By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina fell to a season-low No. 18 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll after Sunday’s 76–66 overtime home loss to Louisville.
The previous low for the Tar Heels (9–3, 0–1 ACC), who were No. 11 for three weeks and No. 12 last week, was No. 14 on Nov. 17 after their 78–60 loss to UCLA.
It’s UNC’s lowest rank since the Tar Heels were No. 19 on Jan. 6 last season.
The Cardinals (10–3, 2–0) jumped sis spots to No. 16 after also rolling to a 93–62 home win over Ball State, and are the highest-ranked ACC team for the first time this season. Notre Dame (8–2) fell one spot to No. 20 after beating Morehead State 97–68 and James Madison 78–65.
UNC was the only team in last week’s poll to lose to a team that was ranked lower. Others losing were:
— Iowa (10–1), which stayed at No. 11 after a 74–49 loss to Iowa State (12–0), which stayed at No. 10.
— Baylor (10–2), which fell two spots to No. 15 after an 89–54 loss to No. 2 Texas.
— Southern Cal (7–3), which dropped three spots to No. 19 after a 79–51 setback against No. 1 UConn.
— Oklahoma State (10–2), which was No. 23, fell out of the poll after a 92–70 loss to Oklahoma (11–1), which moved up one spot to No. 8.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
AP Top 25
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma St. 35, Texas Tech 26, Alabama 13, Georgia 12, N.C. State 8, Arizona St. 1, Illinois 1
| 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
| Date | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | W, 76–66 | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 72–68 | at No. 20 Maryland | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | 2:30 ET | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 21 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 1 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 9 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 25 N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 7 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 13 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
