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.
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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* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
