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 1–5; 7 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 3–0; 7 games left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 2–0; 2 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 resume
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 37
Highest NET: 25
Lowest NET: 43
Average opponent NET: 82
Average NET win: 143
Average NET loss: 11
NET strength of schedule: 9
KenPom: 28
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 19
KPI: 40
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 32
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Tuesday’s games)
| Opponent | NET ranking | Quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 93 | 3 | Win |
| At Kansas | 17 | 1 | Loss |
| American | 209 | 4 | Win |
| At Hawai’i | 192 | 3 | Win |
| (N) Dayton | 35 | 1 | Win |
| (N) Auburn | 1 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) Michigan State | 20 | 1 | Loss |
| Alabama | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| Georgia Tech | 174 | 4 | Win |
| La Salle | 142 | 3 | Win |
| (N) Florida | 6 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) UCLA | 14 | 1 | |
| Campbell | 294 | 4 | |
| At Louisville | 62 | 1 | |
| At Notre Dame | 99 | 2 | |
| SMU | 40 | 2 | |
| At N.C. State | 106 | 2 | |
| California | 111 | 3 | |
| Stanford | 76 | 2 | |
| At Wake Forest | 104 | 2 | |
| Boston College | 194 | 4 | |
| At Pittsburgh | 12 | 1 | |
| At Duke | 3 | 1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 13 | 1 | |
| At Clemson | 26 | 1 | |
| At Syracuse | 138 | 3 | |
| N.C. State | 106 | 3 | |
| Virginia | 101 | 3 | |
| At Florida State | 76 | 2 | |
| Miami | 144 | 3 | |
| At Virginia Tech | 190 | 3 | |
| Duke | 3 | 1 |
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Duke | 1–0 | 9–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–0 | 9–2 |
| SMU | 1–0 | 9–2 |
| No. 5 Duke | 1–0 | 9–2 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 |
| No. 25 Clemson | 1–0 | 9–3 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 9–3 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 7–4 |
| North Carolina | 1–0 | 6–5 |
| Notre Dame | 1–0 | 6–5 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 9–3 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 7–4 |
| California | 0–1 | 7–4 |
| Virginia | 0–1 | 6–4 |
| Louisville | 0–1 | 6–5 |
| Syracuse | 0–1 | 5–5 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 5–6 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–6 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 4–7 |
Tuesday’s results
No. 7 Florida 90, North Carolina 84
No. 5 Duke 68, George Mason 47
South Carolina 91, No. 25 Clemson 88, OT
Florida State 82, Winthrop 64
Wake Forest 75, James Madison 58
Stanford 74, Merrimack 68
Wednesday’s games
No. 21 Memphis at Virginia, 7 p.m., ESPN2
UMBC at Georgia Tech, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
Maryland vs. Syracuse at Gotham Classic in Brooklyn, noon, ESPN2
No. 5 Duke at Georgia Tech, noon, ACCN
SMU at Boston College, noon, The CW
Virginia Tech vs. Saint Joseph’s in Holiday Hoopfest at The Palestra, noon, CBSSNSN | Noon
Sam Houston State at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 25 Clemson, 2 p.m., ESPN
Louisville at Florida State, 2 p.m., The CW
Mount St. Mary’s at Miami, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 18 UCLA vs North Carolina in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 3 p.m., CBS
No. 10 Oregon vs Stanford in San Jose Tip-Off, 8 p.m., BTN
California vs No. 23 San Diego State, 10:30, ACCN
Sunday’s games
American at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN
Rider at N.C. State, 3 p.m., ACCN
Le Moyne at Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACCN
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | L, 92–89 | at No. 8 Kansas | 1–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 107–55 | vs. American | 2–1 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 85–69 | at Hawai’i | 3–1 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | W, 92–90 | Dayton | 4–1 |
| 26 | Tuesday | L, 85–72 | No. 2 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 20 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 6 Alabama | 4–4 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | W, 68–65 | vs. Georgia Tech | 5–4, 1–0 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 93–67 | vs. LaSalle | 6–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 90–84 | No. 7 Florida | 6–5xxx |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | No. 18 UCLA | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | at Louisville | ACCN |
| 4 | Saturday | Noon | at Notre Dame | CBS |
| 7 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 11 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at N.C. State | ACCN |
| 15 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Cal | ACCN |
| 18 | Saturday | 2:15 | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 21 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | at Wake Forest | ESPN |
| 25 | Saturday | 2:15 p.m. | vs. Boston College | The CW |
| 28 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| 8 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 10 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at No 25 Clemson | ESPN |
| 15 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ESPN |
| 19 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 22 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ESPN |
| 24 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | Noon | vs. Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 4 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ESPN, ESPN2 orESPNU |
| 8 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 