By R.L. Bynum
Carolina’s NET ranking has dropped six spots in the last few days, going from 14 on Tuesday to 20 after the Tar Heels’ less-than-impressive Quad 4 victory.
The Tar Heels (9–1) dropped four spots from Saturday to Sunday after their 80–62 win over USC Upstate (6–6), which has a NET ranking of 194.
Carolina still has 10 more Quad 1 games left, but now has two more Quad 4 games after three game designations changed after Saturday’s action:
— The Dec. 20 CBS Sports Classic matchup in Atlanta with Ohio State (8–2; NET ranking of 48) returned to Quad 1 after the Buckeyes’ 89–88 double-overtime home victory over West Virginia.
— The Feb. 21 game at Syracuse (6–4) slipped from Quad 1 to Quad 2 after the Orange lost at home to Hofstra 70–69 to drop their NET ranking to 92.
— The Feb. 24 home game against Pittsburgh (5–6) fell from Quad 3 to Quad 4 after the Panthers’ 79–61 road loss to Villanova.
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.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 4–4; 5 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; 3 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 5–0; 3 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
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UNC’s other Quad 1 games are:
— Jan. 2 at SMU (9–3; NET ranking of 40).
— Jan. 17 at California (10–1; 62).
—Jan. 23 at No. 24 Virginia (9–1; 21).
— Feb. 7 vs. No. 3 Duke (10–0; 2) and March 7 at Duke.
— Feb. 10 at Miami (9–2; 29).
— Feb. 16 at N.C. State (7–4; 37).
— Feb. 23 vs. No. 11 Louisville (9–1; 11).
— March 2 vs. Clemson (8–3; 30).
Carolina’s other Quad 4 game is the Dec. 22 home game against East Carolina (3–7; 321).
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 23
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 124
Average NET win: 145
Average NET loss: 42
NET strength of schedule: 65
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 30
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 204 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 15 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 262 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 342 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 179 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 158 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 29 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 112 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 292 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 123 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 36 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 287 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 113 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 33 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 66 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 72 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 54 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 83 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 14 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 145 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 79 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 126 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 27 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 79 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 51 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 31 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 8–0 | 19–1 | 2 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 7–1 | 17–4 | 30 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 15–6 | 27 |
| No. 17 Virginia | 6–2 | 17–3 | 16 |
| Miami | 5–2 | 16–4 | 36 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 4–3 | 16–4 | 24 |
| SMU | 4–3 | 15–5 | 32 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–4 | 16–6 | 55 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 4–4 | 14–6 | 19 |
| California | 3–4 | 15–5 | 52 |
| Stanford | 3–4 | 14–6 | 71 |
| Syracuse | 3–5 | 12–9 | 83 |
| Boston College | 2–5 | 9–11 | 157 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–6 | 11–10 | 140 |
| Notre Dame | 2–6 | 11–10 | 81 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 11–10 | 66 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–6 | 9–12 | 118 |
| Florida State | 1–6 | 8–12 | 114 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Monday’s result
No. 4 Duke 83, No. 20 Louisville 52
Tuesday’s results
Pittsburgh 80, Wake Forest 76, OT
N.C. State 88, Syracuse 68
No. 17 Virginia 100, Notre Dame 97, 2 OTs
Virginia Tech 71, Georgia Tech 65
Wednesday’s games
California at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Miami, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
No. 4 Duke at Virginia Tech, noon, ESPN
Pittsburgh at No. 22 Clemson, noon, ACC Network
No. 17 Virginia at Boston College, 1:30, The CW
No. 16 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 23 Louisville, 2 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at Wake Forest, 3:45, The CW
California at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at Syracuse, 6 p.m., The CW
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 16 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 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. 14 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. 7 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 | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 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. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
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