By R.L. Bynum
No. 12 North Carolina was one of a few ACC teams to fall in the NET rankings after Saturday’s action, but the damage was minimal for the Tar Heels.
UNC (13–2, 1–1 ACC) dropped four spots to 22 in the NET rankings after its 97–83 loss at SMU on Saturday, falling to 3–2 (also losing to Michigan State) in Quad 1 games, while it is 10–0 in all other games.
With Stanford (12–3, 1–1) rising just enough at 75 in the NET rankings, both games on UNC’s California swing will be Quad 1 games, giving the Tar Heels eight remaining Quad 1 games.
This month, in addition to the Jan. 14 game at Stanford, there are Quad 1 games against other teams that are also 1–1 in the ACC: on Jan. 17 at California (13–2; NET ranking of 58) and on Jan 23 at Virginia (12–2; NET ranking of 25). The Cavaliers jumped six spots after their 76–61 win Saturday at N.C. State (10–5, 1–1; 37).
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 3–2; 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 0–0; 5 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 4–0; 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
UNC has two Quad 2 games in January, starting with Saturday’s home game with Wake Forest (10–5, 1–1; 61). The other Quad 2 game is at home against Notre Dame (10–5, 1–1; 68) on Jan. 21. The lone Quad 3 game this month is the Jan. 31 matchup at Georgia Tech (10–5, 1–1; 148).
No. 6 Duke (13–1, 2–0) fell two spots to 7 in the NET after escaping at Florida State (7–8, 0–2; 114) with a 91–87 victory. No. 16 Louisville (11–2, 1–1) fell three spots to 14 after its 80–76 loss at Stanford on Friday.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Duke | 2–0 | 13–1 | 7 |
| Clemson | 2–0 | 12–3 | 34 |
| Miami | 1–0 | 12–2 | 37 |
| SMU | 1–0 | 12–2 | 23 |
| California | 1–1 | 13–2 | 58 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 1–1 | 13–2 | 18 |
| No. 21 Virginia | 1–1 | 12–2 | 24 |
| Stanford | 1–1 | 12–3 | 76 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 1–1 | 13–2 | 22 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–1 | 12–3 | 57 |
| No. 16 Louisville | 1–1 | 11–3 | 14 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–1 | 10–5 | 149 |
| N.C. State | 1–1 | 10–5 | 38 |
| Notre Dame | 1–1 | 10–5 | 68 |
| Wake Forest | 1–1 | 10–5 | 61 |
| Syracuse | 0–1 | 9–5 | 93 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 7–7 | 190 |
| Florida State | 0–2 | 7–8 | 113 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–2 | 7–8 | 112 |
* — Through Saturday games
Friday’s results
Stanford 80, No. 16 Louisville 76
California 72, Notre Dame 71
Saturday’s results
SMU 97, No. 12 North Carolina 83
No. 21 Virginia 76, N.C. State 61
Wake Forest 81, Virginia Tech 78
Clemson 73, Pittsburgh 68
Georgia Tech 65, Boston College 53
No. 6 Duke 91, Florida State 87
Tuesday’s 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
Wednesday’s games
Miami at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ESPNU
Stanford at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACC Network
California at No. 21 Virginia, 8 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 8 p.m., ESPNU
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 22
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 29 (2 days)
Average opponent NET: 147
Average NET win: 167
Average NET loss: 20
NET strength of schedule: 67
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 34
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 25
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Sunday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 220 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 18 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 260 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 348 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 209 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 104 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 16 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 31 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 135 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 251 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 124 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 43 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 308 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 114 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 24 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 61 | 2 | |
| J14 | At Stanford | 75 | 1 | |
| J17 | At California | 58 | 1 | |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 68 | 2 | |
| J24 | At Virginia | 25 | 1 | |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 148 | 3 | |
| F2 | Syracuse | 92 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 7 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 36 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 112 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 37 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 91 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 14 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 56 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 34 | 2 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 7 | 1 |
| 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 | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 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 courtesy of UNC Athletics
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