By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina will begin play Monday night in the Maui Invitational as the No. 12 team after falling two spots in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.
The Tar Heels (3–1) won their only game last week, 87–69, on Friday night at Hawaii. They will face Dayton in the first round of the Maui Invitational at 11:30 p.m. Monday (ESPN2).
The fall in the poll ended Carolina’s streak of 17 consecutive top-10 rankings, which was the longest since doing it in 20 polls in a row from Dec. 21, 2016, through Dec. 26, 2017.
Tennessee (6–0) and Marquette (6–0) each leapfrogged UNC, to lead to the Heels’ drop.
The Vols beat Virginia 64–41 and then-No. 13 Baylor 77–62 and went up four spots to No. 7. The Bears fell to No. 17.
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Marquette won 76–58 over Purdue (5–1) to go up five spots to No. 10, while the Boilermakers dropped seven spots to No. 13.
Brian Holland of WVLA-TV and WGMB-TV in Baton Rouge, La., ranked UNC the highest at No. 4, and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News voted the Heels the lowest at No. 18.
Kate Rogerson of WTVD and Louis Fernandez of WRAL voted UNC No. 10 and WUNC’s Mitchell Northam has UNC No. 14.
The top five teams remained unchanged, with Kansas (5–0), the Tar Heels’ only loss remaining at No. 1. UConn (4–0), a potential Wednesday opponent in Maui, is still at No. 2.
After the Dayton game, Carolina’s next opponent at the Maui Invitational on Tuesday will be either No. 4 Auburn (4–0) or No. 5 Iowa State (3–0).
Duke (4–1) moved up one spot to No. 11 after winning at Arizona 69–55 on Friday. Caleb Love’s Wildcats (2–2) fell seven spots to No. 24.
AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (51) | 5-0 | 1,536 | 1 |
| 2 | UConn (6) | 4-0 | 1,429 | 2 |
| 3 | Gonzaga (2) | 5-0 | 1,428 | 3 |
| 4 | Auburn (3) | 4-0 | 1,393 | 4 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 3-0 | 1,216 | 5 |
| 6 | Houston | 3-1 | 1,125 | 7 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 6-0 | 1,116 | 11 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 5-0 | 1,075 | 9 |
| 9 | Alabama | 4-1 | 1,065 | 8 |
| 10 | Marquette | 6-0 | 1,004 | 15 |
| 11 | Duke | 4-1 | 986 | 12 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 3-1 | 976 | 10 |
| 13 | Purdue | 5-1 | 865 | 6 |
| 14 | Indiana | 4-0 | 666 | 16 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 7-0 | 641 | 19 |
| 16 | Cincinnati | 5-0 | 610 | 18 |
| 17 | Baylor | 4-2 | 482 | 13 |
| 18 | Florida | 6-0 | 466 | 21 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 4-1 | 387 | 18 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 4-1 | 318 | 23 |
| 21 | Creighton | 4-1 | 198 | 14 |
| 22 | Xavier | 5-0 | 191 | 22 |
| 23 | Ole Miss | 5-0 | 180 | 23 |
| 24 | Arizona | 2-2 | 154 | 17 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 5-0 | 86 | 25 |
Others receiving votes: BYU 70, Pittsburgh 62, Texas 57, Ohio St. 55, Saint Mary’s 52, Illinois 50, Memphis 38, Texas Tech 31, Drake 29, Nebraska 21, Michigan St. 14, Georgia 11, St. John’s 10, Oregon 10, Penn St. 9, Utah St. 6, Vanderbilt 6, Nevada 5, UCLA 5, Arizona St 5, Maryland 4, Providence 3, Furman 2, Florida St. 1 and Columbia 1.
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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