| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Syracuse | The Orange made it through the non-conferene slate without a loss, but conference play is underway this week. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Louisville | Louisville did not look very good in their victories last week and now they have to play Georgetown and Kentucky. | 2 |
| 3 |  | North Carolina | North Carolina could have gotten a pre-holiday test from an athletic Texas squad, but that didn't happen. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Ohio State | With or without Sullinger, the Buckeyes are good, but they need him healthy for Big Ten play this week. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Kentucky | Kentucky did not look past Loyola (MD) or Lamar and they have a huge, fun rivalry game against Louisville. | 5 |
| 6 |  | Duke | Duke had no problems with UNC Greensboro on Monday and now they wait for WMU and Penn in a couple weeks. | 7 |
| 7 |  | Connecticut | Fairfield gave Uconn some problems on Thursday, but the Stags are very good. Conference play begins next. | 8 |
| 8 |  | Baylor | The Bears got a couple nice wins last week over St. Mary's and WVU. They play Mississippi State on Wednesday. | 9 |
| 9 |  | Florida | Florida dominated Florida State this week. Rutgers and Yale are up next for the surging Gators. | 11 |
| 10 |  | Missouri | The Tigers actually played in a close game against Illinois on Thursday, but they were able to pull out the victory. | 12 |
| 11 |  | Wisconsin | The Badgers open up conference play with Nebraska and Iowa. That should equal a quick 2-0 start. | 13 |
| 12 |  | Kansas | Kansas was upset by Davidson on Monday and did not look very impressive in a win over USC on Thursday. | 6 |
| 13 |  | Georgetown | Georgetown has a couple victories over Memphis, but they have to start Big East play with a trip to Louisville. | 17 |
| 14 |  | Marquette | Marquette had a surprising loss to LSU last week and they will be tested this week by Vanderbilt and Villanova. | 10 |
| 15 |  | Mississippi State | Long ago Mississippi State lost a game. Now they face Baylor on Wednesday night and could shoot up the rankings. | 16 |
| 16 |  | Michigan | U of M did what they had to do during non-conference play, but with Big Ten play beginning things may change. | 18 |
| 17 |  | Michigan State | The Spartans begin conference play against Indiana on Wednesday and a trip to Nebraska on Saturday. | 19 |
| 18 |  | Indiana | Indiana has been a great story, but this week they travel to Michigan State and host Ohio State. Loss #1 coming up. | 20 |
| 19 |  | UNLV | UNLV had their way with a good California team on Friday and they should get a few more wins before MWC play. | 21 |
| 20 |  | Creighton | Creighton got a couple nice wins this week, most notably against Northwestern. MSU and WSU tip-off MVC play. | 22 |
| 21 |  | Murray State | Murray State chalked up their first conference victory on Wednesday and there will be many more to come. | 24 |
| 22 |  | Pittsburgh | Few saw Wagner going to Pittsburgh and coming away with a win. Maybe they'll play better in South Bend. | 15 |
| 23 |  | Virginia | Could Virginia be the third best team in the ACC? So far so good, but things get pretty tough pretty soon. | NR |
| 24 |  | Alabama | Alabama had a nice victory against Oklahoma State on Wednesday and should be getting their momentum back. | NR |
| 25 |  | Xavier | Xavier did not have a great showing in Hawaii and playing Gonzaga may not be the best way to ring in the New Year. | 14 |
12/26 Men's Basketball Top 25
Sat, 12/24/2011
