It's been a minute since we've had fresh college basketball takes with the sport taking a bit of a pause during the holidays, but the New Year has kicked off with a bang thanks to the start of conference play. Since our last check-in on the AP Top 25, a few ranked teams have suffered losses, and one big statement was made as No. 13 Nebraska improved to 14-0 by taking down No. 9 Michigan State on Friday night.
The Cornhuskers are 14-0 on the season, one of only a handful of unbeaten teams left in the nation, but how high will Nebraska come in the first poll of 2026? Check out this week's projections below and read on for more detailed analysis of the week's most impactful games.
Projected AP Top 25 after Nebraska beats Michigan State
1. Arizona Wildcats
2. Michigan Wolverines
3. Iowa State Cyclones
4. UCONN Huskies
5. Purdue Boilermakers
6. Duke Blue Devils
7. Gonzaga Bulldogs
8. Houston Cougars
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers
10. BYU Cougars
11. Vanderbilt Commodores
12. Michigan State Spartans
13. Alabama Crimson Tide
14. Texas Tech Red Raiders
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
16. Arkansas Razorbacks
17. Illinois Fighting Illini
18. Louisville Cardinals
19. Georgia Bulldogs
20. Iowa Hawkeyes
21. Kansas Jayhawks
22. Virginia Cavaliers
23. Tennessee Volunteers
24. UCF Knights
25. Utah State Aggies
Nebraska takes down Michigan State
This game was a typical Big Ten slugfest, with both teams combining to shoot 32.7 percent from the floor and playing with physicality. The fact Nebraska was able to win a game where they were out-rebounded by 15 and made three less 3-pointers than Michigan State is a sign of mental fortitude from the Cornhuskers, who have already taken down Illinois in Big Ten play last month.
There are few easy weeks in the Big Ten and Nebraska has a two-game road trip to Ohio State and Indiana, which could be tricky games for a team not used to being the hunted rather than the hunters. The stage is set for Fred Hoiberg's team to enter the Top 10 for the first time and build a resume set up to help them snap their drought of being the only power conference team not to win an NCAA Tournament game.
Virginia falls to Virginia Tech in overtime
The Ryan Odom era at Virginia is certainly going to take some time for Cavaliers' fans to get used to. While Tony Bennett's teams prided themselves on the Pack Line defense, Odom has tried to get the offense more into the 21st century, which will open them up to games like Wednesday's 95-85 triple overtime defeat to in-state rival Virginia Tech that could have had the Hokies in contention for the rankings this week if they hadn't followed it up with a loss at Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers, who entered the week ranked No. 21, shouldn't suffer too severe a penalty for a triple-overtime loss against a Hokies' team that is now 12-2 on the year. The ACC appears to finally be on the upswing after a few down years, so there will be plenty of opportunities for Virginia to improve their resume going forward.
Stanford upsets No. 16 Louisville
It is still ludicrous that the ACC is a coast-to-coast conference, with long road trips from Kentucky to California regular occurrences. No. 16 Louisville may have considered it a lucky break to get their West Coast trip out of the way during the semester break but they were caught in a trap on the back end, losing 80-76 to Stanford to suffer their worst loss of the season.
That result does mean we do need to keep an eye on the Cardinal, who have a very good win over Saint Louis on their resume along with some head-scratching defeats to Seattle University and UNLV. A spot on bubble watch could be in the offing for Stanford, which now has at least two signature wins to point to if they can start stacking wins in the more competitive ACC.
Alabama slows Kentucky's Roll
There have been plenty of injury excuses made for Kentucky so far this season, who were finally whole after beating St. John's in the CBS Sports Classic, to lead to some optimism that the Wildcats would get on a roll now that they were healthy. A trip to No. 14 Alabama put an end to that optimism as Kentucky was outclassed throughout, losing by 15 points to the Crimson Tide.
The three-point line was the difference here, as Alabama made 15 3's compared to only 4 for Kentucky, creating a 33-point edge there that is almost impossible to overcome unless you play a perfect game in all other aspects. The Wildcats certainly did not do that and will go back to the drawing board with a pair of winnable home games against Missouri and Mississippi State coming up.
UCF takes down No. 17 Kansas to improve to 12-1
Going to Orlando has become a difficult experience for No. 17 Kansas, which lost at UCF for the second time in three years after the Knights pulled off an 81-74 upset on Saturday. While the Knights made a big statement to improve to 12-1, with the lone defeat coming against an undefeated Vanderbilt team, the big story here is that the Jayhawks still have a Darryn Peterson problem.
Peterson's hamstring has been an issue for Kansas all year, and Bill Self displayed some curious usage for Peterson, playing him almost the whole first half while sitting him for most of the second. Self said that foul trouble played a role in the uneven minute distribution, noting that the Jayhawks are still playing it safe by keeping Peterson on a minutes restriction as he tries to get his hamstring right, but Kansas won't be able to unlock its final form as long as Peterson can't get rid of the nagging hamstring issues that have plagued his season.