By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s thrilling 74–73 victory at Notre Dame on Saturday for the Tar Heels’ first Quad 2 victory moved the Tar Heels up to 44 in the NET rankings from a season-low 47 after the Louisville loss.
But there was unhelpful news elsewhere for UNC (9–6, 2–1 ACC), which gave the Heels a second Quad 2 win they didn’t want and denied them a Quad 1 opportunity Tuesday against SMU.
George Washington blew out Dayton (10–4) 82–62 on Saturday, plunging the Flyers 10 spots in the NET to 54 and moving GW from 151 to 123. That downgraded UNC’s 92–90 victory on Nov. 25 in Maui over Dayton to Quad 2 status, meaning that the Heels’ 76–74 victory in New York on Dec. 21 over No. 15 UCLA (11–3, 19 in NET) is their only Quad 1 victory.
That Dayton win could return to Quad 1 if Flyers’ NET rises to 50 or better. For now, Carolina is 1–6 in Quad 1 games and 2–0 in Quad 2 games.
The NCAA tournament committee, which UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham chairs, 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 4–4; 5 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 1–0; 3 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 5–0; 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
The NET ranking for SMU (11–3, 2–1) had already slipped below the needed level for Tuesday’s game to be Quad 1 after an 89–82 win over Longwood. But it dropped nine more spots following Saturday’s 89–62 home loss to No. 4 Duke.
SMU’s NET of 42 is 12 lower than needed for Tuesday’s game to be Quad 1, so it will be a Quad 2 game.
That means UNC won’t have much chance to improve its NCAA tournament resume this week since Saturday’s 4 p.m. game at N.C. State (8–6, 1–2) will also be a Quad 2 game. The Wolfpack’s NET ranking fell 13 spots to 116 after their second straight loss, a 77–59 defeat at Wake Forest (11–4, 3–1; 86 in NET) on Saturday.
Carolina has five Quad 1 games left on the schedule against the only three teams that are undefeated in ACC play: the two games against Pittsburgh (12–2, 3–0; 14 in NET; Jan. 28 in Pittsburgh and Feb. 8 in Chapel Hill), the two games against Duke (12–2, 4–0; 3 in NET; Feb. 1 in Durham and March 8 in Chapel Hill) and the Feb. 10 game at Clemson (12–3, 4–0; 37 in NET).
The consensus of 48 bracket projections (many that haven’t been updated since the Notre Dame win) has UNC as a low No. 10 seed, with 14 not projecting the Tar Heels to make the field.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 23
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 124
Average NET win: 145
Average NET loss: 42
NET strength of schedule: 65
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 30
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 204 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 15 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 262 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 342 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 179 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 158 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 29 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 112 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 292 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 123 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 36 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 287 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 113 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 33 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 66 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 72 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 54 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 83 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 14 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 145 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 79 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 126 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 27 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 79 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 51 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 31 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 8–0 | 19–1 | 2 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 7–1 | 17–4 | 29 |
| No. 17 Virginia | 6–2 | 17–3 | 16 |
| Miami | 6–2 | 17–4 | 36 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 15–6 | 27 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 4–3 | 16–4 | 26 |
| SMU | 4–3 | 15–5 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–4 | 16–6 | 54 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 4–4 | 14–6 | 19 |
| California | 3–5 | 15–6 | 56 |
| Stanford | 3–5 | 14–7 | 77 |
| Syracuse | 3–5 | 12–9 | 80 |
| Boston College | 2–5 | 9–11 | 157 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–6 | 11–10 | 140 |
| Notre Dame | 2–6 | 11–10 | 82 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 11–10 | 67 |
| Florida State | 2–6 | 9–12 | 107 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–6 | 9–12 | 118 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Monday’s result
No. 4 Duke 83, No. 20 Louisville 52
Tuesday’s results
Pittsburgh 80, Wake Forest 76, OT
N.C. State 88, Syracuse 68
No. 17 Virginia 100, Notre Dame 97, 2 OTs
Virginia Tech 71, Georgia Tech 65
Wednesday’s results
Florida State 63, California 61
Miami 79, Stanford 70
Saturday’s games
No. 4 Duke at Virginia Tech, noon, ESPN
Pittsburgh at No. 22 Clemson, noon, ACC Network
No. 17 Virginia at Boston College, 1:30, The CW
No. 16 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 23 Louisville, 2 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at Wake Forest, 3:45, The CW
California at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at Syracuse, 6 p.m., The CW
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 16 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 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. 14 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. 7 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. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 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. No. 22 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
tarheeltribune.com 