College Basketball Power Rankings: December 25

     Merry Christmas everyone!  This past week we saw the biggest shake up of top teams in the country as four took a loss, two for the first time this year.  In ranked matchups, Kansas took out Ohio State 74-66 and Missouri beat Illinois 82-73.  The biggest upset was Temple over Syracuse 83-79.  Here are my latest rankings.

1. Duke Blue Devils (11-0, Last Week 1) - The top-ranked Blue Devils disposed of Cornell and Elon on back-to-back nights.  Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry continue to be a great inside-outside tandem.
2. Michigan Wolverines (12-0, Last Week 2) - Michigan continues to get contributions from the entire team as four players average over 12 points per game.  After a 93-54 drubbing of Eastern Michigan, they finish with the directional schools in the state, taking on Central Michigan this week.
3. Louisville Cardinals (11-1, Last Week 4) - Rick Pitino's squad showed its defensive prowess holding FIU and WKU to 55 points.  They are rolling as a date with rival Kentucky looms this week.
4. Arizona Wildcats (11-0, Last Week 5) - The Wildcats opened up the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii with wins over ETSU and a solid Miami (Fl) team.  A game against San Diego State in the championship could prove a tough test.
5. Indiana Hoosiers (11-1, Last Week 6) - Since their loss to Butler, Indiana has taken their frustration out on lesser opponents Mount St Mary's and Florida Atlantic.  They still remain the nation's highest scoring team.
6. Kansas Jayhawks (10-1, Last Week 9) -The Jayhawks received a big boost after beating OSU in Columbus 74-66.  Ben McLemore scored 22 and seems to be improving each week.
7. Syracuse Orange (10-1, Last Week 3) - After getting coach Boeheim his 900th win, the Orange dropped a surprising game at Temple 83-79.  Michael Carter-Williams went 3-17 from the floor and 7-15 from the line, while their leading scorer James Southerland managed only six points.
8. Missouri Tigers (10-1, Last Week 15) - After watching the Tigers beat Illinois rather convincingly I'm starting to believe in this team.  They were able to control the paint as Laurence Bowers and Alex Oriakhi each posted a double-double and Mizzou had a 51-29 rebounding advantage.
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2, Last Week 7) - OSU dropped a big game at home to Kansas as they were only able to shoot 31% from the field.  They have lost their only games to top ten teams but this was one the needed to show they can compete with the elite teams in the country.
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-1, Last Week 11) - Minnesota has its eyes set on Michigan State on NYE.  I believe this team can contend for a Big Ten title and the Spartans will provide a good test.
11. Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0, Last Week 12) - The Bearcats looked good in the second half in a 60-45 win over in-state rival Xavier but they continue to shoot a poor percentage from the field, ranking 164th nationally.  Their defense is great, but it will be interesting to see what happens when they face a ranked team.
12. Illinois Fighting Illini (12-1, Last Week 10) - Illinois struggled mightily on offense shooting 33% while Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson combined for 8-31.  This was the first setback to a surprising start for this team.
13. Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-1, Last Week 13) - The Zags took care of Campbell now look towards playing two Big 12 teams in Baylor and Oklahoma State.
14. Florida Gators (8-2, Last Week 8) - Florida has dropped two of its last three after falling 67-61 to Kansas State.  This team looked good early on but is starting to stumble on the road.
15. San Diego State Aztecs (11-1, Last Week 14) - A win over Arizona in the championship in Hawaii will turn some heads for this team.

Biggest Jump - Missouri up 7
Biggest Drop - Florida down 6