By R.L. Bynum
The good news for North Carolina after the Tar Heels’ 67–66 loss Tuesday night at Wake Forest is that it’s become a Quad 1 game, and they’re still 38th in the latest NET rankings.
Although the defeat didn’t change UNC’s NET ranking, it left the Tar Heels (12–8, 5–3 ACC) firmly in bubble territory 54 days from Selection Sunday.
Wake Forest (15–4, 7–1) moved up three spots in the NET to 74th, pushing the Deacons just above the 75 threshold to make the game Quad 1 for UNC.
The Deacons, who have won six straight games, face challenging games ahead, though. They host No. 2 Duke (16–2, 8–0; 2nd in NET) on Saturday and visit No. 25 Louisville (15–5, 8–1; 22nd in NET) on Tuesday.
It’s back to another home game that Carolina can’t afford to lose at 2:15 Saturday (The CW) when the Tar Heels face Boston College (9–10, 1–7; 234th in the NET), which has lost five games in a row. It’s the first of two remaining Quad 4 games, along with the March 1 home game against Miami (4–14, 0–7; 229th in NET).
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 1–7; 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 4–0; 1 game left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 4–1; 4 games left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 3–0; 2 games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
The consensus of 74 bracket projections on Bracket Matrix, nearly all made before Tuesday’s game, has UNC as the third-highest No. 10 seed, which means a potential matchup with a No. 1 seed in the second round.
Read this story for a breakdown of where specific bracket projections put UNC, including one that sees the Tar Heels being sent to the First Four in Dayton.
The chances of UNC getting a double-bye in the ACC tournament took a hit because UNC is now — along with SMU (14–5, 5–3; 44th in NET) — two games behind Clemson (15–4, 7–1; 31st in NET) and Wake Forest for the final double-bye spot.
The Mustangs fell eight spots to 44th, and the Cardinals jumped seven spots to 22nd after Louisville’s 90–73 win Tuesday night at SMU.
UNC’s NCAA resume
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 38
Highest NET: 25 on Dec. 2
Lowest NET: 47 on Jan. 1
Average opponent NET: 89
Average NET win: 130
Average NET loss: 27
NET strength of schedule: 10
KenPom: 34
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 29
KPI: 42
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 38
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Tuesday’s games)
| Opponent | NET ranking | Quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 114 | 3 | Win |
| At Kansas | 9 | 1 | Loss |
| American | 233 | 4 | Win |
| At Hawai’i | 170 | 3 | Win |
| (N) Dayton | 68 | 2 | Win |
| (N) Auburn | 1 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) Michigan State | 16 | 1 | Loss |
| Alabama | 7 | 1 | Loss |
| Georgia Tech | 152 | 3 | Win |
| La Salle | 168 | 4 | Win |
| (N) Florida | 5 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) UCLA | 35 | 1 | Win |
| Campbell | 248 | 4 | Win |
| At Louisville | 22 | 1 | Loss |
| At Notre Dame | 90 | 2 | Win |
| SMU | 44 | 2 | Win |
| At N.C. State | 113 | 2 | Win |
| California | 122 | 3 | Win |
| Stanford | 80 | 3 | Loss |
| At Wake Forest | 74 | 2 | Loss |
| Boston College | 234 | 4 | |
| At Pittsburgh | 33 | 1 | |
| At Duke | 2 | 1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 32 | 2 | |
| At Clemson | 31 | 1 | |
| At Syracuse | 150 | 3 | |
| N.C. State | 113 | 3 | |
| Virginia | 121 | 3 | |
| At Florida State | 66 | 1 | |
| Miami | 229 | 4 | |
| At Virginia Tech | 181 | 3 | |
| Duke | 2 | 1 |
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Duke | 8–0 | 16–2 |
| No. 25 Louisville | 8–1 | 15–5 |
| Clemson | 7–1 | 15–4 |
| Wake Forest | 7–1 | 15–4 |
| SMU | 5–3 | 14–5 |
| North Carolina | 5–3 | 12–8 |
| Florida State | 4–3 | 13–5 |
| Stanford | 4–3 | 12–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–4 | 12–6 |
| Syracuse | 3–4 | 9–9 |
| Virginia Tech | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| California | 2–5 | 9–9 |
| N.C. State | 2–5 | 9–9 |
| Notre Dame | 2–5 | 8–10 |
| Virginia | 2–6 | 9–10 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–6 | 8–11 |
| Boston College | 1–7 | 9–10 |
| Miami | 0–7 | 4–14 |
Tuesday’s results
Wake Forest 67, North Carolina 66
Virginia 74, Boston College 66
No. 25 Louisville 98, SMU 73
Wednesday’s games
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Syracuse at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN
Florida State at California, 9 p.m., ACCN
Miami at Stanford, 11 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday’s games
SMU at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Pitt at Syracuse, 12:30, ESPN2
Boston College at North Carolina, 2:15, The CW
No. 2 Duke at Wake Forest, 4:40, ESPN
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 5 p.m., ACCN
Notre Dame at Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Florida State at Stanford, 7 p.m., ACCN
Miami at California, 8:30, ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at No. 24 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. 12 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. 1 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 8 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 4 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. 5 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | 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 | W, 63–61 | at N.C. State | 11–6, 4–1 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 79–53 | vs. California | 12–6, 5–1 |
| 18 | Saturday | L, 72–71 | vs. Stanford | 12–7, 5–2 |
| 21 | Tuesday | L, 67–66 | at Wake Forest | 12–8, 5–3 |
| 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. 2 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. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 
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