The college basketball world, at least in the SEC, is about to get a lot more entertaining.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 8 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
SEC play opens this week
It was a very quiet week last week over the holidays, and not much changed at the top of the rankings. Tennessee retained the No. 1 ranking on Monday, followed again by Auburn, Iowa State, Duke and Alabama. In fact, the first 13 teams stayed the same from last week. The biggest improvement came from UCLA, which jumped up seven spots to No. 15 after it beat Gonzaga 65-62 on Saturday. That pushed the Bruins to 11-2 on the season, and made up for last week’s two-point loss to North Carolina.
SEC play gets going this week, however, and we should learn a few things very quickly.
Let’s start with the Vols, who will host No. 23 Arkansas on Saturday. It marks the first legitimate matchup for Tennessee since it snuck past Illinois on a game-winner from Jordan Gainey earlier this month. The game with the Razorbacks will serve as a good precursor for next Tuesday’s game at undefeated Florida.
Speaking of the Gators, they’ll enter SEC play with a perfect 13-0 record. It’s the best start for the program since the 2005-06 season. While five of Florida’s wins have come against Power 5 opponents, they’ve yet to play another ranked team. That’ll change when they travel to Rupp Arena and play No. 10 Kentucky on Saturday morning — which will mark the first of three straight ranked games.
We’ll see if this Gators team is as good as their record shows in the coming days.
“We definitely feel like we’re prepared [for SEC play],” guard Walter Clayton Jr. said after their 40-point win over Stetson on Sunday, via the Gainesville Sun. “There’s obviously things we got to fix up. Just been a lot of learning through winning. So just continue to learn, not be complacent and I think we’ll be ready.”
Finally, let’s talk about No. 12 Oklahoma. The Sooners are in a similar position as Florida . They’ll enter conference play still undefeated, but they’ve beaten just two ranked opponents so far this season. After sneaking past Michigan on a wild four-point play earlier this month, they’ve rolled over Central Arkansas and Prairie View en route to what is their best start in three decades.
Oklahoma will take on No. 5 Alabama first on Saturday in its first conference game since joining the SEC. While making it through one of the best conferences in the sport unscathed is likely impossible, and the Crimson Tide don’t look like they’ve missed a step after last spring’s Final Four run, a strong showing for the Sooners against Alabama can go a long way in proving they are capable of hanging with the conference’s best this winter.
More college basketball news
Keep up with the 2024-25 college basketball season with Yahoo Sports
Games to watch this week
Thursday, Jan. 2
No. 22 Illinois at No. 9 Oregon | 10 p.m. ET | FS1
Friday, Jan. 3
Creighton at No. 8 Marquette | 9 p.m. ET | FS1
Saturday, Jan. 4
No. 6 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky | 11 a.m. ET | ESPN
No. 23 Arkansas at No. 1 Tennessee | 1 p.m. | ESPN
No. 25 Baylor at No. 3 Iowa State | 2 p.m. ET | CBS
No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 5 Alabama | 6 p.m. ET | SEC
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Dec. 30, 2024.
1. Tennessee (12-0)
2. Auburn (11-1)
3. Iowa State (10-1)
4. Duke (10-2)
5. Alabama (10-2)
6. Florida (13-0)
7. Kansas (9-2)
8. Marquette (11-2)
9. Oregon (11-1)
10. Kentucky (10-2)
11. UConn (10-3)
12. Oklahoma (13-0)
13. Texas A&M (11-2)
14. Houston (8-3)
15. UCLA (11-2)
16. Cincinnati (10-1)
17. Mississippi State (11-1)
18. Michigan State (10-2)
19. Gonzaga (9-4)
20. Purdue (9-4)
21. Memphis (10-3)
22. Illinois (9-3)
23. Arkansas (10-2)
24. Ole Miss (11-2)
25. Baylor (8-3)
Others Receiving Votes: Maryland 133, Drake 100, St. John’s 98, Dayton 90, Michigan 65, Utah State 59, Georgia 48, Pittsburgh 35, West Virginia 30, San Diego State 28, Ohio State 19, Missouri 19, North Carolina 19, Arizona State 13, Indiana 11, Texas Tech 8, Clemson 8, Wisconsin 7, Penn State 5, St. Bonaventure 2, Nebraska 1
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