This could finally be the week we see the No. 1 team in the country, the last undefeated team, go down.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 12 of the regular season, plus the latest AP poll.
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Is this this week?
It’s a critical week at the pinnacle of college basketball.
Arizona once again maintained its status as the nation’s best team on Monday, a week after the Wildcats unanimously won the spot for the first time all season. But finally, the Wildcats get to focus on ranked play for the first time in over a month and get a chance to remind everyone they’ve earned first place.
The Wildcats travel to No. 13 BYU on Monday night, where they could face the Cougars at the worst possible time. BYU rallied after a loss at Texas Tech last week to beat Utah by double digits on Saturday, with projected lottery pick AJ Dybantsa scoring 43 points. It marked his first career 40-point game and set a new BYU freshman record. While it may take another similar effort to achieve that goal, Dibansa has proven his ability.
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UConn is struggling, but the Huskies defeated Villanova in overtime on Saturday for their 15th straight victory that moved them to No. 2 in the national polls. Michigan State, which beat Indiana and Ohio State last week, is ranked No. 3, and Duke extended its winning streak to seven games to rank No. 4.
Nebraska, which then jumped into the top five for the first time thanks to Houston’s decline at Texas Tech and a loss at Purdue. The Boilermakers fell twice last week, first at UCLA and then at Illinois on Saturday. That dropped them eight spots to No. 12 and completely opened up the Big Ten race for Nebraska – which will be on everyone’s radar next week.
The Cornhuskers are off to a perfect 20-0 start, the best start in school history and one of only three remaining undefeated teams in the country. But on Tuesday, the Huskers must travel to Michigan State — which has won four in a row — before hosting Illinois on Sunday. This marks the toughest stretch of their season schedule so far.
Not only would a pair of wins be unprecedented for Fred Hoiberg’s program in Lincoln, but it would give them complete control of the conference with just one ranked opponent left on their schedule before the Big Ten Tournament. But if they can’t at least split these games, or at least keep both games close, questions about the legitimacy of Nebraska basketball will undoubtedly come up again, fair or not.
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Who knows? By this time next week, Miami (Ohio) may be the last undefeated team.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | *Denotes neutral site
Monday, January 26
No. 20 Louisville, No. 4 Duke 7 p.m. | ESPN
No. 1 Arizona State, No. 13 BYU 9 p.m. | ESPN
Tuesday, January 27
No. 5 Nebraska, No. 3 Michigan 7 p.m. | Peacock
Friday, January 30
No. 3 MSU, No. 8 MSU 8 p.m. | Fox
Saturday, January 31st
No. 13 BYU, No. 14 Kansas | 4:30 PM | ESPN
No. 15 Kentucky | Arkansas | 6:30 PM | ESPN
Sunday, February 1
No. 23 Alabama, No. 19 Florida | 1 p.m. | ABC
No. 9 Illinois, No. 5 Nebraska | 4 p.m. | FS1
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AP Top 25
The complete AP men’s basketball poll for January 26, 2026.
1. Arizona State (20-0)
2. University of Connecticut (19-1)
3. Michigan State (18-1)
4. Duke University (18-1)
5. Nebraska (20-0)
6. Gonzaga (21-1)
7. Michigan State (18-2)
8. Iowa State (18-2)
9. Illinois (17-3)
10. Houston (17-2)
11. Texas Tech (16-4)
12. Purdue University (17-3)
13. Brigham Young University (17-2)
14. Kansas State (15-5)
15. Arkansas (15-5)
16. North Carolina (16-4)
17. Virginia (16-3)
18. Vanderbilt (17-3)
19. Florida State (14-6)
20. Louisville (14-5)
21. St. Louis (19-1)
22. Clemson (17-4)
23. Alabama (13-6)
24. Miami (Ohio) (20-0)
25. St. John’s (15-5)
Other states receiving votes: Tennessee 88, Kentucky 51, Georgia 49, Iowa 30, Texas A&M 27, Auburn 15, North Carolina 8, SMU 4, Saint Mary’s 3, Utah 2, Villanova 2, Wisconsin 1
