By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina moved up one spot to a season-high No. 13 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball after two decisive road ACC victories last week.
The Tar Heels (17–3, 5–2 ACC) have won four consecutive games after victories at SMU 63–44 on Thursday and 75–58 at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
It’s Carolina’s highest rank since it was No. 11 on Jan. 30, 2023, after also winning big at Pittsburgh, 72–57.
ESPN’s last bracket projection, released on Friday, has UNC hosting first- and second-round games as a No. 4 seed in a Birmingham region, with No. 2 South Carolina as the No. 1 seed.
UNC is 12th in the NET rankings, the third-highest among league teams after Notre Dame (16–2, 7–0; 5th) and Duke (15–5, 6–1; 8th).
Two teams ahead of UNC in last week’s poll lost: Ohio State (17–1, which dropped three spots to No. 12 after a 62–59 loss to Penn State) and Oklahoma (15–4, which fell two spots to No. 15 after losing 101–60 to No. 2 South Carolina).
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Georgia Tech (16–3, 4–3), No. 20 N.C. State (14–4, 6–1) and No. 22 California (17–3, 5–2).
AP Top 25
Through Games JAN. 19, 2025
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA (27) | 17–0 | 747 | 1 |
| 2 | South Carolina (1) | 18–1 | 717 | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame (2) | 16–2 | 687 | 3 |
| 4 | Southern California | 17–1 | 660 | 4 |
| 5 | LSU | 20–0 | 614 | 6 |
| 6 | UConn | 17–2 | 588 | 7 |
| 7 | Texas | 17–2 | 575 | 5 |
| 8 | Maryland | 16–1 | 553 | 8 |
| 9 | TCU | 19–1 | 504 | 10 |
| 10 | Kansas State | 19–1 | 491 | 11 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 16–1 | 438 | 12 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 17–1 | 426 | 9 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 17–3 | 394 | 14 |
| 14 | Duke | 15–4 | 355 | 16 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 15–4 | 302 | 13 |
| 16 | West Virginia | 15–3 | 259 | 20 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 15–3 | 248 | 15 |
| 18 | Georgia Tech | 16–3 | 210 | 17 |
| 19 | Alabama | 17–3 | 209 | 19 |
| 20 | N.C. State | 14–4 | 197 | 21 |
| 21 | Michigan State | 15–3 | 179 | 22 |
| 22 | California | 17–3 | 148 | NR |
| 23 | Minnesota | 17–2 | 62 | 24 |
| 24 | Michigan | 13–5 | 50 | NR |
| 25 | Baylor | 16–3 | 37 | NR |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Nebraska 35, Creighton 28, Mississippi 9, Utah 9, Vanderbilt 9, Oklahoma St. 5, South Dakota St. 2, Harvard 2 and Mississippi St. 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
UNC schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||
| 18 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Davidson (exhibition) |
| November | |||
| 2 | Monday | TBA | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No 12 Oklahoma |
| 8 | Sunday | TBA | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina |
| 11 | Wednesday | TBA | vs. N.C. Central |
| 14 | Saturday | TBA | at Penn in Palestra |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | ||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama |
| ——— | |||
| 24 | Tuesday | TBA | vs. Gardner-Webb |
| 27 | Friday | TBA | vs. Army |
| 29 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Brown |
| December | |||
| 2 | Wednesday | TBA | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU |
| 6 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Elon |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 13 | Sunday | TBA | vs. N.C. State |
| 17 | Thursday | TBA | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Monday | TBA | vs. Norfolk State |
| 28 | Monday | TBA | vs. UNCW |
| 31 | Thursday | TBA | at Syracuse |
| January | |||
| 3 | Sunday | TBA | at Clemson |
| 7 | Thursday | TBA | vs. Wake Forest |
| 10 | Sunday | TBA | at No. 11 Louisville |
| 17 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Boston College |
| 21 | Thursday | TBA | at California |
| 24 | Sunday | TBA | at Stanford |
| 28 | Thursday | TBA | vs. No. 9 Notre Dame |
| 31 | Sunday | TBA | vs. No. 5 Duke |
| February | |||
| 4 | Thursday | TBA | at Miami |
| 7 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Virginia Tech |
| 14 | Sunday | TBA | at SMU |
| 18 | Thursday | TBA | at Pittsburgh |
| 21 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Florida State |
| 25 | Thursday | TBA | vs. No. 19 Virginia |
| 28 | Sunday | TBA | at No. 5 Duke |
| March | |||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
