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.

ACC standings

Team	League	Overall	NET
No. 3 Notre Dame	7–0	16–2	6
No. 14 Duke	6–1	15–4	8
No. 20 N.C. State	6–1	14–4	21
Louisville	6–2	13–6	40
No. 22 California	5–2	17–3	34
No. 13 North Carolina	5–2	17–3	13
Florida State	5–2	15–4	28
No. 18 Georgia Tech	4–3	16–3	23
Virginia Tech	4–3	13–5	57
Boston College	3–4	12–8	74
Virginia	3–4	11–8	83
Clemson	3–5	10–9	54
Stanford	2–5	10–8	42
SMU	2–5	10–9	108
Miami	1–6	11–7	85
Pittsburgh	1–6	9–11	147
Syracuse	1–6	7–11	88
Wake Forest	0–7	7–11	105

Sunday’s results
No. 13 North Carolina 75, Pittsburgh 58
Boston College 92, Syracuse 51
No. 14 Duke 74, Stanford 49
No. 18 Georgia Tech 89, Clemson 65
No. 20 N.C. State 73, Virginia 68
No. 22 California 67, Wake Forest 55
Florida State 88, Miami 66
Virginia Tech 70, Louisville 65
No. 3 Notre Dame 88, SMU 64
Thursday’s games
No. 20 N.C. State at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 13 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 18 Georgia Tech at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 3 Notre Dame at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 14 Duke at SMU, 8 p.m., ACCN
No. 22 California at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Florida State at No. 13 North Carolina, noon, ACCN
SMU at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
No. 14 Duke at No. 18 Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN
Louisville at Virginia, 2 p.m., The CW
Syracuse at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at No. 20 N.C. State, 6 p.m., ACCN

Date	Day/month	Time/ score	Opponent/event (current rank)	TV/ record
	November
4	Monday	W, 83–53	vs. Charleston Southern	1–0
7	Thursday	W, 77–50	vs. UNCW	2–0
12	Tuesday	W, 66–47	at N.C. A&T	3–0
15	Friday	L, 69–58	vs. No. 6 UConn in Greensboro	3–1
			Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas
23	Saturday	W, 63–52	Ball State	4–1
24	Sunday	W, 53–36	Villanova	5–1
25	Monday	W, 69–39	Indiana	6–1
			———————————
29	Friday	W, 119–43	vs. N.C. Central	7–1
	December
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
5	Thursday	W, 72–53	vs. No. 11 Kentucky	8–1
			———————————
8	Sunday	W, 72–46	vs. Coppin State	9–1
11	Wednesday	W, 80–56	vs. UNCG	10–1
15	Sunday	L, 82–76	vs. No. 18 Georgia Tech	10–2, 0–1 ACC
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
18	Wednesday	W, 77–57	vs. Florida	11–2
			———————————
21	Saturday	W, 90–47	vs. Norfolk State	12–2
			ACC season
29	Sunday	W, 69–60	at Miami	13–2, 1–1 ACC
	January
5	Sunday	L, 76–66	vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	13–3, 1–2
9	Thursday	W, 53–46, OT	vs. No. 14 Duke	14–3, 2–2
12	Sunday	W, 80–67	vs. Boston College	15–3, 3–2
16	Thursday	W, 64–33	at SMU	16–3, 4–2
19	Sunday	W, 75–58	at Pitt	17–3, 5–2
23	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN Extra
26	Sunday	Noon	vs. Florida State	ACCN
30	Thursday	10 p.m. ET	at No. 22 Cal	ACCN Extra
	February
2	Sunday	3 p.m. ET	at Stanford	The CW
9	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Clemson	ACCN Extra
13	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech	ACCN Extra
16	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. No. 20 N.C. State	ESPN
20	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Syracuse	ACCN
23	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Louisville	ESPN
27	Thursday	7 p.m.	at No. 14 Duke	ESPN
	March
2	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Virginia	The CW
5–9	Wed.–Sun.		ACC tournament Greensboro