By R.L. Bynum
You would expect that after No. 7 North Carolina earned its fourth Quad 1 win in five games, the Tar Heels would again move up in the NET rankings, but predicting the metric is difficult.
After the league-leading Tar Heels’ 67–54 victory over N.C. State, the fifth Quad 1 victory for Coach Hubert Davis’ team, they returned to 9th in the NET where they stood following the Clemson win after slipping to 10 early in the week.
Carolina (12–3, 4–0 ACC) is tied with Arizona (12–3) and UConn (14–2) for the second-most Quad 1 wins, behind only No. 1 Purdue (14–2), which has six but lost Tuesday night at unranked Nebraska 88–74.
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.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 4–3; 6 games left): 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 2–1; 2 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 6–0; 1 game left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 6–0; no games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
UNC is 4–0 in the league for the first time since 2016, when the Heels won their first eight ACC games. The Tar Heels will likely be in the top five in the AP poll if they can knock off Syracuse (11–4, 2–2) at noon Saturday (ESPN) at the Smith Center.
The opportunity is there since, on top of Purdue’s loss, No. 2 Houston (14–1) lost to unranked Iowa State 57–53 Tuesday, unranked Central Florida upset No. 3 Kansas (13–2) 65–60 on Wednesday and No. 5 Tennessee (11–4) lost on Wednesday 77–72 at unranked Mississippi State.
The host Orange beat Boston College 68–59 on Wednesday.
The three teams Carolina has beaten in ACC play have all fallen in the NET rankings, but those wins are still comfortably ahead of the 75 threshold to be classified as Quad 1 wins. Pittsburgh is down to 66, Clemson is down to 30 and N.C. State is now 71 (after being at 66 before the loss).
The home game against the Tigers on Feb. 6, though, is barely a Quad 1 game since that will fall to a Quad 2 if Clemson falls one spot more.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 25
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 122
Average NET win: 141
Average NET loss: 44
NET strength of schedule: 50
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 29
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 199 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 14 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 243 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 340 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 170 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 146 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 11 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 28 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 95 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 286 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 129 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 40 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 289 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 102 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 34 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 70 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 78 | 2 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 51 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 85 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 18 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 143 | 3 | Win |
| F2 | Syracuse | 73 | 2 | Win |
| F7 | Duke | 2 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 39 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 114 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 26 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 73 | 1 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 56 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 31 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 2 | 1 |
| 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
UNC season statistics
| 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 |
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