College basketball is back, and Michigan is again inching closer to overtaking the No. 1 ranking.
Here's everything you missed in the ninth week of the regular season, and the latest Associated Press poll.
Michigan can't quite overtake Arizona
Arizona is still undefeated, but the Wildcats are barely clinging onto the top spot in the polls.
Arizona held on to retain the No. 1 ranking in the polls again this week despite yet another blowout win for Michigan over a ranked team. The Wolverines were just a single point away from Arizona in the AP Poll.
TheWolverines cruised to a 30-point winover then-No. 24 USC on Friday night to get to 13-0 on the year. It marked their third 30-point win over a ranked opponent already this season, following wins over Auburn and Gonzaga. They are now the first team in nearly 30 years to have three such wins in a single season, and it's only the first week in January.
That's only part of what's been an absolutely dominant run for Michigan this season. Of their 13 wins this season, 10 of them have been by at least 20 points. More than half of those were by at least 40 points, too.
The top six in the poll remained unchanged. Arizona got to 14-0 after it beat Utah convincingly to kick off Big 12 play. Iowa State held at No. 3 after it beat West Virginia by 21 points on Friday in its Big 12 opener, and UConn remained at No. 4 after it won its 10th straight on Sunday against Marquette. Purdue and Duke then rounded out the top six after Isaiah Evans dropped a career-high 28 points on Saturday to lead the Blue Devils past Florida State.
Iowa was the biggest mover in this week's poll. The Hawkeyes jumped up six spots to No. 19 after a 13-point win over UCLA on Saturday, which marked their fourth straight win.
While they are only three games into conference play, the Wolverines has clearly separated themselves in the Big Ten. They have a path to stay there over the next several weeks, too, as they won't play another ranked opponent until the end of the month, when they host undefeated Nebraska and then travel to rival Michigan State back-to-back. The back half of their schedule is much tougher, too, with both Purdue and Duke looming in mid-February and then Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State set for their final three games.
But so far, very few teams have even come close to challenging the Wolverines. At the rate they are going, it's only a matter of time before they finally catch Arizona.
Speaking of Nebraska…
The Cornhuskers might be for real.
Nebraska knocked off Michigan State on Friday night in what was the school's first home ranked matchup in decades. Michigan State looked off for most of the night, committing 19 turnovers and making just six field goals as a unit in the second half.
The win for the Huskers was their 18th straight dating back to last season when they won the College Basketball Crown tournament, which is now the longest streak in the country. It also pushed the Huskers to No. 10 in this week's poll, which is the program's highest ranking since 1966.
Michigan State, now with two losses this season, fell three spots to No. 12.
It's easy to not believe in Nebraska basketball. The school is the only major conference team to have never won an NCAA tournament game, after all, and hasn't even been since 2014. Friday's win was just the Huskers' second game against a ranked opponent this season, too. But they seem well on their way to a third straight 20-plus win season under head coach Fred Hoiberg, something the program has never seen.
While getting past the top tier of the Big Ten isn't going to be easy down the stretch, especially considering what we just talked about with Michigan, Nebraska is in position to finally make a meaningful basketball run.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | * denotes neutral site
Monday, Jan. 5
USC at No. 12 Michigan State | 8:30 p.m. | FS1
Tuesday, Jan. 6
No. 6 Duke at No. 20 Louisville | 7 p.m. | ESPNNo. 18 Georgia at Florida | 7 p.m. | SECNNo. 14 Texas Tech at No. 7 Houston | 9 p.m. | FS1
Wednesday, Jan. 7
No. 13 Alabama at No. 11 Vanderbilt | 9 p.m. | ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 10
Wisconsin at No. 2 Michigan | 1 p.m. | CBSNo. 21 Tennessee at Florida | 12 p.m. | ESPNNo. 10 Nebraska at Indiana | 12 p.m. | BTNNo. 7 Houston at Baylor | 1 p.m. | Peacock
Sunday, Jan. 11
No. 16 Illinois at No. 19 Iowa | 12 p.m. | Fox
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men's basketball poll from January 5, 2026.
1. Arizona (14-0)2. Michigan (13-0)3. Iowa State (14-0)4. UConn (14-1)5. Purdue (13-1)6. Duke (13-1)7. Houston (13-1)8. Gonzaga (16-1)9. BYU (13-1)10. Nebraska (14-0)11. Vanderbilt (14-0)12. Michigan State (12-2)13. Alabama (11-3)14. Texas Tech (11-3)15. Arkansas (11-3)16. Illinois (11-3)17. North Carolina (13-2)18. Georgia (13-1)19. Iowa (12-2)20. Louisville (11-3)21. Tennessee (10-4)22. Kansas (10-4)23. Virginia (12-2)24. SMU (12-2)25. UCF (12-1)
Others receiving votes: Villanova 127, Seton Hall 31, USC 28, Utah State 27, Miami (Ohio) 22, Clemson 21, Saint Louis 14, LSU 14, Texas 12, Florida 11, Saint Mary's 10, Kentucky 9, California 8, Miami 5, Indiana 4, Auburn 3, TCU 2, UCLA 2, Virginia Tech 2
