The Associated Press top 25 ballot of Kevin Dunleavy (Washington Examiner).

1. Duke (12-0)

Blue Devils will ease into new year with home games against Davidson, Wake, Clemson.

2. Louisville (12-1)

Perimeter trio — Smith (21 points, 7 rebounds), Behanan (20 points, 7 rebounds), Silva (19 points) – too much for Kentucky.

3. Michigan (13-0)

Lots of quality wins – Pitt, Kansas State, N.C. State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Bradley.

4. Arizona (12-0)

In last seven games, Wildcats have trailed inside the 8-minute mark in four and inside the 15-second mark in two.

5. Kansas (11-1)

Host giant-killing Temple on Sunday.

6. Indiana (12-1)

Interesting test Monday afternoon at vastly improved Iowa (11-2).

7. Syracuse (11-1)

Boeheim getting to 900 feels a little like Craig Biggio reaching 3,000 hits.

8. Ohio State (10-2)

At Illinois on Saturday.

9. Missouri (10-2)

In loss at UCLA, Pressey (19 points, 19 assists) broke single-game program assist mark by six.

10.  Illinois (13-1)

The Illini’s forgotten guard, Abrams (27 points, 8 rebounds, five assists, four steals), held off upset bid of Auburn.

11. Gonzaga (12-1)

Pangos (31 points, seven 3-pointers) shot Bulldogs past Baylor.

12. Florida (9-2)

Impressive November, not so much in December.

13. Cincinnati (12-1)

Good Big East opener – Monday at noon at Pitt.

14. Butler (10-2)

Have won seven straight with rout at Vandy.

15. Michigan St. (11-2)

With Appling, Nix in high-gear, Spartans ready for tough Big Ten opener Monday at Minnesota.

16. San Diego State (11-2)

Lost to Arizona because Diamond Head MVP Hill limited Franklin to six shots and nine points, both season lows.

17. Creighton (12-1)

McDermott (29 points, 10 rebounds) steadied Blue Jays in MV opener against Evansville.

18. Notre Dame (12-1)

Did Santa deliver Bray a new mock turtleneck? Answer comes Saturday against Seton Hall.

19. New Mexico (12-1)

How good of a big-game coach is Alford? Lobos have won six of last seven against ranked teams.

20. Minnesota (12-1)

Golden Gophers for real? Answer comes quickly. They start Big Ten with Mich. State (MON), NW, at Illinois, at Indiana, and Michigan.

21. Georgetown (10-1)

After 13-day layoff, play at Marquette in Big East opener on Saturday.

22. Pittsburgh (12-1)

Cold winter in Pittsburgh: With Steelers done and Penguins locked out, Panthers are the only game in town.

23. VCU (10-3)

No surprise here: Rams lead nation in steals per game (12.7).

24. Okla. State (10-1)

Host Gonzaga on Monday night.

25. N.C. State (10-2)

Top three scorers — 6-8 Warren (68.9), 6-8 Howell (67.4), 6-9 Leslie (60.0) — rank 1-2-4 in ACC field goal shooting.

Next six in no particular order

Kansas State

North Carolina

UNLV

Maryland

UCLA

Maryland

Contact Kevin Dunleavy at Kdunleavy@washingtonexaminer.com.