By R.L. Bynum
After a surprising one-week absence from the AP Top 25 women’s poll, North Carolina returned at No. 20 this week after two big ACC victories and is ESPN’s Team of the Week.
It’s the fourth week in the top 20 this season for Carolina, which was No. 16 in the preseason poll.
The Tar Heels (11–4, 3–0 ACC) beat then-No. 25 Syracuse 75–51 (which fell out of the poll) on Thursday before knocking off then-No. 16 Notre Dame (which dropped to No. 18) 61–57 for UNC’s first program victory in South Bend, Ind.
Sophomore Indya Nivar led the way against the Irish with 16 points, a career-high five steals and two assists, while Lexi Donarski added 13 points, three 3-pointers, six rebounds and two steals.
UNC faces another tough road test at 6 p.m. Thursday when they face No. 21 Florida State (12–4, 3–1), which rebounded from an 88–80 Thursday loss to N.C. State by beating Clemson 78–72.
After a 63–62 loss at Virginia Tech on Sunday for its first loss, N.C. State (14–1, 2–1), fell three spots to No. 6 while the Hokies (12–2, 3–0) moved up two spots to No. 11.
The other ranked ACC team is No. 15 Louisville (13–2, 2–0; up two spots), which beat Duke 61–44.
Other teams ranked in last week’s poll to lose were:
–Utah (11–4), which dropped four spots to No. 19 after a 71–70 overtime loss to Arizona.
–Marquette (13–2), which dropped four spots to No. 23 after a 57–56 loss to St. John’s.
–Creighton (11–3), which dropped a spot to No. 22 after a 94–50 loss to UConn
–TCU (14–2), previously No. 23, which fell out of the poll after losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State.
–West Virginia (13–1), which stayed at No. 24after a 70–49 loss to Texas.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (34) | 14-0 | 874 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA (1) | 14-0 | 841 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 15-1 | 760 | 4 |
| 4 | Baylor | 14-0 | 738 | 6 |
| 5 | Colorado | 13-1 | 705 | 5 |
| 6 | N.C. State | 14-1 | 671 | 3 |
| 7 | LSU | 15-1 | 668 | 7 |
| 8 | Stanford | 14-1 | 637 | 8 |
| 9 | Southern Cal | 12-1 | 593 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 15-1 | 589 | 10 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 12-2 | 542 | 9 |
| 12 | Kansas State | 15-1 | 513 | 11 |
| 13 | UConn | 12-3 | 487 | 12 |
| 14 | Indiana | 13-1 | 428 | 14 |
| 15 | Louisville | 13-2 | 365 | 17 |
| 16 | Gonzaga | 14-2 | 319 | 18 |
| 17 | Ohio State | 11-3 | 270 | 20 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 10-3 | 265 | 16 |
| 19 | Utah | 11-4 | 264 | 15 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 11-4 | 218 | 20 |
| 21 | Florida State | 12-4 | 162 | 22 |
| 22 | Creighton | 11-3 | 99 | 21 |
| 23 | Marquette | 13-2 | 96 | 19 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 13-1 | 70 | 24 |
| 25 | UNLV | 12-1 | 68 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 38, Michigan St. 23, Oregon St. 15, Syracuse 15, TCU 11, Arizona 8, California 6, Princeton 4, Nebraska 3, Davidson 3, Maryland 2, Fairfield 2, Miami 1, Texas A&M 1, Washington 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 10–3 | 13 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 9–1 | 39 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 10–2 | 125 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 32 |
| No. 20 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 | 19 |
| Virginia | 1–0 | 8–3 | 29 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 7–4 | 30 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–6 | 38 |
| Clemson | 1–1 | 7–4 | 50 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 9–3 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 | 63 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 68 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 6–4 | 49 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 | 254 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 154 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 4–8 | 111 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–8 | 120 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 215 |
* — Through Monday games
Sunday’s results
No. 16 Louisville 76, No. 18 North Carolina 66, OT
Charleston 73, Florida State 69
Wake Forest 57, Georgia Tech 56
Clemson 73, Pittsburgh 41
N.C. State 87, Miami 61
No. 20 Notre Dame 78, James Madison 65
Stanford 78, California 69
Virginia Tech 73, East Tennessee State 55
Tuesday’s game
Binghamton at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wednesday’s games
Clemson at Charleston Southern, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky at No. 16 Louisville, 6 p.m., ACC Network
UNCW at No. 18 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday’s games
Virginia Tech at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saint Francis at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
South Dakota State at Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s games
Mercyhurst at Syracuse, 10:30 a.m, ACCN Extra
Northeastern at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
SMU at Sam Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 Washington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at No. 17 Tennessee, 11 a.m., Fox
Winthrop at Virginia, noon, ACCN Extra
South Carolina State at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Belmont, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Sunday’s games
Charleston Southern at No. 18 North Carolina, noon, ACC Network
Radford at Virginia Tech, noon, ACCN Extra
Kennesaw State at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Davidson, noon, CBS Sports Network
Pittsburgh at Duquesne, 1 p.m., ESPN+
North Florida at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Bellarmine at No. 20 Notre Dame, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Southern at SMU, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Oregon vs. Stanford in San Francisco, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 19 USC vs. California in San Francisco, 8:30, ESPN
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Charleston Southern | ACCN Extra |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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