finish up a Big 12 road trip next week with the #1 team in the nation before SWAC play starts.
Troy (Benton Gale) -- 6-6, 2-2 Sun Belt.
12/24/26 at UL Lafayette (W 61-59).
12/26/26 vs. Arkansas State (W 74-61).
2 wins for the Trojans this week as they get back to .500 both overall and in conference play, which once again looks to be fairly weak.
San Diego (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-4, 1-1 WCC.
12/24/26 vs. Pepperdine (L 96-75).
12/26/26 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 76-67).
The Toreros open up WCC play with a split at home, losing to a pretty good Pepperdine team. The WCC is another conference that doesn't look particularly strong.
Here's a look at the national top 25 as we head into the week of Dec. 28, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Baylor (72) 12-0 1800 1 Big 12 Conference
2. Wisconsin 11-0 1728 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Providence 9-1 1641 3 Big East Conference
4. North Carolina 10-1 1580 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Syracuse 10-1 1512 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. UCLA 8-1 1423 6 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Toledo 10-0 1388 8 Mid-American Conference
8. UTSA 10-0 1241 10 Summit League
9. Georgetown 9-1 1132 14 Big East Conference
10. Texas A&M 7-1 1122 11 Southeastern Conference
11. Arizona 9-2 956 22 Pacific-12 Conference
12. La Salle 9-1 920 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Colorado State 10-1 833 19 Mountain West Conference
14. Long Beach State 10-1 744 16 Big West Conference
15. Arkansas 10-2 723 7 Southeastern Conference
16. Ohio State 9-2 723 NR Big Ten Conference
17. Boston College 10-1 660 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Notre Dame 10-2 545 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Wichita State 9-2 473 9 Missouri Valley Conference
20. New Mexico 8-1 436 17 Mountain West Conference
21. UT Arlington 9-1 431 24 Sun Belt Conference
22. Duke 8-2 429 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Michigan State 9-2 250 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Minnesota 10-2 208 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Mississippi 6-2 121 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Indiana 8-2 96 Big Ten Conference
Massachusetts 8-2 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
St. John's 9-2 86 Big East Conference
Virginia Tech 10-2 45 Atlantic Coast Conference
Missouri 8-2 26 Southeastern Conference
Cal State Northridge 8-2 20 Big West Conference
Washington 9-2 16 Pacific-12 Conference
Iowa State 9-3 3 Big 12 Conference
Texas 9-2 2 Big 12 Conference
Boston University 10-2 1 Patriot League
And a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Dec. 28, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Toledo (70) 10-0 1798 2 Mid-American Conference
2. UTSA 10-0 1694 3 Summit League
3. Long Beach State (1) 10-1 1591 6 Big West Conference
4. La Salle (1) 9-1 1584 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Colorado State 10-1 1484 7 Mountain West Conference
6. Massachusetts 8-2 1375 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. New Mexico 8-1 1363 5 Mountain West Conference
8. Wichita State 9-2 1360 1 Missouri Valley Conference
9. UT Arlington 9-1 1356 9 Sun Belt Conference
10. Boston University 10-2 1119 13 Patriot League
11. Cal State Northridge 8-2 1045 8 Big West Conference
12. USC Upstate 8-2 903 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
13. St. Francis NY 10-2 885 11 Northeast Conference
14. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7-2 821 23 Southland Conference
15. Florida Gulf Coast 8-2 807 21 Sun Belt Conference
16. Boise State 6-2 755 20 Mountain West Conference
17. Rhode Island 7-2 728 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Richmond 6-2 593 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Santa Clara 10-3 513 NR West Coast Conference
20. Tennessee State 9-3 333 15 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Oakland 7-3 314 NR Mid-American Conference
22. George Washington 8-3 284 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Dartmouth 8-3 175 NR Ivy League
24. UAB 8-3 151 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Wagner 8-3 65 NR Northeast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
San Francisco 7-3 56 West Coast Conference
Buffalo 9-3 50 Mid-American Conference
Appalachian State 8-3 47 Sun Belt Conference
Tennessee Tech 8-3 38 Ohio Valley Conference
Eastern Washington 6-3 32 Big Sky Conference
Fordham 6-3 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
Georgia Southern 7-3 19 Sun Belt Conference
South Carolina State 8-3 18 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Fairfield 8-3 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Stetson 8-3 2 Atlantic Sun Conference
Middle Tennessee 5-3 1 Conference USA