UNC slips in AP Top 25 men’s poll after splitting two games

By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina fell five spots to No. 16 in the AP Top 25 men’s poll after splitting a pair of games last week.

UNC (20–5, 8–4 ACC) lost Tuesday at Miami 75–66 but rebounded Saturday to win at home against Pittsburgh 79–65 despite playing without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. Next up is a 7 p.m. visit on Tuesday to N.C. State (16–8, 9–4), which lost at home 77–76 Saturday to the Hurricanes.

Elliot Cadeau’s Michigan team (24–1, 14–1 Big Ten) took over at No. 1 after Arizona lost twice last week, 82–78 to Kansas and 78–75 in overtime to Texas Tech, falling from the top of the poll to No. 4. The Wolverines garnered 60 of 61 first-place votes, with the other one going to No. 2 Houston.

Duke (23–2, 12–1) moved up one spot to No. 3 after beating Pittsburgh 70–54 and Clemson 67–54. The Tigers (20–6, 10–3) plummeted from No. 20 to out of the poll with the 26th-most poll points after also losing 76–66 to Virginia Tech.

On Saturday in Washington, Michigan faces Duke at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN).

No. 16 UNC at N.C. State: TV info, stats, scouting Wolfpack, keys to game, comparisons and notes
Davis says that Veesaar is progressing but status unclear
If Wilson has scaphoid fracture, his season could be in peril
UNC holds NET position with three straight Quad 1 games ahead
UNC’s smaller lineup created more spacing, ball movement on offense, and versatility on defense
Short-handed Heels play faster, show needed resilience to beat Pitt
Day of redemption for High after enduring plenty of lows


Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 14 Virginia (22–3, 10–2; up one spot), which beat Florida State 61–58 and Ohio State 70–66, and No. 21 Louisville (19–6, 8–4; up three spots), which thumped N.C. State 118–77 and beat Baylor 82–71.

Ian Jackson’s St. John’s team (20–5, 13–1 Big East) remained at No. 17 after knocking off Xavier 87–82 in overtime and beating Providence 79–69.

Vanderbilt (21–4, 8–4 SEC), with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington, stayed at No. 19 after beating Auburn 84–76 and Texas A&M 82–69.

WRAL’s Chris Lea voted UNC No. 12, WTVD’s Kate Rogerson had Carolina No. 15 and WXII’s John Johnson had the Heels No. 16.


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AP Top 25

RankSchool (1st-
place votes)
RecordPoll
points
Previous
1Michigan (60)24–11,5242
2Houston (1)23–21,4023
3Duke23–21,3974
4Arizona23–21,3581
5UConn24–21,3186
6Iowa State22–31,2125
7Purdue21–41,04213
8Kansas19–61,0119
9Nebraska22–39827
10Illinois21–59388
11Gonzaga25–290312
12Florida19–689514
13Texas Tech19–682216
14Virginia22–373015
15Michigan State20–568110
16North Carolina20–559411
17St. John’s20–559017
18Saint Louis24–146818
19Vanderbilt21–444919
20Arkansas19–638721
21Louisville19–626324
22Miami (OH)25–023823
23BYU19–621422
24Wisconsin18–7109NR
25Alabama18–7104NR
Others receiving votes: Clemson 55, Utah St. 45, Tennessee 36, Villanova 29, Kentucky 15, Miami 10, Saint Mary’s 3, VCU 1.

TeamLeagueOverallNET*WAB*
No. 1 Duke17–129–212
No. 10 Virginia15–327–41311
Miami13–524–73228
No. 19 North Carolina12–624–72319
Clemson12–622–93633
No. 24 Louisville11–722–91425
N.C. State10–819–123545
Florida State10–817–146974
California9–921–106549
Stanford9–920–115951
SMU8–1019–123950
Virginia Tech8–1019–125352
Wake Forest7–1116–156481
Syracuse6–1215–168392
Pittsburgh5–1312–19109146
Notre Dame4–1413–1893121
Boston College4–1411–20159217
Georgia Tech2–1611–20167210

* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday


DateMonth/dayScoresOpponent/event
(current ranks)
Record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 11 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22MondayW, 99–51vs. East Carolina12–1
30TuesdayW, 79–66vs. Florida State13–1,
1–0 ACC
January
3SaturdayL, 97–83at SMU13–2, 1–1
10SaturdayW, 87–84vs. Wake Forest14–2, 2–1
14WednesdayL, 95–90at Stanford14–3, 2–2
17SaturdayL, 84–78at California14–4, 2–3
21WednesdayW, 91–69vs. Notre Dame15–4, 3–3
24SaturdayW, 85–80at No. 9 Virginia16–4, 4–3
31SaturdayW, 91–75at Georgia Tech17–4, 5–3
February
2MondayW, 87–77vs. Syracuse18–4, 6–3
7SaturdayW, 71–68vs. No. 1 Duke19–4, 7–3
10TuesdayL, 75–66at No. 25 Miami19–5, 7–4
14SaturdayW, 79–65vs. Pittsburgh20–5, 8–4
17TuesdayL, 82–58at N.C. State20–6, 8–5
21SaturdayW, 77–64at Syracuse21–6, 9–5
23MondayW, 77–74vs. Louisville22–6, 10–5
28SaturdayW, 89–82vs. Virginia Tech23–6, 11–5
March
3TuesdayW, 67–63vs. Clemson24–6, 12–5
7SaturdayL, 76–61at No. 1 Duke24–7, 12–6
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament
Spectrum Center,
Charlotte
12ThursdayL, 80–79Quarterfinals:
vs. Clemson
24–8
NCAA
tournament
19ThursdayL, 82–78, OTFirst round: vs. VCU
in Greenville, S.C.
24–9

Photo by Daniel Walker

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