By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina jumped to a season-high No. 7 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll Monday after a pair of road ACC wins last week.
The Tar Heels (11–3, 3–0) won at Pittsburgh 70–57 and at Clemson, which dropped five spots to No. 21, 65–55 on Saturday. It’s the highest ranking for UNC since being No. 1 for the first three polls last season.
Marquette (11–4) was No. 7 but fell to No. 11 after a 78–75 loss to unranked Seton Hall.
Carolina, with a NET ranking of 10, already has four wins over ranked teams, which equals the combined total of the previous two seasons.
The Tar Heels have played four teams in the top 9: No. 4 UConn (13–2), No. 5 Tennessee (11–3), No. 6 Kentucky (11–2) and No. 9 Oklahoma (13–1), splitting the four games against those teams.
Carolina is in the top 11 for the sixth consecutive week, the longest streak since doing it 13 straight weeks over two seasons, ending Dec. 9, 2019.
The Tar Heels play their third consecutive ACC road game Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ESPN) against N.C. State (11–3, 3–0).
The Wolfpack and Heels, who share the ACC lead with Wake Forest, will play with both 3–0 in the ACC for the first time since Jan. 22, 1974, and for only the fourth time overall (also in 1959 and 1969).
Duke (11–3) moved up three spots and is tied at No. 11 with Marquette after beating Syracuse 86–66 and Notre Dame 67–59.
Other teams ranked in the top 13 of last week’s poll to lose were:
–Illinois (11–3), which fell one spot to No. 10 after an 83–78 loss to No. 1 Purdue.
–BYU (12–2), which fell six spots to No. 18, after a 71–60 loss to Cincinnati.
–Colorado State (13–2), which dropped four spots to No. 17 after a 77–72 loss to Utah State.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 7 are Adam Cole of the Opelika-Auburn News in Alabama and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, with Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., ranking the Heels the lowest at No. 10.
JB Ricks of Spectrum News has UNC No. 6, with WTVD’s Kate Rogerson voting the Heels No. 7 and Luke DeCock of The News & Observer putting them No. 8.
AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue (54) | 14-1 | 1,566 | 1 |
| 2 | Houston (7) | 14-0 | 1,486 | 3 |
| 3 | Kansas (2) | 13-1 | 1,481 | 2 |
| 4 | UConn | 13-2 | 1,335 | 4 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 11-3 | 1,291 | 5 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 1,253 | 6 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 11-3 | 1,213 | 8 |
| 8 | Arizona | 12-3 | 1,107 | 10 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13-1 | 1,023 | 11 |
| 10 | Illinois | 11-3 | 924 | 9 |
| T-11 | Marquette | 11-4 | 869 | 7 |
| T-11 | Duke | 11-3 | 869 | 15 |
| 13 | Memphis | 13-2 | 843 | 15 |
| 14 | Baylor | 12-2 | 787 | 18 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 663 | 21 |
| 16 | Auburn | 12-2 | 559 | 25 |
| 17 | Colorado State | 13-2 | 436 | 3 |
| 18 | BYU | 12-2 | 426 | 12 |
| 19 | San Diego State | 13-2 | 386 | 19 |
| 20 | Utah State | 14-1 | 241 | 20 |
| 21 | Clemson | 11-3 | 219 | 16 |
| 22 | Creighton | 11-4 | 187 | 22 |
| 23 | Gonzaga | 11-4 | 185 | 24 |
| 24 | Florida Atlantic | 11-4 | 165 | 17 |
| 25 | Texas | 11-3 | 148 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Dayton 126, Mississippi 125, James Madison 98, Cincinnati 79, Nevada 77, Texas Tech 62, Wake Forest 38, Grand Canyon 35, Seton Hall 34, South Carolina 29, Miami 27, St. John’s 18, Iowa St. 16, Colorado 8, N.C. State 7, Michigan St. 7, Alabama 7, Providence 6, Oregon 4, TCU 3, Northwestern 3, Princeton 2, Utah 2.
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–0 | 21–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 9–1 | 19–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 8–2 | 19–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 8–2 | 17–6 | 25 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 6–3 | 18–4 | 27 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 6–4 | 16–6 | 18 |
| California | 5–5 | 17–6 | 55 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 57 |
| SMU | 4–5 | 15–7 | 34 |
| Syracuse | 4–6 | 13–10 | 69 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 100 |
| Stanford | 3–7 | 14–9 | 77 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Boston College | 2–7 | 9–13 | 149 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 113 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–8 | 11–12 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–8 | 11–12 | 86 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Wednesday’s results
No. 24 Louisville 76, Notre Dame 65
California 90, Georgia Tech 85
No. 20 Clemson 66, Stanford 64
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, Feb. 11, games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 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. 11 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. 10 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 | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 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. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 