Top 25: Week of 2/7

As UNC fans, we’re all now well aware that we’re fully into the home stretch of the college basketball season. There’s been lots of bubble talk after the Heels’ look to Duke over the weekend and plenty of discussion on whether Carolina will get into the big dance.

While the UNC women don’t seem to have the same issues, there’s still just enough season left for this to be a fascinating stretch run. With another week in the books, let’s check in on where the Top 25 rankings stand now.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

1. Auburn Tigers (48 first place votes)
2. Gonzaga Bulldogs (13)
3. Purdue Boilermakers
4. Arizona Wildcats
5. Kentucky Wildcats
6. Houston Cougars
7. Duke Blue Devils
8. Kansas Jayhawks
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders
10. Baylor Bears
11. Providence Friars
12. UCLA Bruins
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
14. Wisconsin Badgers
15. Villanova Wildcats
16. Ohio State Buckeyes
17. Michigan State Spartans
18. Marquette Golden Eagles
19. Tennessee Volunteers
20. Texas Longhorns
21. USC Trojans
22. St. Mary’s Gaels
23. Murray State Racers
24. UConn Huskies
25. Xavier Musketeers

Where is UNC?

Well... A win over Duke might’ve gotten the Heels back into the top 25, or at the very least would’ve gotten them some votes. However, the polar opposite happened, so UNC is still vote-less.

Biggest Winners

By pure spots, Marquette’s jump up six was the biggest of the week, but let’s highlight a pair of mid-majors instead. St. Mary’s and Murray State have joined the top 25 after moving up four and three spots respectively.

Biggest Losers

UCLA had the biggest fall of anyone this week, falling nine spots after taking two-straight losses. Falling to Arizona on the road was understandable for them, dropping another to Arizona State was less so.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #13 Illinois (17-5, 10-2 Big Ten) at #3 Purdue (20-3, 9-3 Big Ten) - Tonight at 9 PM ET on ESPN
• #22 St. Mary’s (19-4, 7-1 WCC) at #2 Gonzaga (19-2, 8-0 WCC) - Saturday at 10 PM ET
• #12 UCLA (16-4, 8-3 Pac-12) at #21 USC (19-4, 9-4 Pac-12) - Saturday at 10 PM ET

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

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

Where is UNC?

After an undefeated week, including a 47-point demolition job over Miami, the Heels moved up a spot to #23. They have a pair of winnable games coming up this week before they taken on currently #3 Louisville on February 17th.

Biggest Winners

Florida were the biggest winners of the week, entering the top 25 all the way at #19. The Gators moved up that high thanks to wins in four of their last five games, all of which came against teams that were ranked at the time.

Biggest Losers

The biggest losers of the week were one of Florida’s recent victims: Tennessee. The Lady Vols fell six spots after taking that loss to the Gators and then taking another to UConn.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #12 Oklahoma (20-3, 9-2 Big 12) at #16 Texas (15-6, 5-5 Big 12) - Saturday at 8 PM ET on Longhorn Network
• #1 South Carolina (21-1, 9-1 SEC) at #17 Georgia (17-5, 6-4 SEC) - Sunday at 12 PM ET on ESPN2
• #18 Notre Dame (18-5, 9-3 ACC) at #3 Louisville (21-2, 11-1 ACC) - Sunday at 2 PM ET on ESPN