By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina dropped one spot to No. 12 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after splitting a pair of games, including a loss at No. 2 Texas.
The Tar Heels (9–2) rebounded from the 79–64 loss Thursday to the Longhorns in the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge by rolling to an 82–40 home win Sunday over Boston University.
No teams ahead of UNC in last week’s poll lost, but one that fell just below the Tar Heels could be helpful to the Tar Heels’ NCAA tournament resume. Ole Miss fell four spots to No. 17 after losing 61–60 to Kansas State, which UNC beat 85–73 in Cancun on Nov. 28.
UNC remained the top-ranked ACC team. The other two ranked league teams also lost their Challenge games. Notre Dame fell one spot to No. 19 after losing to Ole Miss 69–62. Louisville stayed at No. 22 after losing 79–77 to No. 3 South Carolina.
Teonni Key’s Kentucky team (10–1) moved up two spots to No. 15.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn (23) | 9–0 | 791 | 1 |
| 2 | Texas (9) | 10–0 | 777 | 2 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 9–1 | 726 | 3 |
| 4 | UCLA | 9–1 | 711 | 4 |
| 5 | LSU | 10–0 | 649 | 5 |
| 6 | Michigan | 8–1 | 642 | 6 |
| 7 | Maryland | 11–0 | 590 | 7 |
| 8 | TCU | 10–0 | 566 | 8 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 9–1 | 553 | 9 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 10–0 | 505 | 10 |
| 11 | Iowa | 9–0 | 474 | 12 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 9–2 | 422 | 11 |
| 13 | Baylor | 9–1 | 392 | 14 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | 9–0 | 369 | 15 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 10–1 | 332 | 17 |
| 16 | USC | 7–2 | 328 | 16 |
| 17 | Ole Miss | 8–1 | 292 | 13 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 6–2 | 257 | 19 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 6–2 | 179 | 18 |
| 20 | Washington | 8–1 | 163 | 21 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 7–1 | 160 | 23 |
| 22 | Louisville | 8–3 | 154 | 22 |
| 23 | Oklahoma State | 10–1 | 130 | 24 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 9–0 | 74 | NR |
| 25 | Michigan State | 8–1 | 72 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Princeton 31, Texas Tech 24, Georgia 12, Alabama 11, N.C. State 8, Oregon 3, Stanford 1, Illinois 1, West Virginia 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Duke | 13–0 | 18–6 | 13 |
| No. 6 Louisville | 12–1 | 22–4 | 7 |
| N.C. State | 10–3 | 17–7 | 25 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 9–3 | 20–5 | 21 |
| Syracuse | 9–4 | 19–5 | 36 |
| Virginia | 9–4 | 17–7 | 38 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–5 | 18–7 | 43 |
| Clemson | 8–5 | 17–8 | 40 |
| Notre Dame | 7–6 | 15–9 | 30 |
| California | 6–6 | 15–10 | 52 |
| Georgia Tech | 6–7 | 11–14 | 98 |
| Stanford | 5–7 | 16–9 | 37 |
| Miami | 4–9 | 12–12 | 51 |
| Florida State | 3–9 | 8–16 | 111 |
| Wake Forest | 3–10 | 13–12 | 122 |
| SMU | 1–11 | 8–16 | 183 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–11 | 8–17 | 256 |
| Boston College | 0–13 | 4–22 | 252 |
* — Through Saturday games
Sunday’s results
No. 25 North Carolina 84, Wake Forest 56
No. 6 Louisville 84, Syracuse 65
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 62
California 95, Pittsburgh 80
No. 17 Duke 95, SMU 36
Virginia 81, Notre Dame 70
Florida State 87, Miami 70
Georgia Tech 74, Stanford 52
Clemson 83, Boston College 59
Thursday’s games
SMU at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Pittsburgh at SMU, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at No. 17 Duke, 1 p.m., ABC
Virginia at Stanford, 2 p.m., The CW
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at No. 6 Louisville, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. No. 20 Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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