| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Syracuse | Every time it looks like Syracuse might run into a little trouble, they just keep looking better and better. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Kentucky | Kentucky had a nice win over Louisville and should win a couple more games before the big road tests come. | 5 |
| 3 |  | North Carolina | The Tar Heels were not tested by Elon or Monmouth and probably won't be by Boston College either. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Ohio State | Following a thrilling loss at Indiana, the Buckeyes get Nebraska on Tuesday and a deceptively tough game at Iowa. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Baylor | Baylor won a bruising contest against Mississippi State to remain perfect. Now the Big 12 will take its shot. | 8 |
| 6 |  | Duke | The last time Duke played a true road game they lost. This week they play Temple in Philly and at Georgia Tech. | 6 |
| 7 |  | Connecticut | Connecticut went to USF and barely won. This week they hit the road two more times against SHU and Rutgers. | 7 |
| 8 |  | Georgetown | No team is hotter than Georgetown right now and they will look to keep the good times rolling against Marquette. | 13 |
| 9 |  | Missouri | With all due respect to Illinois and Cal, the Tigers may be facing their toughest game of the year in Kansas State. | 10 |
| 10 |  | Louisville | Well Louisville has some growing up to do now. Facing St. John's and Notre Dame this week should help. | 2 |
| 11 |  | Kansas | The Jayhawks open conference play this week against a good Kansas State team on Wednesday night. | 12 |
| 12 |  | Michigan State | The Spartans have just one game this week, but it is a tough road game against some angry Badgers. | 17 |
| 13 |  | Florida | Road games have been bad to Florida. This weekend they head to Tennessee and they can lose that one too. | 9 |
| 14 |  | Mississippi State | Mississippi State nearly knocked off Baylor last week. This week they take a trip to Arkansas. | 15 |
| 15 |  | Indiana | The Hoosiers had trouble on the road in East Lansing, but got a huge victory over Ohio State. Michigan is next. | 18 |
| 16 |  | Marquette | Marquette rebounded nicely following their embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt, but G'town and the Cuse are up next. | 14 |
| 17 |  | Wisconsin | UW shouldn't lose at home to Iowa. We'll see if it's a fluke this week when Wisconsin plays the Michigan teams. | 11 |
| 18 |  | Michigan | The Wolverines got the job done and beat Penn State and Minnesota at home last week. IU and Wiscy are next. | 16 |
| 19 |  | UNLV | UNLV had some trouble against Hawaii on Saturday, but they will be ready for SDSU in a couple weeks. | 19 |
| 20 |  | Murray State | Murray avoided any OVC letdowns in week one, but their lone game against EKU on Wednesday could be close. | 21 |
| 21 |  | Virginia | Virginia survived a scare from Towson and after a quick trip to LSU, conference play begins with Miami. | 23 |
| 22 |  | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt went into Marquette and beat them bad. This is the Commodore team we expected to see this year. | NR |
| 23 |  | Harvard | Harvard keeps winning games and boosting their RPI. This week they travel to Fordham before Ivy play begins. | NR |
| 24 |  | Alabama | Alabama remains in the Top 25 for now, but trips to Georgia Tech and Georgia this week could put an end to that. | 24 |
| 25 |  | Creighton | The conference slate started tough. Creighton fell at home to MSU, but got a big win in Wichita. | 20 |
1/2 Men's Basketball Top 25
Sun, 01/01/2012
