1. Iowa State (10-1) beat Morgan State 99-72 Marquette Auburn 8 The Cyclones open conference play Dec. 30 with a trip to Boulder, a difficult assignment because of the altitude.
They are undoubtedly aware, having lost decisively in Provo last season. 2. Kansas (9-2) beat Brown 87-53 Duke Creighton 12 Michigan State is doing its part to prop up KU’s resume with five consecutive wins.
North Carolina? Not so much. 3. West Virginia (9-2) beat Mercyhurst 67-46 Gonzaga Louisville 33 The Mountaineers need to hold their own through the first half of conference play, then stack wins when the schedule eases in February.
4. Baylor (7-3) Did not play St. John’s UConn 21 There’s no telling how the Bears will perform after their 16-day break — yep, 16! — but at least they have Arlington Baptist as a bridge to the start of Big 12 play.
5. Houston (8-3) beat Texas A&M-CC 87-51 Butler San Diego State 6 Lukewarm take: If the Cougars aren’t 7-0 in conference when they head to Lawrence on Jan. 25, something has gone wrong.
6. Arizona State (9-2) beat UMass 78-62 Saint Mary’s Florida 50 Super-freshman Jayden Quaintance’s uptick in production in recent weeks has been impossible to miss. If he maintains the current level, ASU should stay on track for an NCAA bid.
7. Cincinnati (10-1) beat Dayton 66-59 and Grambling State 84-49 Dayton Villanova 18 The victory over Dayton does wonders for UC’s resume given that the Flyers have beaten both UConn and Marquette and lost close games to .