Top 25: Week of 2/14

One month from today we will know the fields for both 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournaments, with Selection Sunday for both coming on March 13th. While the North Carolina Tar Heels women seem safely in at this point, the men don’t have much wiggle room down the stretch.

As we inch closer towards the Madness, let’s check in on the latest AP Top 25 Rankings after last week’s action.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (56 first place votes)
2. Auburn Tigers (4)
3. Arizona Wildcats
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Purdue Boilermakers
6. Kansas Jayhawks
7. Baylor Bears
8. Providence Friars
9. Duke Blue Devils
10. Villanova Wildcats
11. Texas Tech Red Raiders
12. Illinois Fighting Illini
13. UCLA Bruins
14. Houston Cougars
15. Wisconsin Badgers
16. Tennessee Volunteers
17. USC Trojans
18. Ohio State Buckeyes
19. Michigan State Spartans
20. Texas Longhorns
21. Murray State Racers
22. Wyoming Cowboys
23. Arkansas Razorbacks
24. UConn Huskies
25. Alabama Crimson Tide

Where is UNC?

Well, the Heels bounced back from the Duke game with two wins, including a total domination of Florida State, but it still wasn’t remotely enough to get near the top 25. UNC is still vote-less this week.

Biggest Winners

Villanova had the biggest move up at five spots, but one of their Big East foes had arguably the most notable jump. Providence are now in the top ten at #8. The Friars now sit at 21-2 after extending their win streak to eight games. Meanwhile, Gonzaga returned to #1 for their third stint at the top spot this season.

Biggest Losers

Houston lost a pair of games to unranked teams last week, and as a result dropped eight spot, falling to #14. That eight spot drop was matched by Marquette, who went from #18 to being the highest unranked vote-getter.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #10 Villanova (19-6, 12-3 Big East) at #8 Providence (21-2, 11-1 Big East) - Tonight at 8 PM ET on CBSSN
• #4 Kentucky (21-4, 10-2 SEC) at 16 Tennessee (18-6, 9-3 SEC) - Tonight at 9 PM ET on ESPN
• #7 Baylor (21-4, 9-3 Big 12) at #11 Texas Tech (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) - Wednesday at 9 PM ET on ESPN2

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. South Carolina Gamecocks (30 first place votes)
2. Stanford Cardinal
3. Louisville Cardinals
4. NC State Wolfpack
5. Indiana Hoosiers
6. Iowa State Cyclones
7. Baylor Bears
8. Arizona Wildcats
9. Michigan Wolverines
10. UConn Huskies
11. LSU Tigers
12. Tennessee Volunteers
13. Maryland Terrapins
14. Texas Longhorns
15. Oklahoma Sooners
16. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
17. Florida Gators
18. Ohio State Buckeyes
19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
20. BYU Cougars
21. Georgia Bulldogs
22. Iowa Hawkeyes
23. Virginia Tech Hokies
24. North Carolina Tar Heels
25. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

Where is UNC?

After dropping a game at Virginia Tech, the Heels fell one spot to #24, with their old spot now occupied by the Hokies teams that knocked them off.

Biggest Winners

Virginia Tech’s three spot jump actually tied them with several other teams for the biggest of the week. Other notables among that group include Iowa State, who, at #6, are at their highest AP ranking in 20 years.

Biggest Losers

Georgia Tech and Michigan took the biggest drops of the week, each falling five spots to numbers 16 and 9 respectively.

Conference Breakdown

• ACC: 6
• Big Ten: 5
• SEC: 5
• Big 12: 4
• Pac-12: 2
• Atlantic Sun: 1
• Big East: 1
• WCC: 1

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #3 Louisville (22-2, 13-1 ACC) at #24 North Carolina (19-5, 9-5 ACC) - Wednesday at 6 PM ET on ACC Network Extra
• #22 Iowa (16-6, 10-3 Big Ten) at #5 Indiana (18-3, 10-1 Big Ten) - Saturday at 4 PM ET
• #12 Tennessee (21-4, 10-2 SEC) at #1 South Carolina (23-1, 11-1 SEC) - Sunday at 1 PM ET on ABC