By R.L. Bynum
After splitting a pair of ACC games last week, North Carolina fell three spots to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll.
The Tar Heels (12–5, 4–1 ACC) lost Thursday 70–62 at Florida State (14–4, 5–1), which moved up six spots to No. 15, before knocking off Virginia 81–68 Sunday on Alumni Day at Carmichael Arena.
UNC is 36th in the NET rankings, which would project the Tar Heels as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, and 25th in the Massey Ratings.
ESPN’s bracket projection before the weekend games had Carolina as the No. 6 seed in the Columbia, S.C, Region, playing first- and second-round games in Storrs, Conn., with a potential second-round matchup against No. 9 UConn (which is up four spots).
Carolina is on the road again Thursday at 6 p.m. (ACC Network) against Georgia Tech (12–5, 3–2) before meeting league-leading No. 13 Louisville (15–2, 4–0; up two spots) in Carmichael Arena at 2 p.m. Sunday (ACC Network).
Virginia Tech (13–3, 4–1) also lost to Florida State, falling 89–81 on Sunday, and dropped three spots to No. 13.
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 4 N.C. State (15–1, 3–1; up two spots) and No. 19 Notre Dame (12–3, 3–2), which rebounded from the home loss to the Tar Heels with two ACC wins last week but still fell one spot.
Voting UNC the highest at No. 14 were Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based voter, and Payton Titus of The State in Columbia, S.C. Kelly Gramlich of ACC Network has the Tar Heels No. 15.
Nine voters left Carolina off their ballots (see list below.)
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36 1st-place votes) | 14–0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | Iowa | 17–1 | 843 | 3 |
| 3 | Colorado | 15–1 | 814 | 5 |
| 4 | N.C. State | 15–1 | 777 | 6 |
| 5 | UCLA | 14–1 | 750 | 2 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 13–1 | 744 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas State | 17–1 | 692 | 12 |
| 8 | Stanford | 15–2 | 608 | 8 |
| 9 | UConn | 14–3 | 597 | 13 |
| 10 | LSU | 16–2 | 537 | 7 |
| 11 | Texas | 16–2 | 515 | 10 |
| 12 | Baylor | 14–2 | 492 | 4 |
| 13 | Louisville | 15–2 | 460 | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 13–3 | 419 | 11 |
| 15 | Florida State | 14–4 | 365 | 21 |
| 16 | Indiana | 14–2 | 351 | 14 |
| 17 | Gonzaga | 16–2 | 345 | 16 |
| 18 | Ohio State | 13–3 | 336 | 17 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 11–4 | 301 | 18 |
| 20 | Utah | 12–5 | 187 | 19 |
| 21 | Creighton | 13–3 | 144 | 22 |
| 22 | Marquette | 15–2 | 129 | 23 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 12–5 | 106 | 20 |
| 24 | Iowa State | 12–4 | 80 | NR |
| 25 | UNLV | 14–1 | 69 | 25 |
Others receiving votes: Oregon St. 59, West Virginia 29, Syracuse 25, Vanderbilt 8, Princeton 7, Auburn 5, Fairfield 4, Michigan St. 2.
How voters ranked Tar Heels
Alex Simon, SF Gate — 23
Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier-Journal — 23
Brenda VanLengen, ESPN — 23
Carl Adamec, Hearst CT Media — 22
Cassandra Negley, Yahoo — 24
Christy Winters Scott NBC — 23
Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel — 23
Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman — 21
Emily Adams, The Greenville News — left off ballot
Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette — left off ballot
Joe Vozzelli, The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. — 24
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network — 15
Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune — 24
Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com — 21
Kim Adams, Fox Sports — 19
Lindsay Schnell, USA Today — 19
Michael Voepel, ESPN — 24
Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle — 25
Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader — 25
Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network — 25
Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — left off ballot
Michelle Smith, The Next — left off ballot
Mitchell Northam, WUNC — 14
Payton Titus, The State — 14
Percy Allen, Seattle Times — left off ballot
P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star — left off ballot
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN — 24
Reed Darcey, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. — 22
Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle — 25
Roger Cleaveland, Waterbury Republican-American — left off ballot
Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic — 21
Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald — 24
Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Leader in Jackson, Miss. — 24
Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch — left off ballot
Zack Smith, Waco Tribune — left off ballot
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 11–3 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 10–1 | 40 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 10–2 | 125 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 33 |
| 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 | 8–4 | 49 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 10–3 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 | 63 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 68 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 6–4 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 | 254 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 153 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 4–8 | 112 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–8 | 118 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 208 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s result
Syracuse 72, Binghamton 54
Wednesday’s games
No. 18 North Carolina 84, UNCW 34
Clemson 78, Charleston Southern 52
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
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 | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 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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