We’ve reached the first notable week of the college basketball season — I guess with the exception of the opening one. This week is commonly called “Feast Week” as it features a bunch of notable tournaments and events over Thanksgiving, and we will see many teams face some of their biggest tests of the season so far.
Due to that, last week didn’t quite feature as many notable games as this week will. It was a pretty decent one for the UNC basketball teams, though, as they went a combined 3-0 since
our last AP Poll update. With that in mind, it’s time for another one, so let’s see where the chips landed in this week’s Top 25.
Men’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- Purdue (46 first place votes)
- Arizona (11)
- Houston (4)
- Duke
- UConn
- Louisville
- Michigan
- Alabama
- BYU
- Florida
- Michigan State
- Gonzaga
- Illinois
- St. John’s
- Iowa State
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Texas Tech
- Auburn
- Arkansas
- NC State
- Vanderbilt
- Indiana
Where is UNC?
The Carolina men played just once last week, beating Navy — albeit not in the most eye-pleasing way. However, the Midshipmen could end up being a tournament team, and the Heels stayed undefeated as well. As a result, UNC moved up two places and sit at #16 this week.
Biggest Winners
Michigan State had the biggest jump, moving up six spots after downing Kentucky at the Champions Classic. The most notable move probably belongs to Arizona, though. The Wildcats are now #2 thanks to three top-15 wins, including the most recent on the road at UConn.
Biggest Losers
Speaking of Kentucky, they now have two losses, albeit both to highly ranked teams. Thanks to those quality losses, though, they had the biggest fall of anyone this week. UK now sits at #19, having dropped seven spots from last week.
Conference Breakdown
- SEC: 7
- Big Ten: 6
- Big 12: 5
- ACC: 4
- Big East: 2
- WCC: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
As mentioned, there are many tournaments this week, meaning we don’t know all of the matchups this week, but here are the best of what’s currently set.
- #17 Tennessee (5-0) vs. #3 Houston (5-0) in Las Vegas – Tonight at 6:00 PM ET on TNT
- #16 North Carolina (5-0) vs. #11 Michigan State (5-0) in Fort Myers, FL – Thursday at 4:30 PM ET on FOX
- #5 UConn (5-1) vs. #13 Illinois (5-1) in NYC – Friday at 12:30 PM ET on FOX
Women’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- UConn (30 first place votes)
- South Carolina (1)
- UCLA (1)
- Texas
- LSU
- Michigan
- Maryland
- TCU
- Oklahoma
- Iowa State
- Iowa
- North Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Baylor
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Michigan State
- West Virginia
- Washington
- Louisville
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
Where is UNC?
The Carolina women went 2-0 last week, albeit with both games coming against small conference opposition. The victories did raise them a bit though, as the Tar Heels moved up two places to #12.
Biggest Winners
I will try not to mention a certain former player when talking about the Iowa women’s team, because it cheapens the fact that this year’s Hawkeyes team is off to a nice start. They’re 5-0 and took down previously #7 Baylor last week, causing a eight-spot jump that was the biggest of the week.
Biggest Losers
Baylor fell eight places in response to that loss, but one team fell more. NC State is now 3-3, and has dropped to #25 — and just barely — as a result. Their most recent one to Rhode Island was the only somewhat bad loss, but them still being ranked after that defeat feels a bit iffy.
Conference Breakdown
- SEC: 8
- Big Ten: 7
- Big 12: 5
- ACC: 4
- Big East: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
- #4 Texas (5-0) vs. #3 UCLA (6-0) in Las Vegas – Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET on TruTV
- #7 Maryland (7-0) vs. #16 Kentucky (7-0) in Puerto Rico – Thursday at 5:30 PM ET on FloSports
- #14 Tennessee (5-1) at #3 UCLA (6-0) – Sunday at 4:30 PM ET on FS1
