We’re into the final week of 2022. It’s been a memorable year in UNC athletics, which includes both glorious, frustrating, and heartbreaking moments and games. Before 2023 gets underway and the basketball season gets fully into conference play on the march to March, let’s check in on where the Top 25 rankings stand this week.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. Purdue (40 first place votes)
2. UConn (20)
3. Houston
4. Kansas
5. Arizona
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Alabama
9. Arkansas
10. Gonzaga
11. UCLA
12. Baylor
13. Virginia
14. Miami
15. Wisconsin
16. Indiana
17. Duke
18. TCU
19. Kentucky
20. Auburn
21. Mississippi State
22. Xavier (tied for #22)
23. New Mexico (tied for #22)
24. West Virginia
25. North Carolina

Where is UNC?

Well, well, well. After the four-game losing streak took the Tar Heels from #1 all the way to out of the poll, Carolina is back. UNC are now at #25 after the recent winning streak, including the Ohio State and Michigan wins.

Biggest Winners

While the Heels getting back in is good, it was a different ACC team that had the biggest jump of the week. Miami moved up eight spots after they increased their win streak to eight games. The eighth win happened to come against then #6 Virginia.

Biggest Losers

Virginia fell seven spots as a result of that loss, but they were topped by Illinois. The Illini went from #16 to unranked and the unofficial #29 after their recent play, which includes a blowout loss to Missouri.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 6
• Big 12: 5
• ACC: 4
• Big Ten: 3
• Big East: 2
• Pac-12: 2
• AAC: 1
• Mountain West: 1
• WCC: 1

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #19 Kentucky (8-3) at Missouri (11-1) - Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET on SEC Network
• #8 Alabama (10-2) at #21 Mississippi State (11-1) - Wednesday at 9 PM ET on SEC Network
• #2 UConn (13-0, 2-0 Big East) at #22 Xavier (10-3, 2-0 Big East) - Saturday at 12:00 PM ET on FOX

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. South Carolina (28 first place votes)
2. Stanford
3. Ohio State
4. Indiana
5. Notre Dame
6. NC State
7. Virginia Tech
8. UConn
9. LSU
10. UCLA
11. Utah
12. Iowa
13. North Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Iowa State
16. Maryland
17. Oregon
18. Arizona
19. Gonzaga
20. Oklahoma
21. Creighton
22. Kansas
23. Baylor
24. Arkansas
25. St. John’s

Where is UNC?

The Tar Heels unfortunately went the wrong way this week. Carolina dropped out of the top ten and fell to #13 after taking a loss to Michigan at the women’s edition of the Jumpman Invitational.

Biggest Winners

The Wolverines actually used their victory over Carolina as a springboard for the biggest jump of the week. Michigan moved up five spots to #14 in an otherwise quiet week, which featured no new additions or subtractions from last week.

Biggest Losers

As you might be able to guess from the “quiet week” part, UNC’s seven spot fall was the biggest of the week. However, one other team tied them. Arkansas also dropped seven places, falling to #24 after taking losses to Oregon and South Florida.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #9 LSU (12-0) at #24 Arkansas (13-2) - Thursday at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2
• #10 UCLA (12-1, 1-0 Pac-12) at #17 Oregon (10-2. 1-0 Pac-12) - Friday at 9:00 PM ET on Pac-12 Network
• #14 Michigan (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at #3 Ohio State (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) - Saturday at 1:00 PM ET on Big Ten Network