By R.L. Bynum
While making the NCAA men’s tournament still is a long shot for North Carolina, the Tar Heels took the first step toward giving them a chance with their 88–82 Quad 3 victory Saturday night at Syracuse.
UNC (15–11, 8–6 ACC) will likely need to make the win over the Orange (11–15, 5–10; 149th in the NET) the start of a six-game winning streak heading to the second game against No. 3 Duke (22–3, 14–1; 2nd in NET) to have a decent chance of making the field.
After falling to a season-low 51st in the NET rankings following Monday’s 85–65 loss at No. 23 Clemson (21–5, 13–2; 26th in NET), Carolina was 50th entering Saturday’s game and is now 47th with 28 days until Selection Sunday.
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 3–1; 8 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; 5 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 2–0; 5 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
Of the 108 projections on Bracket Matrix, only three include UNC, all as a No. 11 seed going to the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
In Friday projections, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has UNC as the fourth team in his “first four out” list, while CBS’ Jerry Palm has the Tar Heels as the third team in his “next four out” list.
Carolina has two Quad 3 home games next week, facing N.C. State (10–15, 3–11; 124th in NET) at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN) and Virginia (13–12, 6–8; 104th in NET) at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN), before traveling to Florida State (15–10, 6–8; 88th in NET) on Monday, Feb. 24, for a Quad 2 game.
After that, it’s a Quad 4 home game against Miami (6–19, 2–12; 212th in NET) on Saturday, March 1, and a Quad 3 game at Virginia Tech (11–14, 6–8; 156th in NET) on Tuesday, March 4, before the regular-season finale against Duke.
Elon slipped to 173 after its 60–59 home loss to N.C. A&T on Thursday, making Carolina’s 90–76 season-opening win briefly fall from Quad 3 to Quad 4. However, the Phoenix’s 81–70 win at UNCW on Saturday moved them up 15 spots to 158th, returning that Tar Heels win to Quad 3.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 15
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 26 (2 days)
Average opponent NET: 161
Average NET win: 173
Average NET loss: 13
NET strength of schedule: 76
KenPom: 21
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 30
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 21
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Tuesday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 236 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 16 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 295 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 350 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 206 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 99 | 2 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 13 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 26 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 140 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 208 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 155 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 43 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 303 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 129 | 3 | |
| J3 | At SMU | 36 | 1 | |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 68 | 2 | |
| J14 | At Stanford | 76 | 2 | |
| J17 | At California | 46 | 1 | |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 81 | 3 | |
| J24 | At Virginia | 23 | 1 | |
| J31 | Georgia Tech | 190 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 88 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 34 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 115 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 31 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 88 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 62 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 37 | 2 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 0–0 | 12–1 | 46 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 12–1 | 15 |
| No. 6 Duke | 0–0 | 11–1 | 3 |
| No. 21 Virginia | 0–0 | 11–1 | 23 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 11–2 | 34 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 11–2 | 36 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 11–2 | 76 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 11–2 | 62 |
| No. 16 Louisville | 0–0 | 10–2 | 17 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 10–3 | 37 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 9–4 | 190 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 9–4 | 31 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–4 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 9–4 | 88 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–4 | 68 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 7–6 | 191 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 7–6 | 129 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 7–6 | 115 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Saturday’s result
Stanford 88, CSU Northridge 80
Sunday’s games
Boston College 72, Le Moyne 64
SMU 110, Cal State Fullerton 63
Georgia Tech 89, Florida A&M 65
Tuesday’s games
Florida State at No. 12 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Pittsburgh at Miami, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 16 Louisville at California, 9 p.m, ACC Network
Notre Dame at Stanford, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Wake Forest at N.C. State, noon, ESPN2
No. 21 Virginia at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Duke, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 11 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday’s games
No. 21 Virginia at N.C. State, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Clemson at Pittsburgh, noon, The CW
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
No. 12 North Carolina at SMU, 2:15, The CW
No. 6 Duke at Florida State, 3:45, CBS
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 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. 17 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. 9 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 | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 21 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. 16 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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