Heading into the new year, we have the first official AP Top 25 Poll of 2018, and it proves to be very similar to the week before. Most teams managed to maintain something around their ranking from the week before, but that doesn’t mean changes weren’t made. A few schools made great leaps, while others fell quite a bit. UNC fans were also treated to the team’s last victory of the year over Wake Forest. Here is what this week’s AP poll looks like:

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Villanova
4. Arizona State
5. Xavier
6. West Virginia
7. Oklahoma
8. Virginia
9. Wichita State
10. Kansas
11. Texas A&M
12. North Carolina
13. Purdue
14. Arizona
15. Miami
16. TCU
17. Kentucky
18. Texas Tech
19. Gonzaga
20. Cincinnati
21. Seton Hall
22. Arkansas
23. Tennessee
24. Florida State
25. Clemson

Where is UNC?

Things were going well for North Carolina before their surprise loss to Wofford last month. That loss dropped them from top 5 all the way down to 13. Now, after victories against Ohio State and Wake Forest, the Tar Heels are beginning the trek back up the mountain. The team moved up a spot to no. 12 just as conference play kicks in with games against Florida State and Virginia coming up this week.

Biggest Losers

The 2017-2018 basketball season had been treating Texas A&M very well before this past week. They managed to reach as high as no. 5 overall on the AP Top 25 Poll by beating up non-conference opponents. However, everything changed when conference play kicked up and they traveled to Alabama to face the Crimson Tide. Texas A&M was blown out of the water, losing by more than 20 points and falling all the way to 11th on this week’s poll.

TCU was another program that benefited greatly from non-conference games early in the season. Everything seemed to be going well for the Horned Frogs as they ranked no. 10 on the AP poll last week, but then conference play started and things went south. Their loss to Oklahoma on Saturday dropped them down to 16th overall with several ranked opponents next up on the schedule.

Biggest Winners

Oklahoma proved to be the big winners from last week when they managed to beat no. 10 TCU by one point. It was their first game against a ranked opponent, and now the Sooners have won nine games in a row.

Texas Tech has managed to put together a solid season so far, making their way up to 22 overall. Then, last week, they managed to defeat Baylor to make it six wins in a row. Texas Tech now sits at no. 18 in the new year, but they will have to face the challenge of Kansas later tonight and Oklahoma soon after.

Top 25 Conference Breakdown

ACC: 6

Big 12: 5

Big Ten: 2

Big East: 3

SEC: 4

AAC: 2

Pac-12: 2

WCC: 1