clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Top 25: Week of 2/28

After a chaotic weekend, let’s check in on the rankings.

By Matt Ferenchick
/ new
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 23 Womens - North Carolina at Georgia Tech Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The calendars may have only changed to March today, but the madness well and truly started over the weekend. Of last week’s AP Top 25 Poll top ten teams, seven lost on Saturday, including all of the top six. While we still have a week until the major men’s conference tournaments, it was a nice little appetizer for what’s coming up over the next couple week.

After last weekend’s chaos, let’s check in on where the Top 25 rankings stand now.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

  1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (46 first place votes)
  2. Arizona Wildcats
  3. Baylor Bears (4)
  4. Duke Blue Devils (11)
  5. Auburn Tigers
  6. Kansas Jayhawks
  7. Kentucky Wildcats
  8. Purdue Boilermakers
  9. Providence Friars
  10. Wisconsin Badgers
  11. Villanova Wildcats
  12. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  13. Tennessee Volunteers
  14. Houston Cougars
  15. Arkansas Razorbacks (tied for #14)
  16. USC Trojans
  17. UCLA Bruins
  18. UConn Huskies
  19. Saint Mary’s Gaels
  20. Illinois Fighting Illini
  21. Texas Longhorns
  22. Murray State Racers
  23. Ohio State Buckeyes
  24. Iowa Hawkeyes
  25. Alabama Crimson Tide

Where is UNC?

Over the weekend, the Tar Heels won a third consecutive game, and momentarily steadied themselves in the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation. What it hasn’t done is get them close to getting back into the Top 25. UNC is still voteless in the newest edition of the rankings.

Biggest Winners

As mentioned, it’s was quite the wild weekend on the men’s side of things. However, it was so wild that there wasn’t as big a shakeup in the rankings as you might’ve expected, as Gonzaga and Arizona both stayed at the #1 and #2 spots they were last week. The biggest change came in the team that is now #3. After Baylor’s win over Kansas, the Bears are now third and garnered a couple first place votes.

Biggest Losers

Of the top ten teams that lost, Purdue had the biggest fall, going from #4 to #8, but again, there was so much chaos that a lot of those teams didn’t move down all that far. The biggest losers of the week were UCLA and Illinois, who both dropped five spots.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

  • #9 Providence (24-3, 14-2 Big East) at #11 Villanova (21-7, 14-4 Big East) - Tonight at 6:30 PM ET on FS1
  • #8 Purdue (24-5, 13-5 Big Ten) at #10 Wisconsin (23-5, 14-4 Big Ten) - Tonight at 8 PM ET on ESPN
  • North Carolina (21-8, 13-5 ACC) at #4 Duke (25-4, 15-3 ACC) - Saturday at 6 PM ET on ESPN

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

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

Where is UNC?

Over the weekend, the Tar Heels wrapped up their regular season by crushing Duke, extending their win streak to four, and taking a seventh win in eight games. As a result, they moved up two spots and now sit at #16 in the country. The selection committee operates differently than AP Poll voters, but #16 equates to bordering on a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which is impressive considering where the Heels started the season.

Biggest Winners

There was far less chaos over the weekend on the women’s side, and the top five is unchanged from last week. However, there is one team that cracked the top 15 after a big jump and a notable win. After crushing previously #6 Michigan by 24 points, Iowa moved up nine spot to #12. The Hawkeyes, led by Caitlin Clark, who dropped 38 points against Michigan, clinched a share of the Big Ten title.

Biggest Losers

Florida had the biggest drop, falling eight spots after losing three-straight games. However, the biggest losers of the week are arguably Notre Dame. The Irish dropped six spots after losing to Louisville. Taking a loss to the #4 Cardinals is understandable, but Notre Dame was crushed by them, trailing 31-3 after the first quarter.

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

A lot of the major conference are holding their women’s tournaments this week, so for this part, let’s take a look at some of the big ones coming up this week.

  • ACC Tournament - March 2-6 in Greensboro - Final at 12 PM ET on Sunday on ESPN: With six ranked teams and a couple other potential tournament teams, the ACCT is going to be a gauntlet.
  • SEC Tournament - March 2-6 in Nashville - Final at 1 PM ET on Sunday on ESPN2: The unanimous #1 South Carolina leads the way in another stacked tournament, as nine SEC teams are projected to get NCAAT bids by ESPN.

More From Tar Heel Blog

Loading comments...