By R.L. Bynum
After opening the season with two home victories, North Carolina fell one spot to No. 20 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll on Monday, when Armando Bacot earned Lute Olson National Player of the Week honors.
The Tar Heels (2–0), who beat Radford on Monday 86–70 and Lehigh on Sunday 90–68, play UC-Riverside (1–2) at 8 p.m. Friday (ACC Network). Bacot collected 25 points and 11 rebounds against Radford, and got 22 points and 20 rebounds against Lehigh in his third career 20/20 game.
Last week’s Top 25 teams to lose were Duke, Michigan State, Saint Mary’s and San Diego State.
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The Blue Devils (1–1) fell seven spots to No. 9 after losing 78–73 at home Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium to Caleb Love and Arizona (2–0), which moved up nine spots to No. 3. The Spartans (1–1) sank 14 spots to No. 18 after a 79–76 overtime home loss to James Madison. The Gaels (2–1) were No. 23 but fell out of the poll after a 61–57 loss to Weber State. The Aztecs were No. 17 but fell out of the poll after a 74–65 loss to unranked BYU.
Kansas (2–0) held the No. 1 spot after rolling to a 99–56 win over N.C. Central and a 99–61 victory over Manhattan.
Miami (2–0), the only other ACC team in the poll, moved up one spot to No. 12 after beating NJIT 101–60 and Central Florida 88–72.
Luke DeCock of The News & Observer had UNC No. 11 last week and moved the Tar Heels up to No. 10. He had Duke No. 1 in his preseason ballot but dropped the Blue Devils to No. 12. J.B. Ricks of Spectrum News had the Tar Heels No. 17 and Kate Rogerson of WTVD voted them No. 21. Ricks and Rogerson both voted Duke No. 9.
Ranking Carolina the highest at No. 9 was Kevin McNamara of WPRO in Providence. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports was the only voter to leave UNC off of their ballot.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (51) | 2-0 | 1,530 | 1 |
| 2 | Purdue (7) | 2-0 | 1,464 | 3 |
| 3 | Arizona (3) | 2-0 | 1,356 | 12 |
| 4 | Marquette | 2-0 | 1,311 | 5 |
| 5 | UConn (1) | 2-0 | 1,301 | 6 |
| 6 | Houston | 2-0 | 1,180 | 7 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 2-0 | 1,146 | 9 |
| 8 | Creighton | 2-0 | 1,130 | 8 |
| 9 | Duke | 1-1 | 1,088 | 2 |
| 10 | Florida Atlantic | 1-0 | 1,004 | 10 |
| 11 | Gonzaga | 1-0 | 825 | 11 |
| 12 | Miami | 2-0 | 778 | 13 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 728 | 15 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 2-0 | 719 | 14 |
| 15 | Baylor | 3-0 | 578 | 20 |
| 16 | Southern California | 2-0 | 573 | 21 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 2-0 | 549 | 16 |
| 18 | Michigan State | 1-1 | 516 | 4 |
| 19 | Texas | 2-0 | 513 | 18 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 2-0 | 501 | 19 |
| 21 | Villanova | 2-0 | 406 | 22 |
| 22 | Alabama | 2-0 | 264 | 24 |
| 23 | Illinois | 2-0 | 170 | 25 |
| 24 | James Madison | 3-0 | 91 | NR |
| 25 | Colorado | 2-0 | 78 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Memphis 53, Virginia 49, St. John’s 47, UCLA 36, TCU 34, San Diego State 33, BYU 32, Saint Mary’s 20, Mississippi State 19, Iowa State 10, Wisconsin 6, Auburn 5, Michigan 2, Weber State 2, Drake 1, Boise State 1, Clemson 1.
UNC season statistics
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | 7:30 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | ACCN Extra |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 24 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
