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.
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 3–1; 8 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; 6 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 3–0; 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
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).
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 18
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 26 (2 days)
Average opponent NET: 156
Average NET win: 167
Average NET loss: 14
NET strength of schedule: 89
KenPom: 22
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 28
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 21
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Tuesday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 229 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 17 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 289 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 351 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 210 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 100 | 2 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 14 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 27 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 127 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 217 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 130 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 42 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 302 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 126 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 31 | 1 | |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 70 | 2 | |
| J14 | At Stanford | 93 | 2 | |
| J17 | At California | 56 | 1 | |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 68 | 2 | |
| J24 | At Virginia | 26 | 1 | |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 178 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 85 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 2 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 116 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 32 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 85 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 11 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 67 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 38 | 2 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 2 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 12 North Carolina | 1–0 | 13–1 | 18 |
| Miami | 1–0 | 12–2 | 37 |
| No. 16 Louisville | 1–0 | 11–2 | 11 |
| Notre Dame | 1–0 | 10–4 | 68 |
| No. 6 Duke | 0–0 | 11–1 | 3 |
| No. 21 Virginia | 0–0 | 11–1 | 26 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 11–2 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 11–2 | 67 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 10–3 | 38 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 9–4 | 178 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 9–4 | 32 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 9–4 | 85 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–4 | 70 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 7–6 | 183 |
| California | 0–1 | 12–2 | 56 |
| Stanford | 0–1 | 11–3 | 93 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 7–7 | 126 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 7–7 | 116 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 79, Florida State 66
Miami 76, Pittsburgh 69
No. 16 Louisville 90, California 70
Notre Dame 47, Stanford 40
Wednesday’s games
Wake Forest at N.C. State, noon, ESPN2
No. 21 Virginia at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Duke, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 11 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday’s games
No. 21 Virginia at N.C. State, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Clemson at Pittsburgh, noon, The CW
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
No. 12 North Carolina at SMU, 2:15, The CW
No. 6 Duke at Florida State, 3:45, CBS
Tuesday, Jan. 6, games
No. 6 Duke at No. 16 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Syracuse at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at Boston College, 9 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 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. 17 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. 9 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 | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 21 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. 16 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
tarheeltribune.com 
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