By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina, one of 10 ranked teams to lose last week, fell one spot to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll released Monday after beating Pittsburgh 64–54 and losing Sunday at Virginia Tech 66–61.
UNC (19–5, 9–5 ACC) got 63 poll points after garnering 136 last week.
The Hokies (19–6, 11–3), who have played like a ranked team for a few weeks, finally debuted in the poll at No. 23 after also defeating Georgia Tech 73–63 to give the ACC six ranked teams.
The Yellow Jackets (19–6, 10–4) fell five spots to No. 16 after also losing to 59–48 to N.C. State. The Wolfpack (23–3, 14–1) went up one spot to No. 4 after also beating Boston College 85–78 and Duke 77–62.
Louisville (22–2, 13–1), which visits UNC on Thursday at 6 p.m. (regional sports networks), stayed at No. 3 after a win by forfeit over Virginia and blowing out Notre Dame on Sunday at home 73–47. The Irish (19–6, 10–4), who beat Miami 64–54 on Thursday, fell from one spot to No. 19.
WUNC’s Mitchell Northam, the only North Carolina-based voter, has State No. 3 and UNC No. 17.
All five of Carolina’s losses have come against ranked teams: No. 4 N.C. State (twice), No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 19 Notre Dame and No. 23 Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels have one win against a ranked team, winning at Duke on Jan. 27 when the Blue Devils were No. 21.
The Tar Heels are still No. 4 in the NET rankings, which the NCAA tournament committee uses as a tool in picking the field. UNC is 13th in the Massey Ratings and 22nd in the RealTimeRPI.com rankings.
In ESPN’s latest bracket projection, which was released Tuesday, UNC is a No. 6 seed in the Greensboro Region, facing No. 11-seed Arizona State in a first-round game in Bloomington, Ind.
Carolina also fell one spot to No. 23 in the coaches poll, which was released Tuesday.
AP Top 25
Others receiving votes: Oregon 52, Kansas 18, Princeton 12, Gonzaga 6, Villanova 5, UCF 5, Liberty 4, Toledo 3, Rhode Island 3, DePaul 2, Arizona State 1, IUPUI 1, Nebraska 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.
ACC standings
| Date | Score, record/ day, time, TV | Location | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| November (6–0) | |||
| 9 | 92–47 win, 1–0 | Home | N.C. A&T |
| 14 | 89–33 win, 2–0 | Road | Charlotte |
| 17 | 89–44 win, 3–0 | Home | Appalachian State |
| 21 | 79–46 win, 4–0 | Road | TCU |
| 26 | 72–59 win, 5–0 | Bimini, Bahamas | X — VCU |
| 27 | 58–37 win, 6–0 | Bimini, Bahamas | X — Washington |
| December (6–0, 2–0 ACC) | |||
| 1 | 82–76 win, 7–0 | Road | Y — Minnesota |
| 5 | 93–47 win, 8–0 | Home | James Madison |
| 12 | 107–46 win, 9–0 | Home | UNC Asheville |
| 15 | Game canceled | Home | Jacksonville |
| 19 | 76–63 win, 10–0, 1–0 ACC | Road | Boston College |
| 21 | 83–47 win, 11–0 | Home | Alabama State |
| 30 | 79–43 win, 12–0, 2–0 | Home | Syracuse |
| January (4–4, 4–4 ACC) | |||
| 2 | 81–62 win, 13–0, 3–0 | Home | Clemson |
| 6 | 72–45 loss, 13–1, 3–1 | Road | No. 4 N.C. State |
| 9 | 71–46 win, 14–1, 4–1 | Home | No. 23 Virginia Tech |
| 16 | 70–64 loss, 14–2, 4–2 | Road | No. 18 Notre Dame |
| 20 | 61–52 win, 15–2, 5–2 | Home | Virginia |
| 23 | 55–38 loss, 15–3, 5–3 | Road | No. 19 Georgia Tech |
| 27 | 78–62 win, 16–3, 6–3 | Road | Duke |
| 30 | 66–58 loss, 16–4, 6–4 | Home | No. 4 N.C. State |
| February (3–1, 3–1 ACC) | |||
| 3 | 78–59 win, 17–4, 7–4 | Road | Wake Forest |
| 6 | 85–38 win, 18–4, 8–4 | Home | Miami |
| 10 | 64–54 win, 19–4, 9–4 | Home | Pittsburgh |
| 13 | 66–61 loss, 19–5, 9–5 | Road | No. 23 Virginia Tech |
| 17 | Thursday, 6, RSN | Home | No. 3 Louisville |
| 20 | Sunday, noon, RSN | Road | Florida State |
| 24 | Thursday, 7, ACCNX | Road | Virginia |
| 27 | Sunday, TBA, ESPN2 or ACCN | Home | Duke |
| March | |||
| 2– 6 | ACC Tournament | Greensboro |
X —Goombay Splash; Y — Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
tarheeltribune.com 
