By R.L. Bynum
Early signs point to a down year for ACC women’s basketball. As conference play ramps up, only three ACC teams are ranked in the AP Top 25.
That’s a sharp drop from last season, when five ACC teams were ranked in the final poll, including three in the top 10: No. 7 Duke, No. 9 N.C. State and No. 10 Notre Dame.
Before this season, the ACC had at least one team in the top 10 in every poll since Jan. 7, 2002. That streak ended four weeks ago, and North Carolina (9–2) has been the highest-ranked team in the league since then. The ACC ranks fourth in league NET, behind the SEC, the Big Ten and the Big 12.
This week, the Tar Heels are No. 12, followed by Notre Dame (6–2) at No. 19 and Louisville (8–3) at No. 22. The Cardinals were the only one of the three to win in the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge, which the SEC dominated 13–3.
— Read more: UNC flourishing with new-look offense, big strides by Toomey, help from male practice players
While UNC’s ranking is encouraging for the Tar Heels (who also have the ACC’s best NET ranking at 14th, a drop Thursday from 13), the changing landscape means fewer high-end opportunities. Carolina played 12 Quad 1 games before Selection Sunday last season (going 7–5), but this season’s schedule only includes seven games currently classified as Quad 1.
“You’re looking at one of the coaches who’s not going to doubt the ACC,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “The coaches are too good, the players are too good. The league is too good. It will just keep getting better.”
The weaker ACC makes Sunday’s league opener against Louisville (15th in the NET ranking; down Thursday from 14th) at Carmichael Arena (4 p.m., ACC Network) especially important since it’s the first of their remaining Quad 1 chances. Nyla Harris (top photo) will be facing her former team in the game.
UNC is well-positioned to host NCAA tournament first- and second-round games again, and is a No. 3 seed in an ESPN bracket projection released Tuesday, with Duke not even listed among the first eight out, and N.C. State a No. 7 seed.
But the Tar Heels need to capitalize on those opportunities after dropping its first two Quad 1 games: a neutral-site loss to UCLA (NET ranking of 5th; down Thursday from 4th) in Las Vegas on Nov. 13 and a road setback at Texas (4th, up Thursday from 6th) on Dec. 4.
The NCAA tournament committee 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.
The women’s quadrant system uses stricter standards than the men’s, making those top-tier games harder to come by (see below).
NCAA women’s quadrant system
(Different criteria for each quadrant than those used for men’s basketball)
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 4–6): Home games against teams with a NET ranking of 25 or better, neutral-site games against teams ranked 35 or better, and road games against teams ranked 45 or better
Quadrant 2 (UNC is 9–1): Home 26–55, neutral 36–65, road 46–80
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 3–0): Home 56–90, neutral 66–105, road 81–130
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 10–0): Home 91 or lower, neutral 106 or lower, road 131 or lower
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The other Quad 1 league games currently on the schedule are at Notre Dame (24rd) on Jan. 11, at N.C. State (39th) on Feb. 2, at Duke (37th) on Feb. 15 and at Virginia (31st) on Feb. 26.
UNC has six Quad 2 matchups, including home games against Stanford (33), Miami (38), Syracuse (40), Clemson (52) and Duke, plus a road trip to Virginia Tech (57).
Quad 3 games include a home game against California (62nd) and road contests at Florida State (112th), Georgia Tech (103rd) and Wake Forest (125th). Home dates with SMU (157th) and Pittsburgh (243rd), and a game at Boston College (208th), are Quad 4.
After Louisville, UNC closes non-conference play with two Quad 4 home games: UNCW (229th) on Dec. 17 and Charleston Southern (344th) on Dec. 21.
UNC’s 95–73 win in Cancun over Kansas State (6–6) fell from a Quad 2 to a Quad 3 after the Wildcats’ 64–53 home loss to San Diego State on Wednesday night.
UNC’s NCAA resume
NET ranking: 19
WAB ranking: 15 (6.17)
Average NET win: 103
Average NET loss: 27
NET strength of schedule: 44
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| N.C. Central | 316 | 4 | Win |
| Elon | 211 | 4 | Win |
| (N) UCLA | 2 | 1 | Loss |
| (N) Fairfield | 53 | 2 | Win |
| At N.C. A&T | 258 | 4 | Win |
| UNCG | 276 | 4 | Win |
| (N) South Dakota State | 42 | 2 | Win |
| (N) Kansas State | 54 | 2 | Win |
| (N) Columbia | 58 | 2 | Win |
| At Texas | 4 | 1 | Loss |
| Boston University | 287 | 4 | Win |
| Louisville | 12 | 1 | Loss |
| UNCW | 329 | 4 | Win |
| Charleston Southern | 331 | 4 | Win |
| Boston College | 245 | 4 | Win |
| California | 52 | 2 | Win |
| Stanford | 44 | 2 | Loss |
| At Notre Dame | 21 | 1 | Loss |
| Miami | 57 | 3 | Win |
| At Florida State | 108 | 3 | Win |
| At Georgia Tech | 75 | 2 | Win |
| Syracuse | 39 | 2 | Win |
| At N.C. State | 25 | 1 | Win |
| Clemson | 40 | 2 | Win |
| At Wake Forest | 129 | 3 | Win |
| SMU | 221 | 4 | Win |
| At Duke | 11 | 1 | Loss |
| At Virginia Tech | 41 | 2 | Win |
| Pittsburgh | 234 | 4 | Win |
| At Virginia | 36 | 1 | Win |
| Duke | 11 | 1 | Win |
| (N) Virginia Tech | 41 | 2 | Win |
| (N) Louisville | 12 | 1 | Loss |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
