By R.L. Bynum
Carolina moved up two spots in the AP Top 25 men’s poll released Monday, earning a season-high ranking of No. 14.
The Tar Heels (8–1) earned a pair of power-conference victories, winning 67–64 at Kentucky on Tuesday and knocking off Georgetown 81–61 at home on Sunday.
It’s UNC’s highest ranking since it was No. 12 on Nov. 25, 2024, and the 724 poll points are the most since garnering 976 that week.
Duke (10–0) moved up one spot to No. 3 after beating Florida 67–66 and Michigan State 66–60. Elliot Cadeau’s Michigan team (8–0) went up one spot to No. 2, Vanderbilt (with Jalen Washington and Tyler Nickel) is up two spots to No. 15 and Ian Jackson’s St. John’s team (5–3) moved up one spot to No. 22.
Five teams ahead of the Tar Heels in last week’s poll lost:
— Purdue (8–1) sank five spots from No. 1 to No. 6 after an 81–58 loss to Iowa State.
— Louisville (8–1) slipped five spots to No. 11 after losing 89–80 to Arkansas but beating Indiana 87–78.
— Michigan State (8–1) fell two spots to No. 9 after falling to Duke.
— Tennessee (7–3) sunk seven spots to No. 20 after a 62–60 loss to Syracuse.
— Florida (5–3) dropped three spots to No. 18 after its loss to Duke.
Virginia (8–1) debuted in the poll at No. 24 after two big wins last week, winning 88–69 at Texas and beating Dayton 86–73 in Charlotte.
Kentucky (5–4) fell out of the poll after also losing 94–59 to Gonzaga (9–1), which moved up three spots to No. 8.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 10 is John Johnson of WXII-TV in Winston-Salem. Ranking the Heels the lowest, as he has every week of the season, is Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. This week, he has them No. 22.
Chris Lea of WRAL voted UNC No. 12 and Kate Rogerson of WTVD has the Heels No. 14.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona (33) | 8–0 | 1,461 | 2 |
| 2 | Michigan (19) | 8–0 | 1,440 | 3 |
| 3 | Duke (7) | 10–0 | 1,400 | 4 |
| 4 | Iowa State (1) | 9–0 | 1,304 | 10 |
| 5 | UConn | 8–1 | 1,263 | 5 |
| 6 | Purdue | 8–1 | 1,173 | 1 |
| 7 | Houston | 8–1 | 1,064 | 8 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | 9–1 | 1,054 | 11 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 8–1 | 1,017 | 7 |
| 10 | BYU | 7–1 | 1,007 | 9 |
| 11 | Louisville | 8–1 | 877 | 6 |
| 12 | Alabama | 7–2 | 854 | 12 |
| 13 | Illinois | 7–2 | 771 | 14 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 8–1 | 724 | 16 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 9–0 | 686 | 17 |
| 16 | Texas Tech | 7–2 | 508 | 19 |
| 17 | Arkansas | 7–2 | 488 | 25 |
| 18 | Florida | 5–3 | 422 | 15 |
| 19 | Kansas | 7–3 | 380 | 21 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 7–3 | 286 | 13 |
| 21 | Auburn | 7–3 | 264 | 20 |
| 22 | St. John’s | 5–3 | 254 | 23 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 9–0 | 180 | NR |
| 24 | Virginia | 8–1 | 130 | NR |
| 25 | UCLA | 7–2 | 79 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Iowa 60, Oklahoma St. 54, Southern Cal 50, Georgia 49, Saint Mary’s 38, Seton Hall 31, Kentucky 29, Wisconsin 24, Indiana 18, Clemson 14, LSU 14, Villanova 9, California 6, Notre Dame 4, Miami 4, SMU 3, TCU 2, Arizona St 2, Miami (Ohio) 2, St. Bonaventure 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 0–0 | 11–0 | 2 |
| California | 0–0 | 10–1 | 66 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 10–1 | 16 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 0–0 | 9–1 | 21 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 10–2 | 33 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 10–2 | 59 |
| No. 11 Louisville | 0–0 | 9–2 | 17 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 9–2 | 41 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 8–2 | 109 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 9–3 | 31 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–3 | 67 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–3 | 48 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 8–4 | 36 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 7–4 | 191 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 7–4 | 90 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 6–6 | 169 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 5–6 | 180 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 5–6 | 143 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 77, East Tennessee State 58
No. 3 Duke 97, Lipscomb 73
No. 20 Tennessee 83, No. 11 Louisville 62
Dayton 97, Florida State 69
Clemson 68, South Carolina 61
Miami 98, Florida International 81
Georgia Tech 87, Marist 76
Wednesday’s games
N.C. State 108, Texas Southern 72
Pittsburgh 103, Binghamton 6
Syracuse 76, Mercyhurst 62
Wake Forest 71, Longwood 68
UT Arlington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Friday’s games
Mississippi Valley State at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Morgan State at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
Montana at No. 11 Louisville, noon, ACCN Extra
Lafayette at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Elon at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina at CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, 3 p.m., CBS
Northeastern at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Maryland at No. 23 Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Duke at No. 16 Texas Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN
Stanford at Colorado, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday’s games
Penn State vs. Pittsburgh in Hershey, Pa., noon, Big Ten Network
Ole Miss vs. N.C. State in Greensboro, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, 1 p.m., The CW
Purdue Ft. Wayne at Notre Dame, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Central Arkansas at SMU, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Cincinnati vs. Clemson in Greenville, S.C., 3 p.m., ESPN
North Florida at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Columbia at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Monday’s games
American at Virginia, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Jacksonville at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stonehill at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Fairleigh Dickinson at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
East Carolina at No. 12 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| 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. East Tennessee State | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 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. 23 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. 3 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. 11 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. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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