By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — North Carolina’s spotty early-season NCAA men’s tournament resume is starting to look eerily like two seasons ago when it wasn’t good enough to get the Tar Heels into the field.
That 2022–23 Tar Heels team went 1–9 in Quad 1 games, and this season’s team is 1–5 after Tuesday night’s 94–84 Jumpman Invitational loss to No. 7-ranked Florida (11–0). Both dropped a spot in the NET rankings, with UNC (6–5) 37th and the Gators 6th.
That makes Saturday’s 3 p.m. CBS Sports Classic clash at Madison Square Garden with No. 18 UCLA (10–1; NET ranking of 14) crucial for UNC to start building a case for an NCAA berth.
The near misses against top-10 teams might be “good losses,” but it’s unlikely to mean much to the selection committee, chaired by UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham. Playing four top-10 teams before New Year’s Day only gets teams so far if none are victories.
The NCAA tournament committee uses the NET rankings as one of its metrics to determine who makes the field and how to seed teams. NET rankings will fluctuate throughout the season, and the only quad designation that matters is where your opponents stand on Selection Sunday, not where they ranked when the game was played.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 3–2; 8 games left): Home games against teams with a NET ranking of 30 or better, neutral-site games against teams ranked 50 or better, and road games against teams ranked 75 or better
Quadrant 2 (UNC is 0–0; 5 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 4–0; 3 games left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 6–0; no games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
Hubert Davis isn’t a coach who worries about NET rankings, but he knows his team must stop falling behind by double digits in the first half and expecting different outcomes.
“It’s not sustainable. It’s just not,” he said. “Maybe we’ll get away with it one time against Dayton. But it’s just not sustainable, especially against good teams, and you have to put a full 40 minutes together.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you have to be disciplined,” he said. “And my definition of discipline is being committed to doing the right things the right way, with the energy and effort that is required out there on the floor the entire game. That’s something that we’re just going to have to figure out because it just doesn’t work.”
After that Quad 1 game with the Bruins, a not-so-deep ACC will give Carolina only six more Quad 1 chances: New Year’s Day at Louisville (6–5, 62nd in NET), the home-and-homes with No. 5 Duke (Feb. 1 and March 8; 9–2, 3rd) and Pittsburgh (Jan. 28 and Feb. 8; 9–2, 13th), and the Feb. 10 game at No. 25 Clemson. The Tigers (9–3) dropped seven spots to 26th in the NET after their 91–88 overtime loss Tuesday at South Carolina.
The lone Quad 1 win was against Dayton, which fell 12 spots to 35th after Tuesday’s 66–65 victory over UNLV (NET of 129). That was the second-largest drop after Tuesday’s games behind Utah State, which dropped 19 spots to 39th after a 75–73 home loss to UC San Diego.
There was minor good news: La Salle moved up to 142nd in the NET, elevating its win from Quad 4 to Quad 3.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 22
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 29 (2 days)
Average opponent NET: 147
Average NET win: 167
Average NET loss: 20
NET strength of schedule: 67
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 34
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 25
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Sunday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 220 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 18 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 260 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 348 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 209 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 104 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 16 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 31 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 135 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 251 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 124 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 43 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 308 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 114 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 24 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 61 | 2 | |
| J14 | At Stanford | 75 | 1 | |
| J17 | At California | 58 | 1 | |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 68 | 2 | |
| J24 | At Virginia | 25 | 1 | |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 148 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 92 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 7 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 36 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 112 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 37 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 91 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 14 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 56 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 34 | 2 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 7 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Duke | 4–0 | 15–1 | 4 |
| Clemson | 4–0 | 14–3 | 32 |
| Miami | 3–0 | 14–2 | 33 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 3–1 | 14–2 | 20 |
| N.C. State | 3–1 | 12–5 | 36 |
| No. 17 North Carolina | 2–1 | 14–2 | 22 |
| Syracuse | 2–1 | 11–5 | 78 |
| Stanford | 2–2 | 13–4 | 70 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–2 | 13–3 | 60 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 2–2 | 12–4 | 15 |
| No. 24 SMU | 1–2 | 12–4 | 27 |
| California | 1–2 | 12–4 | 27 |
| Notre Dame | 1–2 | 10–6 | 61 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–3 | 10–7 | 147 |
| Wake Forest | 1–3 | 10–7 | 67 |
| Boston College | 0–3 | 7–9 | 194 |
| Florida State | 0–3 | 7–9 | 115 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–3 | 7–9 | 108 |
* — Through Friday games
Saturday’s results
No. 17 North Carolina 87, Wake Forest 84
No. 20 Louisville 75, Boston College 62
N.C. State 113, Florida State 69
Miami 91, Georgia Tech 81
No. 6 Duke 82, No. 24 SMU 75
Syracuse 83, Pittsburgh 72
No. 23 Virginia 70, Stanford 55
Virginia Tech 78, California 75
Clemson 76, Notre Dame 61
Tuesday’s games
No. 23 Virginia at No. 20 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Miami at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Boston College at Clemson, 7 p.m, ACC Network
Florida State at Syracuse, 9 p.m, ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 North Carolina at Stanford, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia Tech at No. 24 SMU, 9 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU
No. 6 Duke at California, 11 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
No. 23 Virginia at No. 24 SMU, noon, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at Clemson, 2:15, The CW
No. 17 North Carolina at California, 4 p.m., ACC Network
No. 6 Duke at Stanford, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Florida State, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 9 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. 22 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. 12 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 No. 24 SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 