By R.L. Bynum
The first NET rankings of the season that came out on Monday showed that it will be important for the No. 9-ranked North Carolina men to take advantage of three more Quad 1 non-conference opportunities this month since those chances won’t come often in ACC play.
Even with one Quad 1 victory already earned, North Carolina debuted at only No. 32 in the NET rankings.
That Quad 1 victory was the Tar Heels’ 100–92 win Wednesday in the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge over Tennessee, with a NET ranking of No. 17.
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
The NCAA basketball committee uses the NET rankings as a key element in picking who makes the tournament field and in seeding.
UNC plays in three more Quad 1 games this month, starting Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Madison Square Garden against UConn (7–1), which has a NET ranking of No. 9.
On Dec. 16 in Atlanta at the CBS Sports Classic, UNC faces Kentucky (6–2, NET ranking of 45), then meets Oklahoma (7–0, 19) on Dec. 20 in Charlotte at the Jumpman Invitational. Should the Wildcats’ NET ranking slip below 50, though, that would be a Quad 2 contest.
UNC is 1–1 in Quad 1 games (the loss coming against Villanova), 2–0 in Quad 3 games and 4–0 in Quad 4 games.
Clemson has the highest NET ranking in the ACC (18), followed by Virginia (27), UNC (32), Duke (37), N.C. State (53), Pittsburgh (60), Miami (63), Virginia Tech (74), Boston College (96), Florida State (107), Wake Forest (133), Syracuse (140), Georgia Tech (142), Notre Dame (238) and Louisville (279).
Under Monday’s NET rankings, that would give UNC only seven Quad 1 games on its ACC schedule: Both games against Clemson and the road games against Pittsburgh, Miami, Virginia, Duke and N.C. State.
The ACC ranks fifth in the NET behind the Big 12, Big Ten, Big East and SEC.
Top 32 in NET rankings
| Rank | School | League | Record | Quad 1 | Quad 2 | Quad 3 | Quad 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | Big 12 | 8-0 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-0 |
| 2 | BYU | Big 12 | 7-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 0-0 | 4-0 |
| 3 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 7-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| 4 | Creighton | Big East | 7-1 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| 5 | Purdue | Big Ten | 7-1 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 |
| 6 | Baylor | Big 12 | 7-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| 7 | Colorado St. | Mountain West | 8-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| 8 | Princeton | Ivy League | 8-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| 9 | UConn | Big East | 7-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| 10 | Marquette | Big East | 6-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 11 | Fla. Atlantic | AAC | 7-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 12 | Alabama | SEC | 5-2 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| 13 | Iowa St. | Big 12 | 6-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 5-0 |
| 14 | Cincinnati | Big 12 | 7-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | SEC | 6-2 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 |
| 16 | Kansas | Big 12 | 6-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| 17 | Tennessee | SEC | 4-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| 18 | Clemson | ACC | 7-0 | 2-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 7-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 5-0 |
| 20 | Ohio St. | Big Ten | 7-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| 21 | Nevada | Mountain West | 6-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-0 |
| 22 | Indiana St. | MVC | 6-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| 23 | Illinois | Big Ten | 6-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| 24 | San Diego St. | Mountain West | 6-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| 25 | Iowa | Big Ten | 5-2 | 0-2 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 4-0 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 6-2 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| 27 | Virginia | ACC | 7-1 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| 28 | Washington St. | Pac-12 | 6-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| 29 | South Carolina | SEC | 7-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| 30 | McNeese | Southland | 4-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| 31 | Gonzaga | WCC | 5-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| 32 | North Carolina | ACC | 7-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 4-0 |
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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