By R.L. Bynum
There was good and bad news for Carolina in the NET rankings coming out of the Tar Heels’ 80–69 home victory over N.C. State, with Selection Sunday 49 days away.
The good was that the Tar Heels (14–6, 6–3 ACC) moved up six spots to No. 32 in the NET rankings. The bad was that the Wolfpack (15–5, 5–4) fell nine spots to No. 36, meaning what UNC thought was a Quad 1 victory is now a Quad 2 win, reverting its Quad 1 record to 1–6. The rematch in Raleigh still should be a Quad 1 game.
Carolina is 4–0 in Quad 2 games, 3–0 in Quad 3 games and 6–0 in Quad 4 games.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1: Home games against teams with a NET ranking of 30 or better, neutral-site games against teams ranked 50 or better and road games against teams ranked 75 or better
Quadrant 2: Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3: Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4: Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
Even though Syracuse (13–7, 6–3) moved up 10 spots to No. 100 after the Orange’s 80–63 win Saturday at Georgia Tech, UNC’s 9 p.m. game at Syracuse (ESPN) still will be another Quad 2 game. It would have been a Quad 3 game a couple of weeks ago.
The bad news from Syracuse’s win is that it downgrades Carolina’s victory over the Yellow Jackets (8–11, 1–8) from a Quad 3 win to a Quad 4 win.

UNC has potentially gained another Quad 1 opportunity, thanks to Wake Forest (14–6, 6–3) beating league-leading Clemson (16–4, 8–1) before losing to second-place Virginia (15–3, 7–2). That has increased the Deacons’ NET ranking to 71, making the Tar Heels’ game in Winston-Salem a Quad 1 as long as the Deacs’ can keep their ranking at 75 or higher.
That leaves the Tar Heels with five more Quad 1 games if opponents stay at about the same ranking. In addition to that rematch with Wake Forest on Feb. 7 and the N.C. State game in Raleigh on Feb 19, the home matchup with Virginia on Feb. 25, as well as both Duke games (Feb 4 and March 4), should be Quad 1 contests.
UNC quad breakdown
| Opponent | NET ranking | Quadrant | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNCW | 129 | 3 | Win |
| College of Charleston | 41 | 2 | Win |
| Gardner-Webb | 193 | 4 | Win |
| James Madison | 84 | 3 | Win |
| Portland | 162 | 3 | Win |
| Iowa State | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| Alabama | 3 | 1 | Loss |
| At Indiana | 23 | 1 | Loss |
| At Virginia Tech | 55 | 1 | Loss |
| Georgia Tech | 180 | 4 | Win |
| The Citadel | 313 | 4 | Win |
| Ohio State | 24 | 1 | Win |
| Michigan | 76 | 2 | Win |
| At Pittsburgh | 65 | 1 | Loss |
| Wake Forest | 71 | 3 | Win |
| Notre Dame | 194 | 4 | Win |
| At Virginia | 13 | 1 | Loss |
| At Louisville | 334 | 4 | Win |
| Boston College | 201 | 4 | Win |
| N.C. State | 36 | 2 | Win |
| At Syracuse | 100 | 2 | |
| Pittsburgh | 65 | 2 | |
| At Duke | 29 | 1 | |
| At Wake Forest | 71 | 1 | |
| Clemson | 59 | 2 | |
| Miami | 44 | 2 | |
| At N.C. State | 36 | 1 | |
| At Notre Dame | 194 | 3 | |
| Virginia | 13 | 1 | |
| At Florida State | 187 | 3 | |
| Duke | 29 | 1 |

| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 0–0 | 12–1 | 46 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 12–1 | 15 |
| No. 6 Duke | 0–0 | 11–1 | 3 |
| No. 21 Virginia | 0–0 | 11–1 | 23 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 11–2 | 34 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 11–2 | 62 |
| No. 16 Louisville | 0–0 | 10–2 | 17 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 10–2 | 36 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 10–2 | 76 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 10–3 | 37 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 9–4 | 31 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–4 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 9–4 | 88 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–4 | 68 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 8–4 | 190 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 7–6 | 129 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 7–6 | 115 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 6–6 | 191 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Saturday’s game
Cal State Northridge at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Le Moyne at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Cal State Fullerton at SMU, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida A&M at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Tuesday’s games
Florida State at No. 12 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Pittsburgh at Miami, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 16 Louisville at California, 9 p.m, ACC Network
Notre Dame at Stanford, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Wake Forest at N.C. State, noon, ESPN2
No. 21 Virginia at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Duke, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s game
No. 16 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 11 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 3, games
No. 21 Virginia at N.C. State, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Clemson at Pittsburgh, noon, The CW
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
No. 12 North Carolina at SMU, 2:15, The CW
No. 6 Duke at Florida State, 3:45, CBS

| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Location | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||||
| 28 | Friday | W, 101–40 | Johnson C. Smith | Home | Exhibition |
| November | |||||
| 7 | Monday | W, 69–56 | UNCW | Home | 1–0 |
| 11 | Friday | W, 102–86 | College of Charleston | Home | 2–0 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 72–66 | Gardner-Webb | Home | 3–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 80–64 | James Madison | Home | 4–0 |
| Phil Knight Invitational | |||||
| 24 | Thursday | W, 89–81 | First round: Portland | Portland | 5–0 |
| 25 | Friday | L, 70–65 | Semifinals: Iowa State | Portland | 5–1 |
| 27 | Sunday | L, 103–101, 4 OTs | Consolation: No. 1 Alabama | Portland | 5–2 |
| ACC/Big Ten Challenge | |||||
| 30 | Wednesday | L, 77–65 | No. 21 Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | 5–3 |
| December | |||||
| 4 | Sunday | L, 80–72 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Va. | 5–4, 0–1 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–59 | Georgia Tech | Home | 6–4, 1–1 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | W, 100–67 | The Citadel | Home | 7–4 |
| CBS Sports Classic | |||||
| 17 | Saturday | W, 89–84, OT | Ohio State | New York | 8–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational | |||||
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 80–76 | Michigan | Charlotte | 9–4 |
| 30 | Friday | L, 76–74 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | 9–5, 1–2 ACC |
| January | |||||
| 4 | Wednesday | W, 88–79 | Wake Forest | Home | 10–5, 2–2 ACC |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 81–64 | Notre Dame | Home | 11–5, 3–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 65–58 | No. 14 Virginia | Charlottesville | 11–6, 3–3 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 80–59 | Louisville | Louisville, Ky. | 12–6, 4–3 ACC |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 72–64 | Boston College | Home | 13–6, 5–3 ACC |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 80–69 | N.C. State | Home | 14–6, 6–3 ACC |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 72–68 | Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | 15–6, 7–3 ACC |
| February | |||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 65–64 | Pittsburgh | Home | 15–7, 7–4 ACC |
| 4 | Saturday | L, 63–57 | No. 12 Duke | Durham | 15–8, 7–5 ACC |
| 7 | Tuesday | L, 92–85 | Wake Forest | Winston-Salem | 15–9, 7–6 ACC |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 91–71 | Clemson | Home | 16–9, 8–6 ACC |
| 13 | Monday | L, 80–72 | No. 16 Miami | Home | 16–10, 8–7 ACC |
| 19 | Sunday | L, 77–69 | N.C. State | Raleigh | 16–11, 8–8 ACC |
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 63–59 | Notre Dame | South Bend, Ind. | 17–11, 9–8 ACC |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 71–63 | No. 14 Virginia | Home | 18–11, 10–8 ACC |
| 27 | Monday | W, 77–66 | Florida State | Tallahassee, Fla. | 19–11, 11–8 ACC |
| March | |||||
| 4 | Saturday | L, 62–57 | No. 12 Duke | Home | 19–12, 11–9 ACC |
| ACC tournament | |||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 85–61 | Boston College | Greensboro | 20–12 |
| 9 | Thursday | L, 68–59 | No. 14 Virginia | Greensboro | 20–13 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball

Excellent analyses.
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