Hey listeners, welcome back to the pulse of college basketball, where the hardwood is heating up early in the 2025-26 season. I'm your host, diving straight into the action from the past few days, and let me tell you, the top of the rankings is a battle royale.
Michigan is owning the spotlight, sitting at number one in both the Coaches Poll and CBS Sports' Top 25 And 1 as of December 17, while Duke and Arizona are right there at two and three, trading punches across the AP Top 25, Coaches, and NET rankings updated through December 15 and 17. Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, Gonzaga, and BYU round out the elite seven, with Michigan's dominance shining brightest in the NET at number one. These teams are unbeaten or nearly so, setting the stage for March madness dreams.
Scoring explosions have been everywhere. Duke's Cameron Boozer is the king of the hill, averaging 23 points per game through early December stats from NCAA and ESPN, just ahead of Kansas State's PJ Haggerty and Elon's Chandler Cuthrell at 22.7. PJ McNeil Jr. went nuclear with 47 points and 10 rebounds, powering NC State to a 108-72 demolition of Texas Southern. Quion Williams dropped a monster triple-double—29 points, 14 boards, 18 assists—for Arkansas-Pine Bluff's 138-73 rout of Champion Christian. Austin Swartz lit up Creighton with 27 points in their 98-57 thrashing of Xavier on Wednesday, and UAB's C. Westry answered with 31 in a 101-77 win over Cleveland State.
Standout games kept the drama high. Santa Clara rallied behind Elijah Mahi's 17 points for a 63-60 squeaker over North Texas, while Colorado held off Portland State 84-73. Washington State got 20 from bench sparkplug Emmanuel Ugbo in a 78-63 win over Eastern Washington, and No. 5 UConn flexed in a full-game showdown against Butler on December 16, as highlighted by NBC Sports. Even Elon edged Richmond 73-70, with Kacper Klaczek's 16 points sealing the deal.
Coaching buzz is simmering too—HoopDirt's tracking rumors and hires amid this frenzy—but the real story is these stars elevating their squads. Michigan, Duke, Arizona—they're the teams to beat, and with non-conference chaos winding down, conference play looms large.
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