We’ve reached Christmas week for 2025, which usually means the college basketball world is a little bit quiet. For instance, by the time you’re reading this the UNC men will have played their sole game
of the week against East Carolina on Monday evening, and the women won’t take the court this week.
That being said, the season keeps on rolling, and it’s time for another weekly check-in on the newest AP Top 25 polls.
Men’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- Arizona (38 first place votes)
- Michigan (19)
- Iowa State (1)
- UConn
- Purdue
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Houston
- Michigan State
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- North Carolina
- Nebraska
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Louisville
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Florida
- Georgia
- USC
- Iowa
Where is UNC?
The Tar Heels’ last time out saw them narrowly emerge with a win over Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic. With their only other game last week being a win over East Tennessee State, Carolina didn’t move at all in the newest poll, aa they remained at the #12 spot this week.
Biggest Winners
There wasn’t much change at the top of the rankings, although we’ll get to the one notable one. In the lower half of the poll, Texas Tech had the biggest jump of the week, moving up four spots as they rallied past Duke to hand the Blue Devils their first loss.
Biggest Losers
Yes, Duke losing was the most notable change in the upper half of the poll. Their defeat lead to them dropping three spots this week. However, the biggest fall belonged to Louisville, who dropped five places after getting blown out by Tennessee.
Conference Breakdown
- Big Ten: 7
- Big 12: 6
- SEC: 6
- ACC: 4
- Big East: 1
- WCC: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
- McNeese (10-2) at #2 Michigan (11-0) – Monday at 7:00 PM ET on B1G+
- Yale (11-1) at #14 Alabama (9-3) – Monday at 8:00 PM ET on SECN+
- Middle Tennessee (7-4) at #8 Houston (11-1) – Monday at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+
(It’s, uh, a light week).
Women’s Basketball
AP Top 25
- UConn (25 first place votes)
- Texas (7)
- South Carolina
- UCLA
- LSU
- Michigan
- Maryland
- TCU (tied with Oklahoma)
- Oklahoma (tied with TCU)
- Iowa State
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
- Louisville
- Iowa
- Ole Miss
- North Carolina
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Nebraska
- Texas Tech
- Baylor
- Tennessee
- Michigan State
- Princeton
Where is UNC?
The Tar Heels had two games against small conference opposition last week and won both of them handily. Those wins, combined with some other results, allowed Carolina to climb two places this week, and they now sit at #16.
Biggest Winners
The biggest jump up of any team this week came, again, from Texas Tech. The Red Raiders moved up five places and entered the poll at #21, thanks to a victory over Baylor. It’s the first time they’ve been in the Top 25 since 2012.
Biggest Losers
Baylor fell seven places on the flip side of Tech’s win, which was the biggest drop of the week. They were closely followed by Tennessee, who dropped six places after a 20+ point loss to Louisville.
Conference Breakdown
- SEC: 8
- Big Ten: 8
- Big 12: 4
- ACC: 3
- Big East: 1
- Ivy League: 1
Marquee Matchups This Week
- #4 UCLA (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at #19 Ohio State (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) – Sunday at 2:00 PM ET on Big Ten Network
- #17 USC (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten) at #20 Nebraska (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten) – Monday at 3:00 PM ET on B1G+
- #6 Michigan (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at Oregon (12-2, 0-1 Big Ten) – Monday at 9:00 PM ET on FS1
