With three weeks now in the books, the out of conference slate has officially reached its peak, as Thanksgiving week brings the heaviest and most competitive stretch of early season basketball we will see until March. The Players Era Festival, Maui Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis, and ESPN Events Invitational are all set to tip off, creating a national showcase that will test depth, expose weaknesses, and elevate teams with the poise to handle tournament pressure before December even arrives. Several programs have already begun making noise ahead of the holiday week, none louder than Arizona, which followed its early win over Florida with a massive road victory at UConn for its second top five triumph in three weeks. The Champions Classic delivered its usual fireworks as Michigan State took down Kentucky and Duke toppled Kansas, while Alabama picked up a second top ten win by beating Illinois in Chicago. Purdue also strengthened its early resumé by sweeping Wake Forest and Texas Tech to capture the Baha Mar Championship. With all of that movement and momentum, the national landscape is shifting faster than it has all month. Teams are already revealing who they might become by March, and the gap between contenders and pretenders is tightening by the day, so with that in mind, here is where things stand entering yet another busy week of the young season:

1. Arizona (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: @ 3 UConn

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Denver (11/24), vs. Norfolk State (11/29)

2. Purdue (6-0)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. Memphis (in Nassau, Bahamas), vs. 15 Texas Tech (in Nassau, Bahamas)

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Eastern Illinois (11/28)

3. Houston (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Rider

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Syracuse (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. 17 Tennessee (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

4. Duke (7-0)

Last Week’s Record: 3-0

Wins: vs. 24 Kansas (in Birmingham, AL), vs. Niagara, vs. Howard

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 22 Arkansas (in Chicago, IL) (11/27)

5. UConn (5-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-1

Wins: vs. Bryant

Losses: vs. 4 Arizona

This Week: vs. 13 Illinois (in New York, NY) (11/28)

6. Louisville (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Cincinnati (in Cincinnati, OH)

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Eastern Michigan (11/24), vs. NJIT (11/26)

7. Michigan (4-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. MTSU

Losses: None

This Week: vs. San Diego State (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. 21 Auburn (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

8. Michigan State (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. 12 Kentucky (in New York, NY), vs. Detroit Mercy

Losses: None

This Week: vs. East Carolina (in Fort Myers, FL) (11/25), vs. 16 North Carolina (in Fort Myers, FL) (11/27)

9. Alabama (3-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. 8 Illinois (in Chicago, IL)

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 12 Gonzaga (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. UNLV (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

10. BYU (4-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Miami (in Kissimmee, FL) (11/27), vs. TBD (in Kissimmee, FL) (11/28)

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 8 Illinois (in Chicago, IL) (11/19)

11. Illinois (5-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-1

Wins: vs. Long Island

Losses: vs. 11 Alabama (in Chicago, IL)

This Week: vs. 5 UConn (in New York, NY) (11/28)

12. Florida (4-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Merrimack

Losses: None

This Week: vs. TCU (in San Diego, CA) (11/27), vs. TBD (in San Diego, CA) (11/28)

13. Gonzaga (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Southern Utah

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 8 Alabama (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. Maryland (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

14. North Carolina (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Navy

Losses: None

This Week: vs. St. Bonaventure (in Fort Myers, FL) (11/25), vs. 11 Michigan State (in Fort Myers, FL) (11/27)

15. St. John’s (3-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Bucknell

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 15 Iowa State (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. Baylor (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

16. Iowa State (4-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Stonehill

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 14 St. John’s (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. Creighton (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

17. Tennessee (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. Rice, vs. Tennessee State

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Rutgers (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. 3 Houston (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

18. NC State (4-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. VCU

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Seton Hall (in Maui, HI) (11/24), vs. TBD (in Maui, HI) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Maui, HI) (11/26)

19. Kentucky (4-2)

Last Week’s Record: 1-1

Wins: vs. Loyola MD

Losses: vs. 17 Michigan State (in New York, NY)

This Week: vs. Tennessee Tech (11/26)

20. Texas Tech (4-2)

Last Week’s Record: 1-1

Wins: vs. Wake Forest (in Nassau, Bahamas)

Losses: vs. 1 Purdue (in Nassau, Bahamas)

This Week: vs. New Orleans (11/26), vs. Wyoming (11/30)

21. UCLA (5-1)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. Sacramento State, vs. Presbyterian

Losses: None

This Week: vs. California (in San Francisco, CA) (11/25)

22. Arkansas (5-1)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. Winthrop, vs. Jackson State

Losses: None

This Week: vs. 4 Duke (in Chicago, IL) (11/27)

23. Auburn (4-1)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Jackson State

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Oregon (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/24), vs. 7 Michigan (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/25), vs. TBD (in Las Vegas, NV) (11/26)

24. Vanderbilt (5-0)

Last Week’s Record: 1-0

Wins: vs. Texas Southern

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Western Kentucky (in Nassau, Bahamas) (11/26), vs. TBD (in Nassau, Bahamas) (11/27), vs. TBD (in Nassau, Bahamas) (11/28)

25. Nebraska (6-0)

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. New Mexico (in Kansas City, MO), vs. Kansas State (in Kansas City, MO)

Losses: None

This Week: vs. Winthrop (11/25), vs. USC Upstate (11/29)