It’s been a pretty quiet week in college basketball, but a shocking upset moves us up and shakes up the top five.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 7 of the regular season, plus the latest AP poll.
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Duke finally fell
It was only a matter of time before Duke slipped, but Saturday night’s loss at Madison Square Garden seemed to come out of nowhere.
The Blue Devils led by 17 points in the second half against a short-handed Texas Tech team, allowing the Red Raiders to pull off an 82-81 upset victory. It marked Texas Tech’s first win over a top-five team since 2022 and ended a six-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
The win moves Texas Tech up four spots to No. 15 in this week’s poll.
The loss, meanwhile, was Duke’s first in what would have been a perfect start to the season. The Blue Devils enter Saturday with a perfect 11-0 record, with four wins over ranked opponents, including a three-game winning streak earlier this month, one over Michigan State and the other over defending national champion Florida.
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As a result, Duke dropped three spots to sixth place.
In fact, Duke was the only team in the top 10 to lose a game last week. Arizona State maintained its No. 1 spot in the polls with an 11-0 victory over San Diego State on Saturday. Michigan State also stayed in second place after beating La Salle by 52 points on Sunday. Iowa State University moved up to No. 3, the University of Connecticut ranked No. 4, and Purdue University moved up to No. 5.
While it wasn’t a big deal this time, UConn’s leading scorer Solo Ball missed Sunday’s game with a minor wrist injury during their blowout win over DePaul. Ball averaged a team-high 15.4 points per game and scored 26 points against Butler.
Tennessee’s next big loss came on Tuesday with a 21-point win over Louisville, which ended the Vols’ three-game skid. That moved them up to No. 19, while Louisville dropped to No. 16.
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Unfortunately, we expect a very slow week ahead for college basketball. The sport is largely on hiatus over Christmas. So enjoy this time and get ready for conference play to begin in full force on the other side.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | *Denotes neutral site
Monday, December 22
No. 20 Illinois at Missouri 8 p.m. | FS1*
AP Top 25
The full AP men’s basketball poll will begin Dec. 22, 2025.
1. Arizona State (11-0)
2. Michigan State (11-0)
3. Iowa State (12-0)
4. University of Connecticut (12-1)
5. Purdue University (11-1)
6. Duke University (11-1)
7. Gonzaga (12-1)
8. Houston (11-1)
9. Michigan State (11-1)
10. Brigham Young University (11-1)
11. Vanderbilt (12-0)
12. North Carolina (11-1)
13. Nebraska (12-0)
14. Alabama (9-3)
15. Texas Tech (9-3)
16. Louisville (10-2)
17. Kansas State (9-3)
18. Arkansas (9-3)
19. Tennessee (9-3)
20. Illinois (8-3)
21. Virginia (10-1)
22. Florida State (8-4)
23. Georgia (10-1)
24. University of Southern California (12-1)
25. Iowa State (10-2)
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Other states receiving votes: Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. Johns 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah 5, Arizona 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, St. Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma State 1, UCF 1, North Carolina 1
