By R.L. Bynum
After opening ACC play with a home victory, North Carolina, No. 24 last week, surprisingly fell out of the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll.
UNC (9–4, 1–0 ACC) had made the previous 33 polls, the longest streak since Coach Sylvia Hatchell’s teams made 57 in a row from Nov. 19, 2012, until the end of the 2014–15 season. Before Coach Courtney Banghart’s first season in 2019–20, Carolina hadn’t been ranked since the 2016–17 preseason poll.
West Virginia (12–1) moved up one spot to No. 24 after an 85–60 win over Kansas and Syracuse (11–1, 1–0) debuted in the poll at No. 25 after its 86–81 home upset of Notre Dame, leading UNC to get the 26th-most poll points.
The Heels falling out of the poll was just as surprising as them not falling out when they were No. 25 the previous week and lost to 76–64 to UConn on Dec. 10.
The Tar Heels, who finished 2023 with an 82–76 win over Clemson, face two challenging games this week.
Syracuse visits Carmichael Arena at 6 p.m. Thursday (ESPN3). At 5 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2), UNC visits Notre Dame (9–2, 0–1), which fell three spots to No. 16.
Carolina is 34th in the Massey Ratings and 46th in the NET ranking.
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 3 N.C. State (13–0, 2–0), No. 13 Virginia Tech (10–2, 1–0; up one spot), No. 17 Louisville (12–2, 1–0; up two spots) and No. 22 Florida State (11–3, 2–0).
Other teams ranked in last week’s poll that lost were:
— Texas (13–1), which fell five spots to No. 10 after an 85–79 loss to Baylor (12–0), which moved up four spots to No. 6.
— Southern Cal (10–1), which slipped three spots to No. 9 after a 71–64 loss to No. 2 UCLA.
— Utah (10–3), which dropped three spots to No. 15 following a 76–65 setback against Colorado (11–1), which is up three spots to No. 5.
— Ohio State (10–3), which dropped three spots to No. 20 after a 69–60 loss to Michigan.
— Marquette (12–1), which fell one spot to No. 19 after a 95–64 loss to UConn (10–3), which is up three spots to No. 12.
Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based voter, had the Tar Heels the highest at No. 16, with two voters putting the Heels No. 17. Eighteen voters left UNC off of their ballot
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (34) | 12-0 | 874 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA (1) | 12-0 | 839 | 2 |
| 3 | N.C. State | 13-0 | 784 | 3 |
| 4 | Iowa | 13-1 | 754 | 4 |
| 5 | Colorado | 11-1 | 692 | 8 |
| 6 | Baylor | 12-0 | 689 | 10 |
| 7 | LSU | 13-1 | 674 | 7 |
| 8 | Stanford | 12-1 | 630 | 9 |
| 9 | Southern Cal | 10-1 | 601 | 6 |
| 10 | Texas | 13-1 | 585 | 5 |
| 11 | Kansas State | 13-1 | 519 | 11 |
| 12 | UConn | 10-3 | 469 | 15 |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | 10-2 | 435 | 14 |
| 14 | Indiana | 11-1 | 425 | 16 |
| 15 | Utah | 10-3 | 409 | 12 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | 9-2 | 309 | 13 |
| 17 | Louisville | 12-2 | 306 | 19 |
| 18 | Gonzaga | 13-2 | 246 | 20 |
| 19 | Marquette | 12-1 | 189 | 18 |
| 20 | Ohio State | 10-3 | 181 | 17 |
| 21 | Creighton | 10-2 | 157 | 21 |
| 22 | Florida State | 11-3 | 154 | 22 |
| 23 | TCU | 14-0 | 120 | 21 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 12-0 | 106 | 25 |
| 25 | Syracuse | 11-1 | 56 | NR |
Others receiving votes: North Carolina 49, Washington 36, Oregon St. 19, Texas A&M 16, UNLV 15, Michigan St. 9, Michigan 8, Miami 8, Davidson 6, Mississippi St. 3, Vanderbilt 3.
Where voters had UNC
Alex Simon, SF Gate — left off ballot
Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier-Journal — 24
Brenda VanLengen, ESPN — 17
Carl Adamec, Hearst CT Media — 17
Cassandra Negley, Yahoo — 25
Christy Winters Scott NBC — 24
Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel — left off ballot
Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman — left off ballot
Emily Adams, The Greenville News — left off ballot
Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette — left off ballot
Joe Vozzelli, The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. — left off ballot
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network — 22
Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune — 23
Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com — left off ballot
Kim Adams, Fox Sports — 22
Lindsay Schnell, USA Today — 22
Michael Voepel, ESPN — left off ballot
Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle — 23
Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader — 23
Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network — 25
Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — 25
Michelle Smith, The Next — 25
Mitchell Northam, WUNC — 16
Payton Titus, The State — 25
Percy Allen, Seattle Times — left off ballot
P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star — left off ballot
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN — 23
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 — left off ballot
Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic — left off ballot
Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald — left off ballot
Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Leader in Jackson, Miss. — left off ballot
Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch — left off ballot
Zack Smith, Waco Tribune — left off ballot
UNC season statistics
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Virginia Tech | 14–4 | 23–6 |
| No. 10 N.C. State | 13–5 | 25–5 |
| No. 20 Syracuse | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 14 Notre Dame | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 12–6 | 23–8 |
| Florida State | 12–6 | 21–9 |
| Duke | 11–7 | 19–10 |
| North Carolina | 11–7 | 19–11 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 18–11 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–11 | 16–14 |
| Virginia | 7–11 | 15–14 |
| Boston College | 5–13 | 13–18 |
| Clemson | 5–13 | 12–18 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–16 | 8–23 |
| Wake Forest | 2–16 | 6–24 |
Sunday’s games
North Carolina 63, Duke 59
Boston College 84, Pittsburgh 58
No. 10 N.C. State 75, Wake Forest 57
No. 14 Notre Dame 74, No. 24 Louisville 58
Georgia Tech 71, Miami 66, OT
Florida State 82, Clemson 79
Virginia 80, No. 11 Virginia Tech 75
ACC tournament
Greensboro Coliseum
Wednesday-Sunday
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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