By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina slipped two spots to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll after losing at Indiana 87–63 in the Tar Heels’ only game last week.
It’s the first time that UNC has been ranked in the top 10 for three consecutive weeks since the Tar Heels did it six weeks in a row in the 2014–15 season from Dec. 1 until Jan. 5 (ranked No. 6 three weeks, No. 9 two weeks and No. 8 at the end of the streak).
The Tar Heels are tied at No. 8 with N.C. State (7–1), which moved up four spots after beating Iowa 94–81.
Carolina (6–1) returns home to Carmichael Arena for the first time in three weeks on Wednesday to face UNCW at 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra/ESPN3) after playing four consecutive games away from Chapel Hill.
The Hoosiers (9–0), who also beat Illinois 65–61, moved up one spot to No. 4.
Carolina (6–1) wasn’t the only team in last week’s top 10 to lose.
Connecticut (6–1), which fell from No. 3 to No. 6, lost 96–77 to Notre Dame. The Irish (7–1), which moved from No. 7 to No. 5, lost to Maryland 74–72. Iowa fell from No. 10 to No. 16 after its loss to the Wolfpack.
Virginia Tech (8–0) moved from No. 9 to No. 7 after beating Nebraska 85–54 and winning at Tennessee 59–56.
In the first NET rankings of the season, Indiana is No. 4, N.C. State No. 7, Virginia Tech No. 8, Notre Dame No. 9 and UNC No. 11. Michigan, which UNC faces in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte on Dec. 20, is No. 14. The two teams the Tar Heels beat in Portland are also high in the NET, with Oregon No. 12 and Iowa State No. 13.
The Ducks moved up two spots to No. 17 in the AP poll and the Cyclones dropped two spots to No. 10. The Wolverines (9-0) jumped three spots to No. 14.
Louisville fell out of the rankings to end a streak of 127 consecutive weeks, which was the fifth-longest active streak. The Cardinals were No. 18 last week but lost to Ohio State 96-77 and Middle Tennessee 67-49.
Voting UNC the highest at No. 5 are Lindsay Schnell of USA Today and Michelle Smith (affiliation isn’t listed by AP). Voting the Tar Heels the lowest at No. 16 is Kelly Gramlich of ACC Network.
Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based voter, has N.C. State No. 4, Virginia Tech No.5, UNC No. 7, Notre Dame No. 9 and Virginia No. 24.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School | Change | Poll points (1st-place votes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (8-0) | — | 725 (29) |
| 2 | Stanford (10-1) | — | 696 |
| 3 | Ohio State (8-0) | +1 | 646 |
| 4 | Indiana (9-0) | +1 | 643 |
| 5 | Notre Dame (7-1) | +2 | 586 |
| 6 | UConn (6-1) | -3 | 573 |
| 7 | Virginia Tech (8-0) | +2 | 530 |
| 8 | North Carolina (6-1) | -2 | 487 |
| 8 | N.C. State (7-1) | +4 | 487 |
| 10 | Iowa State (6-1) | -2 | 479 |
| 11 | LSU (9-0) | — | 416 |
| 12 | Arizona (7-0) | +2 | 387 |
| 13 | UCLA (8-1) | +2 | 364 |
| 14 | Michigan (9-0) | +3 | 337 |
| 15 | Utah (7-0) | +1 | 332 |
| 16 | Iowa (6-3) | -6 | 291 |
| 17 | Oregon (6-1) | +2 | 248 |
| 18 | Creighton (7-1) | -5 | 244 |
| 19 | Baylor (6-2) | +2 | 180 |
| 20 | Maryland (7-3) | — | 165 |
| 21 | Arkansas (10-0) | — | 121 |
| 22 | Gonzaga (7-2) | +1 | 106 |
| 23 | Oklahoma (7-1) | — | 99 |
| 24 | Kansas State (8-1) | — | 57 |
| 25 | Villanova (7-2) | — | 45 |
Others receiving votes: Kansas 37, Marquette 30, Louisville 28, Texas 17, St. John’s 14, South Florida 12, Miami (FL) 12, Virginia 8, Duke 5, Florida State 4, Rice 4, Purdue 3, Nebraska 2, Missouri 2, Seton Hall 1, Middle Tennessee 1.
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Location | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | |||||
| 9 | Wednesday | W, 91–59 | Jackson State | Home | 1–0 |
| 12 | Saturday | W, 75–48 | TCU | Home | 2–0 |
| 16 | Wednesday | W, 93–25 | South Carolina State | Home | 3–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 76–65 | James Madison | Harrisonburg, Va. | 4–0 |
| Phil Knight Invitational | |||||
| 24 | Thursday | W, 85–79 | Oregon | Portland | 5–0 |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 73–64 | No. 17 Iowa State | Portland | 6–0 |
| December | ACC/Big Ten Challenge | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 87–63 | No. 2 Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | 6–1 |
| 7 | Wednesday | W, 64–42 | UNCW | Home | 7–1 |
| 11 | Sunday | W, 99–67 | Wofford | Home | 8–1 |
| 16 | Friday | W, 89–47 | USC Upstate | Home | 9–1 |
| Jumpman Invitational | |||||
| 20 | Tuesday | L, 76–68 | No. 18 Michigan | Charlotte | 9–2 |
| ACC season begins | |||||
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–71 | Florida State | Home | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| January | |||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 68–65 | No. 4 Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Va. | 9–4, 0–2 ACC |
| 5 | Thursday | L, 62–58 | Miami | Coral Gables, Fla. | 9–5, 0–3 ACC |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 60–50 | No. 10 Notre Dame | Home | 10–5, 1–3 ACC |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 70–59 | Virginia | Charlottesville, Va. | 11–5, 2–3 ACC |
| 15 | Sunday | W, 56–47 | N.C. State | Home | 12–5, 3–3 ACC |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 61–56 | No. 13 Duke | Home | 13–5, 4–3 ACC |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 70–57 | Georgia Tech | Home | 14–5, 5–3 ACC |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 72–57 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | 15–5, 6–3 ACC |
| 29 | Sunday | W, 69–58 | Clemson | Clemson | 16–5, 7–3 ACC |
| February | |||||
| 2 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | Virginia | Home | 17–5, 8–3 ACC |
| 5 | Sunday | L, 62–55 | Louisville | Louisville | 17–6, 8–4 ACC |
| 9 | Thursday | L, 75–67 | Syracuse | Syracuse | 17–7, 8–5 ACC |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 73–55 | Boston College | Home | 18–7, 9–5 ACC |
| 16 | Thursday | L, 77–66, OT | N.C. State | Raleigh | 18–8, 9–6 ACC |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 71–58 | Wake Forest | Home | 19–8, 10–6 ACC |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 61–59 | No. 4 Virginia Tech | Home | 19–9, 10–7 ACC |
| 26 | Sunday | W, 45–41 | No. 13 Duke | Durham | 20–9, 10–8 ACC |
| March | ACC Tournament | ||||
| 2 | Thursday | W, 68–58 | Clemson | Greensboro | 21–9 |
| 3 | Friday | L, 44–40 | No. 13 Duke | Greensboro | 21–10 |
| NCAA tournament | |||||
| 18 | Saturday | W, 61–59 | St. John’s | Columbus, Ohio | 22–10 |
| 20 | Monday | L, 71–69 | No. 12 Ohio State | Columbus, Ohio | 22–11 |
Photo courtesy of Indiana University Athletics
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