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AP Top 25: Week of 2/20

It was not the best of weeks for either UNC basketball team.

North Carolina v NC State Photo by Lance King/Getty Images

That was not the best of weeks for UNC basketball as a whole. The men lost two games, both of which they had leads in, and would’ve helped massively for their NCAA Tournament hopes. The women’s team did win over the weekend, but also lost a massively frustrating game against NC State during the week. They at least remain on track for a tourney bid, and a pretty good seed in it.

As we continue to near March, let’s check in on where things stand in the AP Top 25 rankings after last week’s action.

Men’s Basketball

AP Top 25

  1. Houston (48 first place votes)
  2. Alabama (7)
  3. Kansas (7)
  4. UCLA
  5. Purdue
  6. Virginia
  7. Arizona
  8. Texas
  9. Baylor
  10. Marquette
  11. Tennessee
  12. Gonzaga
  13. Miami
  14. Kansas State
  15. Saint Mary’s
  16. Xavier
  17. Indiana
  18. UConn
  19. Creighton
  20. Providence
  21. Northwestern
  22. San Diego State
  23. Iowa State
  24. TCU
  25. Texas A&M

Where is UNC?

LOL, no.

Biggest Winners

We have another new #1, as Houston ascended to the top spot thanks to Alabama’s mid-week loss to Tennessee. However, shoutout goes to Northwestern, who have cracked the rankings for the first time this season. The Wildcats — in search of just their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance — are now #21 after recent wins over both Purdue and Indiana.

Biggest Losers

Florida Atlantic have been one of the more interesting stories of the season, but they had the biggest fall of this week, going from number #25 to unranked/the unofficial #32 after taking a loss to Middle Tennessee.

Conference Breakdown

Marquee Matchups This Week

  • #8 Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) at #9 Baylor (20-7, 9-5 Big 12) - Saturday at 2:00 PM ET on ESPN or ESPN2
  • #20 Providence (20-7, 12-4 Big East) at #18 UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East) - Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET on FS1
  • #17 Indiana (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten) at #5 Purdue (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten) - Saturday at 7:30 PM ET on FOX

Women’s Basketball

AP Top 25

  1. South Carolina (27 first place votes)
  2. Indiana (1)
  3. Stanford
  4. UConn
  5. LSU
  6. Iowa
  7. Maryland
  8. Utah
  9. Virginia Tech
  10. Notre Dame
  11. Duke
  12. Michigan
  13. Oklahoma
  14. Arizona
  15. Villanova
  16. Ohio State
  17. UCLA
  18. Gonzaga
  19. Texas
  20. Iowa State
  21. Colorado
  22. North Carolina
  23. Florida State
  24. UNLV
  25. Middle Tennessee (tied for #25)
  26. Illinois (tied for #25)

Where is UNC?

The injury hit Tar Heels took a loss to NC State last week which saw their ranking take another slight hit. Carolina fell three spots to #22 in this week’s rankings.

Biggest Winners

In terms of spots, Arizona’s four place rise was the biggest of the week, but arguably something more notable happened with a team that didn’t move any spots. Indiana became the first non-South Carolina team to get a first place vote in many weeks in the latest Top 25. That came on the back of a stretch where they had knocked off the then #5, #13, and #12 teams.

Biggest Losers

USC had only just cracked last week’s poll at the #25 spot, but they’re now barely getting any votes after they took a loss to a below .500 Cal team over the weekend.

Conference Breakdown

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

Marquee Matchups This Week

  • #6 Iowa (22-5, 14-2 Big Ten) at #7 Maryland (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) - Tonight at 8:00 PM ET on Big Ten Network
  • #3 Stanford (25-3, 13-2 Pac-12) at #8 Utah (23-3, 13-3 Pac-12) - Saturday at 2:00 PM ET on Pac-12 Network
  • #22 North Carolina (19-8, 10-6 ACC) at #11 Duke (23-4, 13-3 ACC) - Sunday at 12:00 PM ET on ACC Network Extra