It was a relatively slow week across college basketball, and we’re due for another one with the NBA and NFL dominating Christmas in the coming days. Kentucky, however, blew what was an excellent opportunity to wrap up its nonconference slate in New York.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 7 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Ohio State rolls over Kentucky
There are bad losses, and then there is what happened to Kentucky on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats stumbled at the CBS Classic in New York and fell to Ohio State by 20 points in what was their second loss of the season. They shot less than 30% from the field as a group and were held to just 65 points on the night, which was their lowest output of the year. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, shot nearly 57% from the field and scored 36 points in the paint.
It was by far the best the Buckeyes have looked all season, too. They’ve had some bad losses already, including a nearly 40-point loss to Auburn and double-digit losses to Maryland and Texas A&M. Bruce Thornton dropped a career-high 30 points against the Wildcats.
As a result, the Wildcats dropped six spots to No. 10 in this week’s poll. The top three spots in the rankings remained unchanged. Tennessee improved to 11-0 and held the No. 1 ranking again. The Vols were followed by Auburn and Iowa State for another week, too. Duke and Alabama then each slid up a single spot to round out the top five.
Oklahoma made among the biggest jumps in the quiet week, too, after the Sooners improved to 11-0 on the year. They beat Michigan by a single point at the Jumpman Invitational, thanks to a wild four-point play from freshman Jeremiah Fears in the final seconds. While it is the team’s best start since the 2015-16 campaign, the Sooners have beaten just two ranked opponents on the year — the other was a struggling Arizona team last month. They moved up to No. 12 in this week’s poll, and are one of just three undefeated teams left in the rankings. We should get a much better feel for how good the Sooners actually are early next month, when they take on No. 5 Alabama and No. 13 Texas A&M in back-to-back games to open conference play.
Now, one loss for Pope’s group shouldn’t hurt them much. The Wildcats have several key wins already this season, too, including over Cooper Flagg and Duke, Gonzaga and Louisville. But if they don’t rebound from Saturday’s rout quickly, starting with Brown on New Year’s Eve and then with No. 6 Florida days later, SEC play could be rough for the Wildcats in the coming weeks.
Games to watch this week
*neutral site game
Saturday, Dec. 28
No. 16 Ole Miss at Memphis | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN2
No. 22 UCLA at No. 14 Gonzaga | 8 p.m. ET | Fox*
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Dec. 23, 2024.
1. Tennessee (11-0)
2. Auburn (11-1)
3. Iowa State (10-1)
4. Duke (10-2)
5. Alabama (10-2)
6. Florida (12-0)
7. Kansas (9-2)
8. Marquette (11-2)
9. Oregon (11-1)
10. Kentucky (10-2)
11. UConn (10-3)
12. Oklahoma (12-0)
13. Texas A&M (10-2)
14. Gonzaga (9-3)
15. Houston (8-3)
16. Ole Miss (11-1)
17. Cincinnati (10-1)
18. Michigan State (10-2)
19. Mississippi State (11-1)
20. San Diego State (8-2)
21. Purdue (8-4)
22. UCLA (10-2)
23. Arkansas (10-2)
24. Illinois (8-3)
25. Baylor (7-3)
Others Receiving Votes: Maryland 119, Dayton 108, Drake 91, St. John’s 90, Memphis 65, Michigan 50, Georgia 45, Pittsburgh 27, West Virginia 26, Missouri 25, Ohio State 23, North Carolina 20, Clemson 18, Arizona State 13, Utah State 9, Wisconsin 9, Indiana 8, Texas Tech 8, St. Bonaventure 4, Penn State 3