Top 25: Week of 12/6

With many school nearing the end of semesters and final exams, we’re about to enter a bit of a “calm before the storm” period in college basketball. However, we are coming off a bit of a busy week.

Last week was featured the ACC-Big 12 Challenge, which saw two conference compete in several high profile matchups. Both North Carolina teams won their matchups, with the men crushing Michigan and the women picking up road win at Minnesota. Beyond that, there were several notable upsets across college basketball, and we have some decently big changes in the rankings. Let’s check in on them now that dust has settled.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. Purdue Boilermakers (61 first place votes)
2. Baylor Bears
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. UCLA Bruins
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs
6. Villanova Wildcats
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Kansas Jayhawks
9. Alabama Crimson Tide
10. Kentucky Wildcats
11. Arizona Wildcats
12. Arkansas Razorbacks
13. Tennessee Volunteers
14. Houston Cougars
15. UConn Huskies
16. USC Trojans
17. Iowa State Hawkeyes
18. Auburn Tigers
19. Michigan State Spartans
20. Florida Gators
21. Ohio State Buckeyes
22. Wisconsin Badgers
23. Seton Hall Pirates
24. BYU Cougars
25. LSU Tigers

Where is UNC?

After a 2-0 week featuring two 17+ final margins, there was a non-zero chance that the Tar Heels could’ve snuck back into the top 25. That didn’t happen, but they’re way closer now. UNC is now the unofficial #29, 80 ranking points back of LSU.

Biggest Winners

Other teams had bigger jumps, but the biggest winner of the week is definitely Purdue. After moving to 8-0 with wins over Florida State and Iowa and losses elsewhere, the Boilermakers moved up to #1 in the rankings. This is the first time in program history that they’ve been ranked first in the country in the AP Poll.

Biggest Losers

BYU had gotten off to an impressive start to the season, winning their first six games, including a 32-point win over then #12 Oregon. However last week, they took a loss to Utah....Valley University. Somehow that wasn’t enough to completely take them out of the rankings, but they did drop 12 spots as a result.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• Big 12: 4
• Big Ten: 4
• Big East: 3
• Pac-12: 3
• WCC: 2
• AAC: 1
• ACC: 1

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #7 Texas (6-1) at #23 Seton Hall (7-1) - Thursday at 6:30 PM ET on Fox Sports 1
• #14 Houston (7-1) at #9 Alabama (7-1) - Saturday at 10 PM ET on ESPN2
• #6 Villanova (6-2) at #2 Baylor (8-0) - Sunday at 3 PM ET on ABC

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. South Carolina Gamecocks (30 first place votes)
2. NC State Wolfpack
3. UConn Huskies
4. Stanford Cardinal
5. Baylor Bears
6. Arizona Wildcats
7. Louisville Cardinals
8. Maryland Terrapins
9. Tennessee Lady Vols
10. Indiana Hoosiers
11. Texas Longhorns
12. Iowa Hawkeyes
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. Kentucky Wildcats
15. Iowa State Cyclones
16. BYU Cougars
17. South Florida Bulls
18. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Duke Blue Devils
20. Ohio State Buckeyes
21. Georgia Bulldogs
22. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
23. Oregon State Beavers
24. LSU Tigers
25. Colorado Buffaloes

Where is UNC?

The Heels have been slowly working their way up the “others receiving votes” thanks to their undefeated start, and they gained more ground this week. After a road win at Minnesota and a demolition of James Madison, UNC is the unofficial #29, 20 ranking points back of Colorado.

Biggest Winners

Some team from Durham moved up seven spots after winning a ACC-Big Ten Challenge game over Iowa. Moving on...

Biggest Losers

Oregon had the biggest fall of the week dropping from #18 all the way to completely out of the poll. The Ducks have three losses on the season. Two, South Carolina and South Florida, are understandable, the latest one to UC Davis is less so.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 6
• Big Ten: 5
• ACC: 4
• Pac-12: 4
• Big 12: 3
• AAC: 1
• Big East: 1
• WCC: 1

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #12 Iowa (5-1) at #15 Iowa State (8-1) - Wednesday at 7 PM ET on ESPNU
• #14 Kentucky (6-1) at #7 Louisville (7-1) - Sunday at 1 PM ET on ESPN
• #8 Maryland (8-2) at #1 South Carolina (9-0) - Sunday at 3 PM ET on ESPN