By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina held its spot at No. 3 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after rebounding from its first ACC loss with an impressive 93–84 Saturday win over Duke.
The Tar Heels (18–4, 10–1), who lost 74–73 at Georgia Tech on Tuesday, have a two-game lead in the ACC over Virginia (17–5, 8–3) and lead the Blue Devils (16–5, 7–3), who fell two spots to No. 9, by 2½ games.
UNC’s poll points total fell from 1,441 last week to 1,352 but Kansas (18–4), which went up four spots to No. 4, only got 1,322 poll points.
Carolina, in its 36th season ranked No. 3 or higher, is at home again at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN), going for the season sweep over Clemson (14–7, 4–6), which the Tar Heels beat 65–55 on Jan. 6. The Tar Heels play at Miami (15–7, 6–5) at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN).
Four consecutive weeks in the top five matches the 2019 streak when the Tar Heels were No. 3 in the last two polls. UNC hasn’t had a longer such streak since it was in the top 5 for the first nine polls in the 2011–12 season, when the Tar Heels went 32–6 and lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight.
Six consecutive weeks in the top 10 is the longest since doing it 13 straight weeks from Jan. 28, 2019, to Dec. 2, 2019. It’s the longest such streak in one season since UNC was in the top 10 for the final eight 2019 polls.
Voting UNC the highest at No. 2 was Calum McAndew of the Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri. Rodd Boxley of the Fayetteville Observer was one of 27 to vote the Heels No. 3. JB Ricks of Spectrum News and Kate Rogerson of WTVD were two of 21 to vote UNC No. 4.
Voting Carolina the lowest at No. 7 were Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., and Zach Klein of WSB in Atlanta.
In other metrics, UNC is No. 3 in KPI, No. 8 in KenPom, No. 9 in the NET rankings, No. 9 in ESPN’s BPI and No. 11 in Bart Torvik’s T-Rank. Bracket Matrix averages dozens of bracket projections, and has Carolina as the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
UConn (20–2) remained atop the poll with 45 first-place votes after beating Providence 74–65 and St. John’s 77–64. Purdue (21–2), with the other 16 first-place votes, remained No. 2 after a 105–96 overtime victory over Northwestern and a 75–69 win over Wisconsin.
Including Duke, five teams below UNC in the top 10 of last week’s poll lost:
— Houston (19–3) fell one spot to No. 5 after beating Texas 76–72 in overtime but losing 78–65 to Kansas.
— Tennessee (16–5) dropped one spot to No. 6 after losing 63–59 to South Carolina but winning 103–92 over Kentucky.
— Wisconsin (16–6) is down five spots to No. 11 after losing 80–72 in overtime to Nebraska, in addition to the loss against Purdue.
— Kentucky (15–6) sunk seven spots to No. 17 after losing 94–91 in overtime to Florida, in addition to the defeat against Tennessee.
AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team (1st-place vote) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn (45) | 20–2 | 1,509 | 1 |
| 2 | Purdue (16) | 21–2 | 1,479 | 2 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 18–4 | 1,352 | 3 |
| 4 | Kansas | 18–4 | 1,322 | 8 |
| 5 | Houston | 19–3 | 1,273 | 4 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 16–5 | 1,211 | 5 |
| 7 | Marquette | 17–5 | 1,173 | 9 |
| 8 | Arizona | 17–5 | 1,077 | 11 |
| 9 | Duke | 16–5 | 924 | 7 |
| 10 | Illinois | 17–5 | 893 | 14 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 16–6 | 838 | 6 |
| 12 | Auburn | 18–4 | 818 | 16 |
| 13 | Baylor | 16–5 | 730 | 18 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 16–5 | 700 | 12 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 19–3 | 564 | NR |
| 16 | Alabama | 16–6 | 520 | 24 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 15–6 | 513 | 10 |
| 18 | Dayton | 18–3 | 493 | 21 |
| 19 | Creighton | 16–6 | 484 | 13 |
| 20 | Florida Atlantic | 18–4 | 431 | 20 |
| 21 | BYU | 16–5 | 425 | 22 |
| 22 | Utah State | 19–3 | 286 | 17 |
| 23 | Texas Tech | 16–5 | 156 | 15 |
| 24 | San Diego State | 17–5 | 141 | NR |
| 25 | New Mexico | 18–4 | 123 | 19 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Mary’s 73, TCU 72, Indiana St. 53, Boise St. 49, Colorado St. 43, Virginia 32, Texas 22, Oklahoma 17, Mississippi 10, Washington St 6, Memphis 5, Appalachian St 4, Gonzaga 2, Grand Canyon 1, Michigan St. 1.
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 9–0 | 20–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 7–2 | 18–3 | 18 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 16–6 | 26 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 39 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 5–3 | 17–4 | 25 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 5–4 | 15–6 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 56 |
| SMU | 4–4 | 15–6 | 34 |
| California | 4–5 | 16–6 | 51 |
| Syracuse | 4–5 | 13–9 | 78 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 102 |
| Boston College | 2–6 | 9–12 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–7 | 11–11 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–7 | 11–11 | 85 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 114 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Georgia Tech 75
No. 4 Duke 72, Virginia Tech 58
N.C. State 96, Wake Forest 78
No. 20 Clemson 63, Pittsburgh 52
No. 18 Virginia 73, Boston College 66
No. 24 Louisville 88, SMU 74
California 86, Miami 81
Florida State 88, Stanford 80
Syracuse 86, Notre Dame 72
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 14 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 18 Virginia, 9 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at SMU, 9 p.m, ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 20 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
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
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 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. 14 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. 7 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. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 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. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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