By R.L. Bynum
Caleb Love’s unbeaten Arizona team ascended to No. 1, and North Carolina jumped eight slots to No. 9 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.
UNC, which had the biggest jump from last week’s poll, is in the top 10 for the first time since it was No. 1 in last season’s first three polls.
Arizona (7–0) moved up from No. 2 after an 82–55 victory over Colgate, thanks to Purdue’s 92–88 overtime loss at Northwestern in its Big Ten opener, which dropped the previously top-ranked Boilermakers (7–1) three slots to No. 4.
It’s Arizona’s first time at No. 1 since holding that spot for eight consecutive weeks during the 2013–14 season when the Wildcats went 33–5 and lost in the Elite Eight.
RJ Davis’ best three-game stretch of his career has led Carolina (7–1) to three consecutive victories. He is only the 10th Tar Heel, and first since Joseph Forte in 2001, to score at least 27 points in three consecutive games.
UConn (7–1), which faces the Tar Heels at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic (ESPN), slipped one spot to No. 5 after losing 69–65 at Kansas. The Jayhawks (7–1) moved up one spot to No. 3.
With a victory over the Huskies, UNC would exceed the number of wins over ranked teams in the first two seasons under Coach Hubert Davis. He had two wins in each of his first two seasons and had two already this season, with wins over Arkansas and Tennessee.
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Duke (5–3) suffered the largest drop in the poll, falling 15 spots to No. 22 after losing 80–75 at Arkansas and 72–68 at Georgia Tech.
Miami (6–1), which beat Notre Dame in its ACC opener 62–59, plummeted seven spots to No. 15 after losing 95–73 at Kentucky, which dropped four spots to No. 16 after losing 80–73 at home to UNCW.
Tennessee (4–3) dropped seven spots to No. 17 after its 100–92 loss Wednesday at Carolina.
Other teams ranked in last week’s poll that lost were:
— Texas A&M (6–2), which fell seven spots to No. 21 after a 59–47 loss to Virginia.
— Villanova (6–3), which previously No. 18, fell out of the poll after losing 78–65 to Saint Joseph’s and 57–55 to Drexel.
— Mississippi State (6–2), previously No. 21, which dropped out of the poll after losing 67–59 at Georgia Tech and 60–59 to Southern.
— Alabama (5–2), previously No. 23, which fell out of the poll after an 85–77 loss to Clemson.
JB Ricks of Spectrum News and Kate Rogerson of WTVD each voted the Tar Heels No. 9 and Luke DeCock of The News & Observer ranked UNC No. 10.
Five voters had Carolina the highest at No. 7 and Brian Holland of WVLA-TV/WGMB-TV in Baton Rouge, La., had UNC the lowest at No. 17.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona (59) | 7-0 | 1,571 | 2 |
| 2 | Kansas (1) | 7-1 | 1,460 | 5 |
| 3 | Houston (3) | 8-0 | 1,432 | 4 |
| 4 | Purdue | 7-1 | 1,407 | 1 |
| 5 | UConn | 7-1 | 1,340 | 4 |
| 6 | Baylor | 8-0 | 1,234 | 9 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 6-1 | 1,146 | 11 |
| 8 | Marquette | 6-2 | 1,134 | 3 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 7-1 | 1,004 | 17 |
| 10 | Creighton | 7-1 | 921 | 15 |
| 11 | Florida Atlantic | 7-1 | 901 | 19 |
| 12 | Texas | 6-1 | 763 | 16 |
| 13 | Colorado State | 8-0 | 755 | 20 |
| 14 | BYU | 7-0 | 732 | 19 |
| 15 | Miami | 6-1 | 638 | 8 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 6-2 | 544 | 12 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 4-3 | 509 | 10 |
| 18 | James Madison | 8-0 | 381 | 22 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 7-0 | 355 | 25 |
| 20 | Illinois | 6-1 | 322 | 24 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 306 | 14 |
| 22 | Duke | 5-3 | 296 | 7 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 6-2 | 245 | NR |
| 24 | Clemson | 7-0 | 227 | NR |
| 25 | San Diego State | 7-1 | 168 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Virginia 148, Ohio St. 122, TCU 87, Northwestern 77, Alabama 50, Michigan St. 46, Princeton 35, UCLA 23, Cincinnati 21, Mississippi 15, Arkansas 14, Providence 13, South Carolina 9, Villanova 8, Colorado 5, Memphis 5, Nevada 4, Georgia Tech 2.
UNC season statistics
Non-conference schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC opponents
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Don’t play: Clemson
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
