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. 3 Duke | 0–0 | 11–0 | 2 |
| California | 0–0 | 10–1 | 63 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 10–1 | 15 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 0–0 | 9–1 | 21 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 10–2 | 33 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 10–2 | 58 |
| No. 11 Louisville | 0–0 | 9–2 | 17 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 9–2 | 43 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 8–2 | 98 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 9–3 | 32 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–3 | 65 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–3 | 59 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 8–4 | 34 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 7–4 | 189 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 7–4 | 96 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 6–6 | 154 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 5–6 | 177 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 5–6 | 148 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 77, East Tennessee State 58
No. 3 Duke 97, Lipscomb 73
No. 20 Tennessee 83, No. 11 Louisville 62
Dayton 97, Florida State 69
Clemson 68, South Carolina 61
Miami 98, Florida International 81
Georgia Tech 87, Marist 76
Wednesday’s results
N.C. State 108, Texas Southern 72
Pittsburgh 103, Binghamton 6
Syracuse 76, Mercyhurst 62
Wake Forest 71, Longwood 68
UT Arlington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Friday’s games
Mississippi Valley State at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Morgan State at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
Montana at No. 11 Louisville, noon, ACCN Extra
Lafayette at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Elon at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina at CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, 3 p.m., CBS
Northeastern at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Maryland at No. 23 Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Duke at No. 16 Texas Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN
Stanford at Colorado, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday’s games
Penn State vs. Pittsburgh in Hershey, Pa., noon, Big Ten Network
Ole Miss vs. N.C. State in Greensboro, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, 1 p.m., The CW
Purdue Ft. Wayne at Notre Dame, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Central Arkansas at SMU, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Cincinnati vs. Clemson in Greenville, S.C., 3 p.m., ESPN
North Florida at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Columbia at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Monday’s games
American at Virginia, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Jacksonville at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stonehill at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Fairleigh Dickinson at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
East Carolina at No. 12 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| 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. East Tennessee State | 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 by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 