By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina remained No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday.
The Tar Heels (4–0) easily swept two home games last week, beating Radford 89–74 and N.C. Central 97–53. They only play once this week, hosting Navy (2–2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ACC Network).
UNC, which moved up one slot to No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches poll, got a season-high 516 poll points after getting 104 in the preseason poll and 494 last week. Carolina is No. 23 in KenPom.
After Houston’s narrow 73–72 win over Auburn, the Cougars (4–0) slipped to No. 2 and Purdue (4–0) took over at No. 1.
Four teams ahead of UNC in last week’s poll lost:
— Alabama (2–1) fell three spots to No. 11 after losing to Purdue.
— Kentucky (3–1) dropped three places to No. 12 after losing 86–88 to Louisville, which moved up six spots to No. 6 after also beating Ohio 106–81.
— Texas Tech (3–1) slipped four spots to No. 15 after beating Milwaukee 80–63 but losing 81–77 to Illinois, which jumped six spots to No. 8 after also topping Ohio 106–81.
— UCLA (3–1) dropped four spots to No. 19 after beating West Georgia 83–62 but losing 69–65 to Arizona, which moved up to No. 4.
Duke (4–0), despite getting one first-place vote, fell one spot to No. 5 because of Arizona’s rise and N.C. State (3–0) debuted in the poll at No. 25.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 4 is David Jablonski of the Dayton Daily News in Ohio, and Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., ranks the Heels the lowest at No. 25.
Kate Rogerson of WTVD has UNC No. 18, and Chris Lea of WRAL voted the Tar Heels No. 21.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Poll point | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue (44) | 1,502 | 2 |
| 2 | Houston (12) | 1,457 | 1 |
| 3 | UConn (2) | 1,389 | 3 |
| 4 | Arizona (2) | 1,314 | 5 |
| 5 | Duke (1) | 1,277 | 4 |
| 6 | Louisville | 1,161 | 12 |
| 7 | Michigan | 1,103 | 6 |
| 8 | Illinois | 1,017 | 14 |
| 9 | BYU | 972 | 7 |
| 10 | Florida | 949 | 10 |
| 11 | Alabama | 928 | 8 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 798 | 9 |
| 13 | Gonzaga | 772 | 19 |
| 14 | St. John’s | 732 | 13 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 678 | 11 |
| 16 | Iowa State | 664 | 16 |
| 17 | Michigan State | 585 | 17 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 516 | 18 |
| 19 | UCLA | 423 | 15 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 416 | 20 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 247 | 21 |
| 22 | Auburn | 188 | 22 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 180 | 24 |
| 24 | Kansas | 132 | 25 |
| 25 | N.C. State | 97 | NR |
Others receiving votes: San Diego St. 71, Indiana 65, Vanderbilt 57, Oregon 28, Ohio St. 21, Southern Cal 16, Georgetown 16, Creighton 12, Baylor 11, Saint Mary’s 8, Missouri 7, Mississippi 5, Iowa 3, Utah St. 2, Georgia 2, Virginia 1, Virginia Tech 1, Stanford 1, Kansas St 1.
| 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
tarheeltribune.com 