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. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 11–3 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 10–1 | 40 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 10–2 | 125 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 33 |
| No. 20 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 | 19 |
| Virginia | 1–0 | 8–3 | 29 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 7–4 | 30 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–6 | 38 |
| Clemson | 1–1 | 8–4 | 49 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 10–3 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 | 63 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 68 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 6–4 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 | 254 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 153 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 4–8 | 112 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–8 | 118 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 208 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s result
Syracuse 72, Binghamton 54
Wednesday’s games
No. 18 North Carolina 84, UNCW 34
Clemson 78, Charleston Southern 52
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
Thursday’s games
Virginia Tech at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saint Francis at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
South Dakota State at Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s games
Mercyhurst at Syracuse, 10:30 a.m, ACCN Extra
Northeastern at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
SMU at Sam Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 Washington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at No. 17 Tennessee, 11 a.m., Fox
Winthrop at Virginia, noon, ACCN Extra
South Carolina State at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Belmont, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Sunday’s games
Charleston Southern at No. 18 North Carolina, noon, ACC Network
Radford at Virginia Tech, noon, ACCN Extra
Kennesaw State at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Davidson, noon, CBS Sports Network
Pittsburgh at Duquesne, 1 p.m., ESPN+
North Florida at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Bellarmine at No. 20 Notre Dame, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Southern at SMU, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Oregon vs. Stanford in San Francisco, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 19 USC vs. California in San Francisco, 8:30, ESPN
| 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. 4 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. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Charleston Southern | ACCN Extra |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| 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 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. 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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