NCAA College Basketball hoopin’ toward the holidays

The GIST: College ballers still have buckets to sink before Blitzen’s visit. No rest for the naughty or the nice on this week’s courts.

Ye merry poll movers: The men were rockin’ around the polls this week. While Purdue maintained the No. 1 spot, the rest of the Top 5 shifted. The undefeated UConn Huskies (who, like the Boilermakers, were unranked in the preseason) clocked in at No. 2, and Houston, Kansas and Arizona claimed Nos. 3, 4 and 5, respectively, after toppling ranked opponents last weekend.

• This week’s women’s poll, on the other hand, stuck mostly to the status quo, but the undefeated gals of No. 25 St. John’s made their first poll appearance since 2015. Raise some ’nog to that.

Tuesday’s tidings of joy: The women of No. 3 Ohio State may have needed overtime to eke out a tight 88–86 victory over USF, and No. 19 Michigan may have upset No. 6 UNC 76–68, but last night the fellas packed Santa’s bag full of drama.

• In the lone ranked men’s matchup, No. 22 Miami — led by Hurricane guard Isaiah Wong’s 24 points— handed No. 6 Virginia their second season loss 66–64.

What’s next: There are more men’s hoops where that came from, but the star at the top of the tree belongs to the women: Tonight’s 9:30 p.m. ET contest will end either the Florida Gators’ or the No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners’ win-streaks. After both fell on November 16th, the Sooners have six straight dubs, while the Gators have nine.