By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina stayed at No. 12 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after a pair of victories last week, getting leapfrogged in the poll by unbeaten Vanderbilt.
The Tar Heels (11–1) blew past East Tennessee State 77–58 on Tuesday, then pulled out a Quad 1 71–70 win over Ohio State on Saturday at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. UNC is off to its best start since the 2008–09 national championship team won its first 13 games.
UNC faces East Carolina (5–7) at 8:05 p.m. Monday (ACC Network) at the Smith Center in its final nonconference game.
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Carolina may have been able to move up to take advantage of Louisville’s 83–62 loss at Tennessee, but Vanderbilt (12–0), with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington, instead jumped past UNC, moving up two spots to No. 11. The Commodores won two road games last week, beating Memphis 77–70 in overtime on Wednesday and Wake Forest 98–67 on Sunday.
The Cardinals (10–2), who rebounded with a 94–54 win over Montana, fell from No. 11 to No. 16 after the loss, while Tennessee (9–3) moved up one spot to No. 19 after also beating Gardner-Webb 94–52.
The Tar Heels’ 806 poll points are their most since garnering 976 last season on Nov. 25, when they also were ranked No. 12. Vanderbilt got 810 poll points, making the gap between the Commodores and the Tar Heels the smallest between two teams in this week’s poll.
The only other team ahead of the Tar Heels in last week’s poll to lose was Duke, which lost 82–81 to Texas Tech in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The Blue Devils (11–1) fell three spots to No. 6, while the Red Raiders jumped four spots to No. 15 after also beating Northern Colorado 101–91.
Virginia (10–1) is up two spots to No. 21 after its 80–72 victory over Maryland.
Only one voter, UNC alum Parth Upadhyaya of The Daily Memphian in Memphis, Tenn., had N.C. State on their ballot at No. 25.
Elliot Cadeau’s Michigan team (11–0) stayed at No. 2 while Ian Jackson’s St. John’s team (7–4), which was No. 22, fell out of the poll after Saturday’s 78–66 loss to Kentucky.
WXII’s John Johnson voted UNC the highest of any voter at No. 9, while WTVD’s Kate Rogerson had the Heels No. 10 and WRAL’s Chris Lea voted UNC No. 11.
For the third consecutive week, Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., voted Carolina the lowest, this time at No. 20. Mettlen has voted UNC the lowest in seven of eight polls.
The highest number of voters (23) have UNC No. 11, with 16 voting the Tar Heels No. 12.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona (38) | 11–0 | 1,428 | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan (19) | 11–0 | 1,408 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa State (1) | 12–0 | 1,320 | 4 |
| 4 | UConn | 12–1 | 1,281 | 5 |
| 5 | Purdue | 11–1 | 1,174 | 6 |
| 6 | Duke | 11–1 | 1,148 | 3 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 12–1 | 1,080 | 7 |
| 8 | Houston | 11–1 | 1,061 | 8 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 11–1 | 985 | 9 |
| 10 | BYU | 11–1 | 966 | 10 |
| 11 | Vanderbilt | 12–0 | 810 | 13 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 11–1 | 806 | 12 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 12–0 | 704 | 15 |
| 14 | Alabama | 9–3 | 638 | 16 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 9–3 | 588 | 19 |
| 16 | Louisville | 10–2 | 555 | 11 |
| 17 | Kansas | 9–3 | 494 | 17 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 9–3 | 470 | 14 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 9–3 | 460 | 20 |
| 20 | Illinois | 8–3 | 429 | 18 |
| 21 | Virginia | 10–1 | 252 | T23 |
| 22 | Florida | 8–4 | 215 | T23 |
| 23 | Georgia | 10–1 | 127 | 25 |
| 24 | Southern Cal | 12–1 | 92 | NR |
| 25 | Iowa | 10–2 | 79 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. John’s 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah St. 5, Arizona St. 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, Saint Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma St. 1, UCF 1, N.C. State 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–0 | 21–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 9–1 | 19–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 8–2 | 19–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 8–2 | 17–6 | 25 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 6–3 | 18–4 | 27 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 6–4 | 16–6 | 18 |
| California | 5–5 | 17–6 | 55 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 57 |
| SMU | 4–5 | 15–7 | 34 |
| Syracuse | 4–6 | 13–10 | 69 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 100 |
| Stanford | 3–7 | 14–9 | 77 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Boston College | 2–7 | 9–13 | 149 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 113 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–8 | 11–12 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–8 | 11–12 | 86 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Wednesday’s results
No. 24 Louisville 76, Notre Dame 65
California 90, Georgia Tech 85
No. 20 Clemson 66, Stanford 64
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, Feb. 11, games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 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. 11 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. 10 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. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 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. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Adam Hagy/Intersport
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