By R.L. Bynum

It is still early in the season, but it’s already NCAA resume-building time for the No. 9 North Carolina men’s basketball team.

The 87–76 loss at Madison Square Garden to No. 5 and reigning NCAA champion UConn (NET ranking of 6) on Dec. 5 was the first of six Quad 1 opponents in seven games under the current NET rankings. The next one is against No. 14 Kentucky (36) at 5:30 Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.

After that, there are only four Quad 1 games for the rest of the season.

The Tar Heels (7–2) are 1–2 in Quad 1 games (beating No. 12 Tennessee (NET ranking of 12) 100–92 at home on Nov. 29 and losing to UConn 87–76 and, on Nov. 24 in the Bahamas, Villanova 83–81 in overtime), 1–0 in Quad 2 games (the 87–72 victory Nov. 23 in the Bahamas over Arkansas) and are 3–0 in both Quad 3 and Quad 4 games.

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NCAA quadrant system

Quadrant 1 (UNC is 1–2): 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 (UNC is 1–0): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 3–0): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 3–0): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower

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The NCAA tournament committee uses the NET rankings as one of its metrics to determine who makes the field and how to seed teams. NET rankings will fluctuate throughout the season, and the only quad designation that matters is where your opponents stand on Selection Sunday, not where they ranked when the game was played.

UNC’s NET ranking seems ridiculously low at No. 32, but that will shoot up with success in the five Quad 1 games between now and Jan. 10.

Under the current rankings, the Tar Heels’ next two games — Saturday’s Kentucky game and Wednesday’s Jumpman Invitational matchup in Charlotte against No. 11 Oklahoma (NET ranking of 14) — are Quad 1 contests.

After facing Charleston Southern (351) in a Quad 4 home game on Dec. 29, Carolina faces ACC teams for the rest of the schedule. That stretch starts with consecutive Quad 1 road games on Jan. 2 against Pittsburgh (42), Jan. 6 vs. No. 24 Clemson (11) and Jan. 10 against N.C. State (54).

It is nearly another month before the Tar Heels get more Quad 1 chances, and they come in back-to-back games: Feb. 6 at home against No. 24 Clemson (11) and Feb. 10 at No. 15 Miami (52).

The only other Quad 1 games under the current rankings are Feb. 24 at Virginia (20) and both games against No. 21 Duke (25).

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Quad breakdown of UNC schedule

Opponent	NET ranking	Quad designation	Outcome
Radford	181	4	Win
Lehigh	319	4	Win
UC Riverside	262	4	Win
(N) Northern Iowa	143	3	Win
(N) Villanova	46	1	Loss
(N) Arkansas	99	2	Win
Tennessee	12	1	Win
Florida State	128	3	Win
(N) Connecticut	6	1	Loss
(N) Kentucky	36	1
(N) Oklahoma	14	1
Charleston Southern	351	4
At Pittsburgh	42	1
At Clemson	11	1
At N.C. State	54	1
Syracuse	93	3
Louisville	291	4
At Boston College	78	2
Wake Forest	87	3
At Florida State	128	2
Georgia Tech	159	3
Duke	25	2
Clemson	11	1
At Miami	52	1
At Syracuse	93	2
Virginia Tech	57	2
Virginia	20	1
Miami	52	2
N.C. State	54	2
Notre Dame	192	4
At Duke	25	1

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UNC season statistics

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Date	Month/day	Score	Opponent/event (current ranks)	Record
	October
27	Friday	W, 117–53	vs. St. Augustine’s	Exhibition
	November
6	Monday	W, 86–70	vs. Radford	1–0
12	Sunday	W, 90–68	vs. Lehigh	2–0
17	Friday	W, 77–52	vs. UC Riverside	3–0
			Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas
22	Wednesday	W, 91–69	Northern Iowa	4–0
23	Thursday	L, 83–81, OT	Villanova	4–1
24	Friday	W, 87–72	Arkansas	5–1
			ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge
29	Wednesday	W, 100–92	vs. No. 6 Tennessee	6–1
	December
2	Saturday	W, 78–70	vs. Florida State	7–1, 1–0 ACC
			Jimmy V Classic in New York
5	Tuesday	L, 87–67	No. 1 Connecticut	7–2
			CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta
16	Saturday	L, 87–83	No. 12 Kentucky	7–3
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
20	Wednesday	W, 81–69	Oklahoma	8–3
			—————————
29	Friday	W, 105–60	vs. Charleston Southern	9–3
	January
2	Tuesday	W, 70–57	at Pittsburgh	10–3, 2–0 ACC
6	Saturday	W, 65–55	at Clemson	11–3, 3–0 ACC
10	Wednesday	W, 67–54	at N.C. State	12–3, 4–0 ACC
13	Saturday	W, 103–67	vs. Syracuse	13–3, 5–0 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 86–70	vs. Louisville	14–3, 6–0 ACC
20	Saturday	W, 76–66	vs. Boston College	15–3, 7–0 ACC
22	Monday	W, 85–64	vs. Wake Forest	16–3, 8–0 ACC
27	Saturday	W, 75–68	at Florida State	17–3, 9–0 ACC
30	Tuesday	L, 74–73	at Georgia Tech	17–4, 9–1 ACC
	February
3	Saturday	W, 93–84	vs. No. 13 Duke	18–4, 10–1 ACC
6	Tuesday	L, 80–76	vs. Clemson	18–5, 10–2 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–72	at Miami	19–5, 11–2 ACC
13	Tuesday	L, 86–79	at Syracuse	19–6, 11–3 ACC
17	Saturday	W, 96–81	vs. Virginia Tech	20–6, 12–3 ACC
24	Saturday	W, 54–44	at Virginia	21–6, 13–3 ACC
26	Monday	W, 75–71	vs. Miami	22–6, 14–3 ACC
	March
2	Saturday	W, 79–70	vs. N.C. State	23–6, 15–3 ACC
5	Tuesday	W, 84–51	vs. Notre Dame	24–6, 16–3 ACC
9	Saturday	W, 84–79	at No. 13 Duke	25–6, 17–3 ACC
			ACC tournament Washington
14	Thursday	W, 92–67	Quarterfinals: Florida State	26–6
15	Friday	W, 72–65	Semifinals: Pittsburgh	27–6
16	Saturday	L, 84–76	Final: N.C. State	27–7
			NCAA tournament
21	Thursday	W, 90–62	First round in Charlotte: Wagner	28–7
23	Saturday	W, 85–69	Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State	29–7
28	Thursday	L, 89–87	Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama	29–8

Photo via @UNC_Basketball