The world of college basketball is about to get a lot more entertaining, at least in the SEC.

Here’s everything you missed from Week 8 of the college basketball season, plus the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

SEC play begins this week

It was a very quiet week over the holidays and not much changed at the top of the leaderboard. Tennessee retained first place Monday, followed again by Auburn, Iowa State, Duke and Alabama. In fact, the first 13 teams are the same as last week. The biggest improvement came from UCLA, which moved up seven spots to No. 15 after Saturday’s 65-62 win over Gonzaga. That moved the Bruins to 11-2 and made up for last week’s two-point loss to North Carolina.

However, SEC games begin this week and we should learn a few things very quickly.

Let’s start with the Vols, who are ranked No. 1 on Saturday. 23 Arkansas will be received. It’s the first legitimate matchup for Tennessee since it beat Illinois on a game-winner from Jordan Gainey earlier this month. The game with the Razorbacks will serve as a good preview for next Tuesday’s game in unbeaten Florida.

Speaking of the Gators, they will enter SEC play with a perfect record of 13-0. It’s the program’s best start since the 2005-06 season. While five of Florida’s wins have come against power conference opponents, they have never played another ranked team. That will change when they travel to Rupp Arena Saturday morning to play No. 10 Kentucky — the first of three straight ranked games.

We’ll see in the coming days if this Gators team is as good as their record.

Finally, let’s talk about No. 12 Oklahoma. The Sooners are in a similar situation to Florida. They enter conference play undefeated, but have only beaten two ranked opponents so far this season. After sneaking past Michigan with a wild four-point game earlier this month, they steamrolled Central Arkansas and Prairie View en route to their best start in three decades.

Oklahoma will first face No. 5 Alabama on Saturday in its first conference game since joining the SEC. While it’s likely impossible to emerge unscathed from one of the sport’s best conferences, and the Crimson Tide don’t appear to be a step up from last spring’s Final Four run, a strong performance by the Sooners against Alabama may doom them They have a long way to go to prove they can compete with the best in the conference this winter.

Games to watch this week

Thursday, January 2nd
No. 22 Illinois at No. 9 Oregon | 10pm ET | FS1

Friday, January 3rd
Creighton at No. 8 Marquette | 9pm ET | FS1

Saturday, January 4th
No. 6 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky | 11am ET | ESPN
No. 23 Arkansas at No. 1 Tennessee | 1 p.m. | ESPN
No. 25 Baylor at No. 3 Iowa State | 2 p.m. ET | CBS
No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 5 Alabama | 6pm ET | SEC Network

AP Top 25

The complete Associated Press men’s basketball poll as of Dec. 30, 2024.

1. Tennessee (12-0)

2. Auburn (11-1)

3. Iowa State (10-1)

4. Duke (10-2)

5. Alabama (10-2)

6. Florida (13-0)

7. Kansas (9-2)

8. Marquette (11-2)

9. Oregon (11-1)

10. Kentucky (10-2)

11. UConn (10-3)

12. Oklahoma (13-0)

13. Texas A&M (11-2)

14. Houston (8-3)

15. UCLA (11-2)

16. Cincinnati (10-1)

17. Mississippi State (11-1)

18. Michigan State (10-2)

19. Gonzaga (9-4)

20. Purdue (9-4)

21. Memphis (10-3)

22. Illinois (9-3)

23. Arkansas (10-2)

24. Ole Miss (11-2)

25. Baylor (8-3)

Others receiving votes: Maryland 133, Drake 100, St. John’s 98, Dayton 90, Michigan 65, Utah State 59, Georgia 48, Pittsburgh 35, West Virginia 30, San Diego State 28, Ohio State 19, Missouri 19, North Carolina 19, Arizona State 13 , Indiana 11, Texas Tech 8, Clemson 8, Wisconsin 7, Penn State 5, St. Bonaventure 2, Nebraska 1