By R.L. Bynum
With a share of the ACC lead, North Carolina also is moving up in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll.
The Tar Heels (14–5, 6–1 ACC) jumped three spots to No. 20 in the poll released Monday afternoon after winning 73–68 at Georgia Tech on Thursday, then earning a 79–68 home win Sunday over Louisville (16–3, 5–1) for the Cardinals’ first league loss.
Louisville fell five spots to No. 18.
UNC — 30th in the NET rankings (which projects to a No. 7 seed) and 21st in the Massey Ratings — shares first place with two teams it has already beaten in their only regular-season meetings: Louisville and Syracuse (16–2, 6–1), which lost to UNC in Chapel Hill 75–51 on Jan. 4.
Carolina is one of only four schools (and the only ACC school) ranked in both the men’s and women’s poll, with the second-best average rank (No. 3 men and No. 20 women) of 11.5, behind only UConn (No. 1 men and No. 9 women) at No. 5. Baylor (No. 15 men and No. 13 women) averages at No. 14 and Creighton (No. 17 men, No. 21 women) averages at 19.
Voting the Tar Heels the highest at No. 10 was Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based voter. Three voters — Danny Davis of the Austin American-Stateman, Kelly Gramlich of ACC Network and Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune — voted the Tar Heels No. 13.
Two voters — Emily Adams of The Greenville News in South Carolina and Percy Allen of the Seattle Times — left Carolina off their ballots.
Three other ranked ACC teams lost last week:
— N.C. State (16–2, 4–2) dropped three spots to No. 7 after losing 73–59 to Miami.
— Virginia Tech (14–4, 5–2) slipped five notches to No. 19 after a 63–46 loss at Duke.
— Florida State (14–6, 5–3) plummeted eight spots to No. 23 after losing to Syracuse 79–73 and Virginia 91–87.
The only other ACC team ranked in last week’s poll to win both games last week was Notre Dame (14–3, 5–2), which moved up four spots to No. 15 after beating Virginia 86–76 and Wake Forest 75–56.
Syracuse returned to the poll at No. 22 after the win over the Seminoles and also defeating Pittsburgh 72–59.
Four of the top six teams lost:
— Iowa (18–2) lost Sunday to Ohio State 100–92 in overtime and dropped three spots to No. 5.
— Colorado (16–2) stayed at No. 3 after losing 76–68 to UCLA (15–1), which moved up three spots to No. 2.
— Southern Cal (13–3) dropped five spots to No. 11 after losing to Utah 78–58 and Colorado 63–59.
The only other teams ranked in last week’s poll both fell out of the poll after losses. Marquette (15–3), previously No. 22, lost 66–63 to Villanova and Iowa State, previously No. 24, lost 71–63 to Texas Tech.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (35) | 17–0 | 875 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 15–1 | 833 | 5 |
| 3 | Colorado | 16–2 | 763 | 3 |
| 4 | Kansas State | 18–1 | 753 | 7 |
| 5 | Iowa | 18–2 | 729 | 2 |
| 6 | Stanford | 17–2 | 695 | 8 |
| 7 | N.C. State | 16–2 | 646 | 4 |
| 8 | UConn | 16–3 | 635 | 9 |
| 9 | LSU | 18–2 | 575 | 10 |
| 10 | Texas | 18–2 | 553 | 11 |
| 11 | Southern Cal | 13–3 | 515 | 6 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 15–3 | 493 | 18 |
| 13 | Baylor | 15–2 | 480 | 12 |
| 14 | Indiana | 16–2 | 396 | 16 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 14–3 | 331 | 19 |
| 16 | Utah | 13–5 | 328 | 20 |
| 17 | Gonzaga | 18–2 | 320 | 17 |
| 18 | Louisville | 16–3 | 315 | 13 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 14–4 | 272 | 14 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 14–5 | 243 | 23 |
| 21 | Creighton | 14–3 | 169 | 21 |
| 22 | Syracuse | 16–2 | 131 | NR |
| 23 | Florida State | 14–6 | 104 | 15 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 16–2 | 78 | NR |
| 25 | Oregon State | 15–3 | 43 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Marquette 37, Princeton 21, Iowa St. 14, UNLV 12, Fairfield 8, Washington St 3, Miami 2, Green Bay 1, Richmond 1, Virginia 1.
Where voters had Carolina
Alex Simon, SF Gate — 20
Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier-Journal — 20
Brenda VanLengen, ESPN — 19
Carl Adamec, Hearst CT Media — 19
Cassandra Negley, Yahoo — 19
Christy Winters Scott NBC — 19
Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel — 19
Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman — 13
Emily Adams, The Greenville News — left off ballot
Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette — 19 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Joe Vozzelli, The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. — 19
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network — 13
Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune — 13
Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com — 18
Kim Adams, Fox Sports — 18
Lindsay Schnell, USA Today — 14
Michael Voepel, ESPN — 14
Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle — 20
Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader — 20
Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network — 20
Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — 19 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Michelle Smith, The Next — 19 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Mitchell Northam, WUNC — 10
Payton Titus, The State — 22
Percy Allen, Seattle Times — left off ballot
P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star — 22 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN — 20
Reed Darcey, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. — 20
Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle — 22
Roger Cleaveland, Waterbury Republican-American — 17 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic — 17
Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald — 22
Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Leader in Jackson, Miss. — 23
Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 21 (left UNC off ballot last week)
Zack Smith, Waco Tribune — 22 (left UNC off ballot last week)
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 8 Louisville | 8–0 | 18–3 | 8 |
| No. 21 Duke | 8–0 | 13–6 | 17 |
| Syracuse | 6–2 | 16–3 | 40 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 13–6 | 28 |
| Virginia | 5–2 | 13–5 | 38 |
| North Carolina | 4–3 | 15–5 | 21 |
| Stanford | 4–3 | 15–5 | 34 |
| Virginia Tech | 4–3 | 14–5 | 47 |
| Notre Dame | 4–3 | 12–6 | 23 |
| Clemson | 4–3 | 13–6 | 41 |
| Miami | 3–4 | 11–7 | 46 |
| Georgia Tech | 3–4 | 8–11 | 97 |
| California | 2–5 | 11–9 | 58 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 12–8 | 116 |
| SMU | 1–6 | 8–11 | 167 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–6 | 8–12 | 247 |
| Florida State | 1–6 | 6–13 | 110 |
| Boston College | 0–8 | 4–17 | 255 |
* — Through Sunday games
Sunday’s results
North Carolina 82, Florida State 55
California 73, Boston College 58
Clemson 78, Wake Forest 71, OT
No. 8 Louisville 88, N.C. State 80, OT
SMU 83, Pittsburgh 76
Syracuse 69, Stanford 58
No. 21 Duke 93, Georgia Tech 46
Monday’s game
No. 1 UConn 85, Notre Dame 47
Thursday’s games
Miami at Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
N.C. State at Virginia, noon, ACC Network
Boston College at No. 8 Louisville, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at North Carolina, 2 p.m., The CW
No. 21 Duke at Pittsbugh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Notre Dame, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at SMU, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Florida State, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 2 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. 3 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. 8 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, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–0 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–1 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–2 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–2 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–2 |
| 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 No. 21 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. 21 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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