By R.L. Bynum
After losing two of three games at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., North Carolina fell six spots to No. 24 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll, with a home showdown against No. 1 South Carolina ahead on Thursday.
The Tar Heels (5–2) beat Vermont 54–51, but lost 63–56 to Kansas State (which moved up two spots to No. 14 after losing 77–70 to Iowa in the Gulf Coast Showcase championship game) and fell on Sunday 65–64 to Florida Gulf Coast.
It’s UNC’s lowest ranking since being No. 24 on Feb. 14, 2022, after a 66–61 loss at Virginia Tech.
The Gamecocks (5–0), the unanimous No. 1 team, rolled to two victories last week, beating South Dakota State 87–38 and Mississippi Valley State 101–19.
Thursday’s 7 p.m. game (ESPN) is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, and will be played in a sold-out Carmichael Arena. For the first time in program history, there was a lottery to determine which students would get coveted tickets to the game.
Other teams in last week’s poll to lose were:
— Colorado (6–1), which fell from four spots to No. 7 after a 78–60 loss to N.C. State (which jumped from No. 10 to No. 5.)
— UConn (4–2), which moved from No. 6 to No. 11 after a 71–63 loss to No. 3 UCLA.
— Florida State (5–1), which dropped two spots to No. 15 after a 100–88 setback against Stanford.
— Tennessee (4–2), which fell one spot to No. 20 after a 71–57 loss to Indiana (which went from No. 21 to No. 17) but a 76–73 win over Oklahoma
— Louisville (6–1), which dropped two positions to No. 22 after a 78-73 setback against Alabama.
— The Sooners (5–2), previously No. 22, who fell out of the poll after losing 77–63 to Princeton, in addition to the loss to the Lady Vols.
— Washington State (7–1), previously No. 23, dropped out of the poll after a 59–49 loss to Green Bay.
Other ACC teams in the poll are:
— Virginia Tech (5–1), which stayed at No. 9 after wins over UNC Greensboro (72–51), Kansas (59–58) and Tulane (76–70).
— Notre Dame (5-1), which fell one spot to No. 18 after wins over Chicago State (113–35) and Ball State (90–59).
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 12 was Alexis Cubit of the Louisville Courier-Journal. Twelve voters left the Tar Heels off their ballots (see list below).
Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based voter, has Carolina No. 20.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36) | 5-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 6-0 | 855 | 2 |
| 3 | Stanford | 7-0 | 803 | 4 |
| 4 | Iowa | 7-1 | 745 | 5 |
| 5 | N.C. State | 7-0 | 740 | 10 |
| 6 | Southern California | 5-0 | 643 | 8 |
| T-7 | LSU | 7-1 | 625 | 7 |
| T-7 | Colorado | 6-1 | 625 | 3 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 5-1 | 585 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 7-0 | 560 | 12 |
| 11 | UConn | 4-2 | 541 | 6 |
| 12 | Utah | 5-1 | 517 | 10 |
| 13 | Baylor | 5-0 | 495 | 14 |
| 14 | Kansas State | 6-1 | 413 | 16 |
| 15 | Florida State | 5-1 | 409 | 13 |
| 16 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 406 | 15 |
| 17 | Indiana | 5-1 | 372 | 21 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 367 | 17 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 6-1 | 192 | 24 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 4-2 | 186 | 19 |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 8-0 | 181 | 25 |
| 22 | Louisville | 6-1 | 155 | 20 |
| 23 | Marquette | 6-0 | 76 | NR |
| 24 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 74 | 18 |
| 25 | Princeton | 4-2 | 58 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Washington State 55, Creighton 44, Oklahoma 20, Penn State 16, Florida Gulf Coast 10, UNLV 9, Green Bay 6, Alabama 6, Maryland 3, Gonzaga 3, Davidson 2, BYU 2, Miami 1.
How voters ranked UNC
Alex Simon, SF Gate — 24
Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier-Journal — 12
Andy Yamashita, Las Vegas Review Journal — 24
Brenda VanLengen, ESPN — 24
Carl Adamec, Hearst CT Media — 24
Cassandra Negley, Yahoo — left off ballot
Christy Winters Scott NBC — 19
Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel — left off ballot
Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman — 14
Emily Adams, The Greenville News — 22
Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette — 24
Joe Vozzelli, The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. — 24
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network — left off ballot
Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune — 20
Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com — 15
Kim Adams, Fox Sports — left off ballot
Lindsay Schnell, USA Today — left off ballot
Michael Voepel, ESPN — 20
Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle — 21
Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader — 21
Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network — left off ballot
Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — 16
Michelle Smith, The Next — 16
Mitchell Northam, WUNC — 20
P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star — 23
Payton Titus, The State — left off ballot
Percy Allen, Seattle Times — left off ballot
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN — 21
Reed Darcey, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. — left off ballot
Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle — left off ballot
Roger Cleaveland, Waterbury Republican-American — 23
Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic — left off ballot
Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald — 24
Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Leader in Jackson, Miss. — 18
Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch — left off ballot
Zack Smith, Waco Tribune — 19
UNC season statistics
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
tarheeltribune.com 