Just three undefeated teams remain around college basketball—Villanova, Arizona State and TCU—after an upset-filled week, causing some shuffling in the AP Poll.
Blue Devils stick at No. 4
Duke bounced back from its stunning loss to Boston College Dec. 9 with a dominant win against Evansville in their return from break for final exams and stayed at No. 4. The Blue Devils leaned on a 42-3 run between the two halves and locked down the nation's No. 1 3-point shooting team, allowing them to shoot just 35.7 percent from deep and attempt 14 threes. Duke will be back in action Dec. 30 against No. 24 Florida State.
North Carolina tumbles after historic upset
The Tar Heels didn't just fall—it was the worst home loss by a defending national champion since 1985, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. Wofford, ranked No. 175 in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings, shot just 7-of-22 from deep and was outrebounded, but still managed to come away with a 79-75 win in Chapel Hill. With the loss, the once-No. 5 Tar Heels dropped eight spots to No. 13, even after beating Ohio State soundly in their next outing.
Miami tanks after loss to New Mexico State
It wasn't a great week for ACC teams in the poll, as the Hurricanes also dropped from No. 6 to No. 15 after a stunning loss to New Mexico State. The Aggies silenced Miami's offense, holding them to shoot just 2-of-18 from deep and 34.0 percent from the field in a 63-54 loss. The once-unbeaten Hurricanes will get a chance to rebound Monday against Middle Tennessee.
Several teams take advantage of carnage to move up
With the losses ahead of them, Xavier jumped up three spots to No. 6, as did West Virginia to No. 7 and Wichita State to No. 8. TCU and Oklahoma moved the most in this week's poll, both jumping five spots to No. 10 and No. 12, respectively.
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COMPLETE RANKINGS:
1. Villanova
2. Michigan State
3. Arizona State
4. Duke
5. Texas A&M
6. Xavier
7. West Virginia
8. Wichita State
9. Virginia
10. TCU
11. Kansas
12. Oklahoma
13. North Carolina
14. Purdue
15. Miami
16. Kentucky
17. Arizona
18. Baylor
19. Tennessee
20. Gonzaga
21. Cincinnati
22. Texas Tech
23. Seton Hall
24. Florida State
25. Creighton
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.