/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70593413/1382459061.0.jpg)
Exactly one week from today, we will know the fields for this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments. However, that also means that this week will be quite the exciting one too. This week, we’ll get plenty of all-day action with the various conference tournaments, giving us an appetizer before the main course of the NCAA Tournaments.
However before all that kicks off, last week was a pretty big one too. There was a certain result in Cameron Indoor Stadium that you may have heard about, that has caused a big of a shake up in the AP Top 25 rankings.
Men’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (52 first place votes)
- Arizona Wildcats (6)
- Baylor Bears (3)
- Auburn Tigers
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Duke Blue Devils
- Villanova Wildcats
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Purdue Boilermakers (tied for #9)
- Providence Friars
- Wisconsin Badgers
- UCLA Bruins
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- St. Mary’s Gaels
- Houston Cougars
- Murray State Racers
- UConn Huskies
- USC Trojans
- Texas Longhorns
- Colorado State Rams
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
Where is UNC?
Well, well, well, what do we have here? After the win over Duke, the Heels are not only back to receiving votes, but they’ve jumped all the way to #25. It’s the first time the men have been ranked since November, as they dropped out after the Thanksgiving tournament losses to Purdue and Tennessee.
Biggest Winners
Going from completely vote-less to ranked means UNC had the biggest jump of the week. As far as jumps withing the rankings, Tennessee, UCLA, and Illinois all had four spot jumps after all three picked up wins over ranked opponents.
Biggest Losers
USC fell five spots after being on the end of UCLA’s aforementioned win, which was the biggest fall of the week. Also, Duke fell three spots, I type very seriously, definitely not with a smirk on my face.
Conference Breakdown
- Big 12: 4
- Big Ten: 4
- SEC: 4
- Big East: 3
- Pac-12: 3
- ACC: 2
- WCC: 2
- AAC: 1
- Mountain West: 1
- OVC: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
It’s conference tournament season, so there aren’t a lot of marquee matchups set ahead of time, so here’s a look at some of the tournaments that could shape Selection Sunday.
- SEC Tournament: March 9-13 in Tampa - Final is Sunday at 1 PM ET on ESPN
The SEC has two teams in the running for one seeds, and goes in with four ranked teams in total. ESPN currently projects them to get six teams in the NCAA Tournament, and a couple could rocket themselves up the seeding list with a good week.
- ACC Tournament: March 8-12 in Brooklyn - Final is Saturday at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN
ESPN currently projects the ACC with five teams in, but there’s a couple that are perilously on either side of the bubble. Knock on wood, but UNC have seemingly taken themselves off that list with the Duke win, but there’s a couple teams with work to do this week.
Women’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- South Carolina Gamecocks (17 first place votes)
- Stanford Cardinal (11)
- NC State Wolfpack (2)
- Baylor Bears
- Louisville Cardinals
- UConn Huskies
- Texas Longhorns
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- LSU Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Maryland Terrapins
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- BYU Cougars
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Arizona Wildcats
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
- Princeton Tigers
- UCF Golden Knights
Where is UNC?
The Tar Heels took a pretty brutal overtime loss in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, but it didn’t cause them to fall too far in the rankings. They dropped two spots, one behind the team that beat them: Virginia Tech.
Biggest Winners
Kentucky went into last weekend’s SEC Tournament far from assured of a NCAA berth. Now, they’ve clinched the auto bid, and beat three ranked teams, including #1 South Carolina to get there. The run vaulted them up 10 spots to #16 in the Top 25.
Biggest Losers
A different SEC team was the biggest fall-er of the week after their tournament performance. Florida went from #23 to receiving just a handful of votes after losing to Ole Miss in Nashville.
Conference Breakdown
- ACC: 5
- Big Ten: 5
- Big 12: 4
- SEC: 4
- Pac-12: 2
- Big East: 1
- AAC: 1
- Atlantic Sun: 1
- Ivy League: 1
- WCC: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
Most of the major conference held their women’s tournaments last week, but here’s a quick look at some of the important ones coming up this week.
- Big 12 Tournament: March 10-13 in Kansas City - Final on Sunday at 2 PM ET on ESPN2
With three teams ranked in the top ten, there’s going to be some seeding jockeying in this tournament this week, with two of them maybe even within reach for a #1 seed.
- Summit League Tournament: March 5-8 in Sioux Falls - Final Today at 1 PM ET on ESPNU
The final of this tournament today provides an interesting scenario. According to ESPN, South Dakota is currently in as one of the “Last Four Byes” at a 10 seed. Their opponent, South Dakota State, is the higher seed in the Summit League, but currently projected as a #12 seed that wouldn’t make it without the auto bid. Bubble teams will almost certainly be pulling for South Dakota to keep this from becoming a two-bid league.
Loading comments...