USA Today/ESPN
The top 25 teams in the USA Today-ESPN men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 19, points based on 25 points for a first-place vote, through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pvs | |
| 1. Illinois (24) | 10-0 | 766 | 1 |
| 2. Kansas (5) | 7-0 | 740 | 2 |
| 3. Oklahoma State (2) | 8-0 | 713 | 4 |
| 4. Wake Forest | 9-1 | 646 | 5 |
| 5. North Carolina | 8-1 | 643 | 6 |
| 6. Duke | 8-0 | 624 | 7 |
| 7. Pittsburgh | 8-0 | 545 | 10 |
| 8. Syracuse | 9-1 | 543 | 8 |
| 9. Georgia Tech | 7-1 | 536 | 3 |
| 10. Kentucky | 7-1 | 497 | 11 |
| 11. Connecticut | 5-1 | 399 | 13 |
| 12. Texas | 7-2 | 385 | 12 |
| 13. N.C. State | 8-1 | 342 | 9 |
| 14. Alabama | 9-1 | 334 | 15 |
| 15. Arizona | 7-2 | 333 | 16 |
| 16. Cincinnati | 7-0 | 296 | 17 |
| 17. Washington | 8-1 | 293 | 20 |
| 18. Louisville | 6-2 | 241 | 14 |
| 19. Iowa | 9-1 | 216 | 21 |
| 20. Michigan State | 6-2 | 199 | 18 |
| 21. Maryland | 6-2 | 162 | 19 |
| 22. George Washington | 7-1 | 161 | 22 |
| 23. Gonzaga | 8-1 | 152 | - |
| 24. Mississippi State | 9-2 | 90 | 24 |
| 25. Virginia | 7-1 | 81 | 23 |
Others receiving votes: Marquette 33; Oklahoma 23; Boston College 20; Wisconsin 18; New Mexico 11; West Virginia 8; Southern Illinois 7; Florida 3; Notre Dame 3; Wichita State 3; Creighton 2; Hawaii 1; Iowa State 1; Michigan 1; Old Dominion 1; Santa Clara 1; Texas A&M 1; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1.