It was a pretty quiet week of college basketball, but there was one stunning upset to carry us through and shake up the top five.
Here’s everything you missed in the seventh week of the regular season, and the latest Associated Press poll.
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Duke finally goes down
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, who jumped up by 17 points against a short-handed Texas Tech team in the second half, let the Red Raiders come storming back to pick up an 82-81 upset win. That marked Texas Tech’s first win over a top-five team since 2022, and snapped a six-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
The win jumped Texas Tech up four spots to No. 15 in this week’s poll.
The loss, meanwhile, was the first for Duke in what has otherwise been a perfect start to the season. The Blue Devils entered Saturday with a perfect 11-0 record and four wins over ranked opponents — including three straight earlier this month, one over Michigan State and another over defending national champion Florida.
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As a result, Duke fell three spots to No. 6.
Duke was actually the only team inside the top 10 to lose a game last week. Arizona held onto the No. 1 spot in the polls after a blowout win over San Diego State on Saturday, which got it to 11-0. Michigan remained at No. 2 after beating La Salle by 52 points on Sunday. Iowa State moved up a spot to No. 3, UConn took No. 4 and Purdue moved up to No. 5.
While it didn’t matter much this time, as they rolled to a blowout win over DePaul, UConn leading scorer Solo Ball missed Sunday’s game with a minor wrist injury. Ball has averaged a team-high 15.4 points per game, and was fresh off a 26-point outing against Butler.
The next big loss came when Tennessee rolled over Louisville by 21 points on Tuesday, which snapped a three-game losing skid for the Vols. That launched them up to No. 19, while Louisville fell to No. 16.
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Unfortunately, we’re looking at a very slow week of college basketball ahead. The sport is largely taking a break over Christmas. So enjoy the time, and get ready for conference play to kick off across the board on the other side.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | * denotes neutral site
Monday, Dec. 22
Missouri at No. 20 Illinois | 8 p.m. | FS1 *
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from December 22, 2025.
1. Arizona (11-0)
2. Michigan (11-0)
3. Iowa State (12-0)
4. UConn (12-1)
5. Purdue (11-1)
6. Duke (11-1)
7. Gonzaga (12-1)
8. Houston (11-1)
9. Michigan State (11-1)
10. BYU (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 (9-3)
18. Arkansas (9-3)
19. Tennessee (9-3)
20. Illinois (8-3)
21. Virginia (10-1)
22. Florida (8-4)
23. Georgia (10-1)
24. USC (12-1)
25. Iowa (10-2)
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Others receiving votes: Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. John’s 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah State 5, Arizona St 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, Saint Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma State 1, UCF 1, NC State 1
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