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. 6 Louisville | 11–0 | 21–3 | 7 |
| No. 17 Duke | 11–0 | 16–6 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 8–3 | 18–4 | 39 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–3 | 18–5 | 42 |
| N.C. State | 8–3 | 15–7 | 26 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 7–3 | 18–5 | 21 |
| Virginia | 7–4 | 15–7 | 38 |
| Clemson | 7–4 | 16–7 | 37 |
| Notre Dame | 6–5 | 14–8 | 31 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–6 | 10–13 | 94 |
| Stanford | 4–5 | 15–7 | 36 |
| California | 4–6 | 13–10 | 54 |
| Miami | 4–7 | 12–10 | 49 |
| Florida State | 2–8 | 7–15 | 110 |
| Wake Forest | 2–9 | 12–11 | 123 |
| SMU | 1–9 | 8–14 | 181 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–9 | 8–15 | 260 |
| Boston College | 0–11 | 4–20 | 248 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Sunday’s results
No. 17 Duke 80, Wake Forest 44
No. 6 Louisville 71, California 59
Virginia Tech 76, Virginia 64
Syracuse 65, Miami 60
Georgia Tech 70, Boston College 60
Notre Dame 78, Stanford 66
Clemson 77, Florida State 58
Monday’s game
No. 25 North Carolina 61, N.C. State 59
Thursday’s games
Syracuse at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Stanford at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 Duke at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Florida State at N.C. State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 2 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 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 No. 20 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. No. 20 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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