By R.L. Bynum
After two decisive victories and extending its win streak to six, North Carolina jumped two spots in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll to No. 14.
That matches the first regular-season poll on Nov. 11 as the Tar Heels’ best season ranking. Carolina (9–1) is 16th in the NET rankings and 18th in the Massey Ratings.
UNC walloped Kentucky 72–53 to give first-year Coach Kenny Brooks his first loss with the Wildcats (7–1), who swapped spots with UNC and fell two positions to No. 16. The Tar Heels rolled to a 72–46 victory Sunday over Coppin State.
The Tar Heels have held five of their last six opponents to 46 points or fewer and are second in the country in scoring defense at 49.1 points per game. UNC has held four of its last five opponents to under 30% shooting. UNC is 11th in the country (and first in the ACC) in field-goal percentage defense (32.9%).
After the Tar Heels host UNCG at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN3/ACCNX), they open the ACC season at Carmichael Arena at 2 p.m. Sunday against unbeaten Georgia Tech (9–0), which debuted in the poll at No. 25.
The Jackets, off to their best start since the 1977–78 season, returned to the poll for the first time since Feb. 28, 2022.
Other ACC teams in the poll are:
— Notre Dame (7–2, 1–0 ACC), which jumped two spots to No. 8 after beating Texas 80–70 in overtime and routing Syracuse 93–62 in its ACC opener. The Longhorns (8–1) fell two spots to No. 6. The Irish hosts No. 2 UConn on Thursday.
— Duke (9–2, 1–0), which slid one spot to No. 9 after losing to No. 3 South Carolina 81–70 but thumping Virginia Tech 81–59 in its ACC opener.
— N.C. State (6–3), which returned to the poll at No. 23 after beating Old Dominion 86–55.
Louisville (5–3) fell out of the poll after losing to No. 11 Oklahoma 78–72 and No. 2 UConn 85–52.
Tennesee returned to the poll at No. 19, ending a school-record stretch of being left off of 22 consecutive polls.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA (24) | 9–0 | 791 | 1 |
| 2 | UConn (8) | 8–0 | 769 | 2 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 9–1 | 742 | 3 |
| 4 | LSU | 11–0 | 652 | 5 |
| 5 | Southern Cal | 8–1 | 628 | 6 |
| 6 | Texas | 8–1 | 621 | 4 |
| 7 | Maryland | 10–0 | 608 | 7 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 7–2 | 607 | 10 |
| 9 | Duke | 9–2 | 533 | 8 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 8–1 | 517 | 11 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 8–0 | 459 | 12 |
| 12 | TCU | 9–1 | 447 | 9 |
| 13 | Kansas State | 10–1 | 427 | 13 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 9–1 | 419 | 16 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 9–1 | 376 | 15 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 7–1 | 296 | 14 |
| 17 | Michigan State | 9–0 | 193 | 24 |
| 18 | Iowa State | 8–2 | 190 | 20 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 7–0 | 179 | 19 |
| 20 | Michigan | 8–1 | 166 | 23 |
| 21 | Iowa | 8–1 | 125 | 17 |
| 22 | Ole Miss | 6–3 | 104 | 18 |
| 22 | N.C. State | 6–3 | 104 | NR |
| 24 | Nebraska | 8–1 | 99 | 25 |
| 25 | Georgia Tech | 9–0 | 92 | NR |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Alabama 73, Illinois 69, California 23, Stanford 18, Vanderbilt 15, Utah 14, Louisville 9, Richmond 8, South Dakota St. 8, Creighton 5, Oklahoma St. 4, Harvard 3, Florida St. 3, Texas Tech 3 and Baylor 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Louisville | 11–0 | 21–3 | 8 |
| No. 17 Duke | 11–0 | 16–6 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 8–2 | 15–6 | 28 |
| Syracuse | 8–3 | 18–4 | 40 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–3 | 18–5 | 42 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 6–3 | 17–5 | 22 |
| Virginia | 7–4 | 15–7 | 37 |
| Clemson | 7–4 | 16–7 | 38 |
| Notre Dame | 6–5 | 14–8 | 31 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–6 | 10–13 | 91 |
| Stanford | 4–5 | 15–7 | 36 |
| California | 4–6 | 13–10 | 54 |
| Miami | 4–7 | 12–10 | 45 |
| Florida State | 2–8 | 7–15 | 109 |
| Wake Forest | 2–9 | 12–11 | 118 |
| SMU | 1–9 | 8–14 | 180 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–9 | 8–15 | 260 |
| Boston College | 0–11 | 4–20 | 250 |
* — Through Saturday games
Sunday’s results
No. 17 Duke 80, Wake Forest 44
No. 6 Louisville 71, California 59
Virginia Tech 76, Virginia 64
Syracuse 65, Miami 60
Georgia Tech 70, Boston College 60
Notre Dame 78, Stanford 66
Clemson 77, Florida State 58
Monday’s game
No. 25 North Carolina at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Thursday’s games
Syracuse at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Stanford at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 Duke at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Florida State at N.C. State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 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. 2 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. 78 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, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| 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. 20 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. 20 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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