By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina fell four spots to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll as one of four teams in the top 10 of last week’s poll to lose.
The league-leading Tar Heels (19–5, 11–2 ACC) rebounded from Tuesday’s 80–76 home loss to Clemson with a 75–72 victory Saturday at Miami.
Carolina’s poll points total fell from 1,352 to 1,216, the fewest since garnering 1,213 when the Tar Heels were No. 7 on Jan. 8.
Seven consecutive weeks in the top 10 is the longest for UNC 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.
Seven voters ranked UNC the highest at No. 4 and eight voters voted the Tar Heels the lowest at No. 8. Kate Rogerson of WTVD voted UNC No. 5, Rodd Baxley of the Faytteville Observer had Carolina No. 6 and JB Ricks of Spectrum News voted UNC No. 7.
In other metrics, UNC is No. 4 in KPI, No. 8 in KenPom, No. 10 in the NET rankings, No. 10 in BPI and No. 12 in Bart Torvik’s T-Rank.
After easy wins over Notre Dame (71–53) and Boston College (80–65), Duke (18–5, 9–3) remained at No. 9.
Virginia (19–5, 10–3) gave the ACC a third ranked team, debuting in the poll at No. 21.
Kansas (19–5) fell two spots to No. 6 after losing 75–70 to Kansas State in overtime but beating Baylor 64–61. The Bears (17–6), who beat Kerwin Walton’s Texas Tech team 79–73, move dup one spot to No. 12. The Red Raiders (17–6), previously No. 23, fell out of the poll.
Tennessee (17–6) dropped two spots after am 85–69 loss at Texas A&M.
Illinois (17–6), which lost to Michigan State 88–80 in its only game last week, fell four spots to No. 14.
Marquette (18–8) leapfrogged Kansas, UNC and Tennessee, going up three spots to No. 4 after beating St. John’s 86–75.
Caleb Love’s Arizona team (19–5) jumped three spots to No. 5 after winning at Utah 105–99 in triple overtime and at Colorado 99–79.
AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn (45) | 22–2 | 1,509 | 1 |
| 2 | Purdue (16) | 22–2 | 1,480 | 2 |
| 3 | Houston | 21–3 | 1,386 | 5 |
| 4 | Marquette | 18–5 | 1,273 | 7 |
| 5 | Arizona | 19–5 | 1,241 | 8 |
| 6 | Kansas | 19–5 | 1,227 | 4 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 19–5 | 1,216 | 3 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 17–6 | 1,033 | 6 |
| 9 | Duke | 18–5 | 1,025 | 9 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 18–5 | 969 | 14 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 21–3 | 921 | 15 |
| 12 | Baylor | 17–6 | 811 | 13 |
| 13 | Auburn | 19–5 | 799 | 12 |
| 14 | Illinois | 17–6 | 728 | 10 |
| 15 | Alabama | 17–7 | 618 | 16 |
| 16 | Dayton | 19–4 | 425 | 18 |
| 17 | Creighton | 17–7 | 410 | 19 |
| 18 | Saint Mary’s | 20–6 | 296 | NR |
| 19 | BYU | 17–6 | 294 | 21 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 16–8 | 249 | 11 |
| 21 | Virginia | 19–5 | 218 | NR |
| 22 | Kentucky | 16–7 | 217 | 17 |
| 23 | Indiana State | 22–3 | 209 | NR |
| 24 | Florida Atlantic | 19–5 | 206 | 20 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 18–6 | 178 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Utah St. 160, Colorado St. 145, Texas Tech 111, San Diego St. 84, Washington St 82, Clemson 57, Nevada 57, Gonzaga 50, New Mexico 27, Florida 19, Michigan St. 17, Texas A&M 16, Grand Canyon 13, Mississippi 12, TCU 10, Texas 9, Memphis 8, South Florida 7, Northwestern 2, UNC Wilmington 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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