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 1–6; 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 3–0; 2 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 4–0; 6 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
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 resume
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 39
Highest NET: 25 on Dec. 2
Lowest NET: 47 on Jan. 1
Average opponent NET: 90
Average NET win: 136
Average NET loss: 14
NET strength of schedule: 2
KenPom: 30
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 25
KPI: 41
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 37
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Tuesday’s games)
| Opponent | NET ranking | Quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 110 | 3 | Win |
| At Kansas | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| American | 263 | 4 | Win |
| At Hawai’i | 182 | 3 | Win |
| (N) Dayton | 55 | 2 | Win |
| (N) Auburn | 1 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) Michigan State | 19 | 1 | Loss |
| Alabama | 9 | 1 | Loss |
| Georgia Tech | 142 | 3 | Win |
| La Salle | 151 | 3 | Win |
| (N) Florida | 5 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) UCLA | 25 | 1 | Win |
| Campbell | 286 | 4 | Win |
| At Louisville | 40 | 1 | Loss |
| At Notre Dame | 100 | 2 | Win |
| SMU | 48 | 2 | Win |
| At N.C. State | 114 | 2 | |
| California | 120 | 3 | |
| Stanford | 86 | 3 | |
| At Wake Forest | 85 | 2 | |
| Boston College | 214 | 4 | |
| At Pittsburgh | 20 | 1 | |
| At Duke | 2 | 1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 20 | 1 | |
| At Clemson | 41 | 1 | |
| At Syracuse | 161 | 3 | |
| N.C. State | 114 | 3 | |
| Virginia | 117 | 3 | |
| At Florida State | 74 | 1 | |
| Miami | 181 | 4 | |
| At Virginia Tech | 196 | 3 | |
| Duke | 2 | 1 |
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 5–0 | 13–2 |
| Clemson | 4–1 | 12–4 |
| Louisville | 4–1 | 11–5 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–1 | 12–3 |
| Wake Forest | 3–1 | 11–4 |
| North Carolina | 3–1 | 10–6 |
| SMU | 2–2 | 11–4 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–3 | 8–8 |
| Florida State | 1–2 | 10–4 |
| Stanford | 1–2 | 9–5 |
| N.C. State | 1–2 | 8–6 |
| Virginia | 1–2 | 8–6 |
| Notre Dame | 1–2 | 7–7 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–2 | 6–8 |
| Boston College | 1–3 | 9–6 |
| Syracuse | 1–3 | 7–8 |
| California | 0–3 | 7–7 |
| Miami | 0–3 | 4–10 |
Tuesday’s results
North Carolina 82, SMU 67
No. 4 Duke 76, Pittsburgh 47
Louisville 74, Clemson 64
Syracuse 62, Georgia Tech 55
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Florida State at Miami, 7 p.m., ACCN
Virginia Tech at Stanford, 9 p.m. ACCN
Virginia at California, 11 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 4 Duke, noon, ESPN
Louisville at Pittsburgh, noon, ESPN2
Florida State at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN
Syracuse at Boston College, 3 p.m., The CW
Georgia Tech at SMU, 4 p.m.
Virginia at Stanford, 4 p.m.
North Carolina at N.C. State, 4 p.m., ACCN
Wake Forest at Miami, 5:15, The CW
Virginia Tech at California, 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. 11 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. 16 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 5 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. 8 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | No. 22 UCLA | 7–5 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 97–81 | vs. Campbell | 8–5 |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 83–70 | at Louisville | 8–6, 1–1 |
| 4 | Saturday | W, 74–73 | at Notre Dame | 9–6, 2–1 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 82–67 | vs. SMU | 10–6, 3–1 |
| 11 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at N.C. State | ACCN |
| 15 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. California | 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. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 8 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 10 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at 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 or ESPNU |
| 8 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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