By R.L. Bynum
After three consecutive ACC victories, North Carolina is up to 45th in the NET rankings and improving its NCAA tournament resume with Selection Sunday a week from Sunday.
The Tar Heels (19–11, 11–8 ACC) have done what they can control with wins over Notre Dame, Virginia and Florida State and have a chance for their second Quad 1 win Saturday at home against Duke, which is 22nd in the NET rankings.
That hasn’t been enough yet for some projections. ESPN and CBS still have UNC in the “first four out” list. Patrick Stevens of The Washington Post has Carolina in his “moving in” list, which is the third list of teams he projects to miss the field.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 1–8 in these games): 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 (6–3): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (6–0): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (6–0): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
According to bracketmatrix.com, the predicted seed for UNC in the 15 projections with the Tar Heels in the field is No. 11. That would put UNC in the First Four. Interestingly, the Best Damn Bracket Period website projection would have the Tar Heels advancing to first- and second-round games in Greensboro.
Much of what they can’t control hasn’t been good except for Michigan (55th) and Boston College (158th). The Wolverines are five away from the win in Charlotte being classified as a Quad 1 and the win over the Eagles is now up to a Quad 3 after BC’s win Tuesday at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest has fallen to 86th, which moved UNC’s home win to a Quad 3 and the road loss to a Quad 2. The home win over Miami (34th) is now a Quad 2 by four spots.
If Virginia (29th) falls two more spots, the home win moves from a Quad 1 to a Quad 2. If Virginia Tech (71st) falls five more spots, that loss in Blacksburg goes from a Quad 1 to a Quad 2. The Hokies’ blowout of Louisville improved their NET ranking by three spots.
Quad schedule breakdown
| Opponent | NET ranking | Quad | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNCW | 152 | 3 | Win |
| College of Charleston | 51 | 2 | Win |
| Gardner-Webb | 188 | 4 | Win |
| James Madison | 91 | 3 | Win |
| Portland | 168 | 3 | Win |
| Iowa State | 26 | 1 | Loss |
| Alabama | 2 | 1 | Loss |
| At Indiana | 18 | 1 | Loss |
| At Virginia Tech | 71 | 1 | Loss |
| Georgia Tech | 205 | 4 | Win |
| The Citadel | 325 | 4 | Win |
| Ohio State | 63 | 2 | Win |
| Michigan | 55 | 2 | Win |
| At Pittsburgh | 52 | 1 | Loss |
| Wake Forest | 86 | 3 | Win |
| Notre Dame | 190 | 4 | Win |
| At Virginia | 29 | 1 | Loss |
| At Louisville | 308 | 4 | Win |
| Boston College | 158 | 4 | Win |
| N.C. State | 42 | 2 | Win |
| At Syracuse | 112 | 2 | Win |
| Pittsburgh | 52 | 2 | Loss |
| At Duke | 22 | 1 | Loss |
| At Wake Forest | 86 | 2 | Loss |
| Clemson | 60 | 32 | Win |
| Miami | 34 | 2 | Loss |
| At N.C. State | 42 | 1 | Loss |
| At Notre Dame | 190 | 3 | Win |
| Virginia | 29 | 1 | Win |
| At Florida State | 218 | 4 | Win |
| Duke | 22 | 1 |
ACC standings
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
| 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
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