By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s third Quad 3 win of the season on Tuesday against Florida State didn’t help its NCAA resume, but the Tar Heels will get a golden chance in Dallas on Saturday to bolster it.
The No. 12 Tar Heels (13–1, 1–0 ACC) fell two spots in the NET rankings to 18 after their 79–66 victory over the Seminoles, who jumped two spots to 126, then to 123 after Wednesday’s games.
SMU (11–2, 0–0; 31 NET ranking) will open its ACC schedule against UNC in a packed Moody Coliseum at 2:15 p.m. Saturday (The CW) in the first of eight remaining Quad 1 games for Carolina.
That will be one of three Quad 1 games in January, all on the road, in addition to the Jan. 17 visit to California (12–2, 0–1; 56) and the Jan. 24 game at Virginia (11–1, 0–0; 26).
The consensus of 48 bracket projections on Bracket Matrix has UNC as the second-highest No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. Fourteen projections have the Tar Heels as a No. 3 seed, and seven have them as a No. 5 seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has UNC as a No. 4 seed playing first- and second-round games in San Diego.
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 5–5; 4 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 2–0; 2 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 8–0; no games left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 5–0; no games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
The good news for UNC out of Tuesday’s first four conference games is that Notre Dame’s 47–40 victory over Stanford moved the Irish up 13 spots in the NET to 68. That shifted the Tar Heels’ Jan. 21 home game with Notre Dame (10–4, 1–0) from a Quad 3 game to Quad 2.
That means that all but three of UNC’s remaining games are either Quad 1 or Quad 2. UNC has three remaining games currently classified as under Quad 3: The Jan. 31 game at Georgia Tech (9–4, 0–0; 178), the Feb. 2 home game against Syracuse (9–4, 0–0; 85) and the Feb. 14 home game against Pittsburgh (7–7, 0–1; 116).
The bad news is that UNC’s 85–70 victory over St. Bonaventure slid from Quad 2 to Quad 3 when the Bonnies’ NET ranking fell to 101 following their 89–82 loss Wednesday night at Richmond. That could easily return to a Quad 2 since 100 would return it to Quad 2.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 25
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 110
Average NET win: 126
Average NET loss: 43
NET strength of schedule: 64
KenPom: 28
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 25
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 181 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 14 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 240 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 339 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 151 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 145 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 15 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 28 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 91 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 293 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 127 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 38 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 269 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 82 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 36 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 64 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 70 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 60 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 87 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 19 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 163 | 3 | Win |
| F2 | Syracuse | 69 | 2 | Win |
| F7 | Duke | 2 | 1 | Win |
| F10 | At Miami | 35 | 1 | Loss |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 122 | 3 | Win |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 29 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 69 | 1 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 12 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 56 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 32 | 2 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 2 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 12–1 | 23–2 | 2 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 10–2 | 22–3 | 19 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–3 | 20–6 | 32 |
| Miami | 9–3 | 20–5 | 35 |
| N.C. State | 9–4 | 18–8 | 29 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 8–4 | 20–5 | 25 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 8–4 | 19–6 | 12 |
| SMU | 6–6 | 17–8 | 36 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 60 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–7 | 17–9 | 56 |
| Syracuse | 6–7 | 15–11 | 69 |
| Florida State | 5–7 | 12–13 | 82 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 70 |
| Wake Forest | 4–8 | 13–12 | 64 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 87 |
| Boston College | 2–10 | 9–16 | 153 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–11 | 11–15 | 163 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 122 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s results
No. 11 North Carolina 79, Pittsburgh 65
No 4 Duke 67, No. 20 Clemson 54
Notre Dame 89, Georgia Tech 74
California 86, Boston College 75
Florida State 92, Virginia Tech 69
Syracuse 79, SMU 78
Miami 77, N.C. State 76
Wake Forest 68, Stanford 63
No. 24 Louisville 82, Baylor 71
No. 15 Virginia 70, Ohio State 66
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at SMU, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
No. 20 Clemson at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 15 Virginia at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Florida State at No. 20 Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 15 Virginia, 2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 24 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 4 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
Monday, Feb. 23, game
No. 24 Louisville at No. 11 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 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. 9 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 No. 25 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. 15 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 | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN |
| 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 Joshua Lawton
tarheeltribune.com 
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