By R.L. Bynum
LOUISVILLE — After falling to 2–6 in Quad 1 games with Wednesday’s 83–70 loss at Louisville, Carolina fell five spots to a season-low 47th in the NET rankings and began to slip near bubble status.
With that, the Tar Heels (8–6, 1–1 ACC) have six more Quad 1 opportunities to build a better NCAA tournament resume, starting with the 9 p.m. home game Tuesday against SMU (11–2, 2–0; 30 NET ranking).
Before that, UNC plays in its first Quad 2 game of the season at noon on Saturday, visiting Notre Dame (7–6, 1–1; 101 NET ranking).
Fifth-year guard RJ Davis said the team has to play better if the Tar Heels are going to reach their goals.
“We’ve got to do a better job of attention and detail throughout the whole game,” Davis said. “I think sometimes we could lack concentration on both ends, just our focus, miscommunications on different screening actions, not having a low guy, missed box outs. So, those things that have been killing kept killing us [Wednesday].”
The loss at Louisville was another late collapse.
“One of the areas that we haven’t been as consistent has been late in games,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, “and that’s something that’s just going to have to change the remainder of the season.”
The NCAA tournament committee, chaired by UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham, 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 5–4; 6 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 2–0; 1 game left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 7–0; 1 game left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 5–0; no games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
According to Bracket Matrix, the consensus of bracket projections is that Carolina is a low No. 9 seed, with only one of 31 leaving the Tar Heels out of the field.
After SMU, UNC’s remaining Quad 1 games are games against Pittsburgh (11–2, 2–0; NET ranking of 13) on Jan 28 on the road and Feb 8 at home, the two games against No. 4 Duke (11–2, 3–0; NET ranking of 3) on Feb. 1 at Durham and March 8 at home and the Feb. 10 game at Clemson (11–3, 3–0; NET ranking of 32).
Louisville (9–5, 2–1) jumped seven spots in the NET to 50 with the victory.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 24
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 122
Average NET win: 141
Average NET loss: 44
NET strength of schedule: 50
KenPom: 27
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 27
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Sunday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 179 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 13 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 244 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 339 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 159 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 141 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 12 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 28 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 94 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 281 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 116 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 40 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 279 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 95 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 34 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 67 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 70 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 60 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 89 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 16 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 151 | 3 | Win |
| F2 | Syracuse | 68 | 2 | Win |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | Win |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 122 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 27 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 68 | 1 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 55 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 30 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–1 | 21–2 | 3 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–1 | 20–4 | 30 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 9–2 | 20–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 9–2 | 18–6 | 27 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 7–3 | 19–4 | 24 |
| Miami | 7–3 | 18–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 7–4 | 17–6 | 17 |
| SMU | 5–5 | 16–7 | 34 |
| California | 5–6 | 17–7 | 60 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–6 | 16–8 | 55 |
| Florida State | 4–6 | 11–12 | 95 |
| Stanford | 4–7 | 15–9 | 70 |
| Syracuse | 4–7 | 13–11 | 68 |
| Wake Forest | 2–8 | 11–12 | 67 |
| Boston College | 2–8 | 9–14 | 148 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–9 | 11–13 | 151 |
| Notre Dame | 2–9 | 11–13 | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 9–15 | 122 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 71
No. 15 Virginia 72, Syracuse 59
No. 24 Louisville 88, Wake Forest 80
Miami 74, Boston College 68
SMU 86, Pittsburgh 67
Florida State 82, Notre Dame 79
No. 11 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68
No. 20 Clemson 77, California 55
Stanford 95, Georgia Tech 72
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 11 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 15 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday’s games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday, Feb. 14, games
No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke, noon, ESPN
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, noon, The CW
California at Boston College, noon, ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 11 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN
Florida State at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Syracuse, 2 p.m., The CW
No. 24 Louisville vs. Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Stanford at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at N.C. State, 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
No. 15 Virginia vs. Ohio State in Nashville, 8 p.m., Fox
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 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. 9 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. 10 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 SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 15 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 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. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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