UNC falls in AP Top 25 men’s poll after first setback against unranked team

R.L. Bynum

By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina slipped five spots to No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after Saturday’s 97–83 loss at SMU, the Tar Heels’ first setback against an unranked team.

The Mustangs (12–2, 1–0 ACC) debuted in the poll, though, at No. 24.

UNC (13–2, 1–1), one of eight teams in the previous poll on Dec. 22 to lose, doesn’t have a mid-week game ahead of Saturday’s 6 p.m. home game against Wake Forest (10–5, 1–1).

Six of the teams in the previous poll to lose were ranked lower than the Tar Heels:
— Louisville (11–3, 1–1) fell four spots to No. 20 after splitting its two-game California trip, losing to Stanford 80–76 and beating California 90–70.
— Kansas (10–4) dropped five spots to No. 22 after an 81–75 loss to UCF.
— Tennessee (10–4) fell two spots to No. 21 after an 86–75 loss to Arkansas (11–3), which moved up three spots to No. 15.
— Virginia (12–2, 1–1) slipped two spots to No. 23 after beating N.C. State 76–71 but losing at Virginia Tech 95–85 in triple overtime
— Florida (9–5) dropped out of the poll after a 76–74 loss to Missouri
— USC (12–2) fell from No. 24 to out of the poll after a 96–66 loss to Michigan.

The Tar Heel Tribune Facebook group moved to a new location. Follow the page at this link so that you don’t miss any UNC sports coverage.

Michigan State (12–2) was the only other team in the previous poll to lose. The Spartans fell three spots to No. 12 after a 58–56 loss to Nebraska, which jumped three spots to No. 10.

Duke (13–1, 2–0) remained at No. 6.

Elliot Cadeau’s 13–0 Wolverines remained at No. 2 and Vanderbilt, with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington remained at No. 11.

Ranking UNC the highest at No. 11 is Sam Rothman of WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tenn. Two voters, Victor Flores of the Billings Gazette in Montana and Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle, left the Tar Heels off their ballots.

Chris Lea of WRAL and John Johnson of WXII voted UNC No. 15, Kate Rogerson of WTVD has the Heels No. 16.

Fifteen voters have UNC No. 17.

AP Top 25

RankSchool (1st-place votes)RecordPoll
points		Previous
1Arizona (32)14–01,4941
2Michigan (29)13–01,4932
3Iowa State14–01,3903
4UConn14–11,3434
5Purdue13–11,2545
6Duke13–11,2066
7Houston13–11,1138
8Gonzaga16–11,1017
9BYU13–11,03910
10Nebraska14–099813
11Vanderbilt14–093611
12Michigan State12–28349
13Alabama11–378214
14Texas Tech11–367615
15Arkansas11–365918
16Illinois11–360220
17North Carolina13–255712
18Georgia13–137823
19Iowa12–234025
20Louisville11–333616
21Tennessee10–427719
22Kansas10–420817
23Virginia12–218321
24SMU12–2142NR
25UCF12–1132NR
Others receiving votes: Villanova 127, Seton Hall 31, Southern Cal 28, Utah St. 27, Miami (Ohio) 22, Clemson 21, Saint Louis 14, LSU 14, Texas 12, Florida 11, Saint Mary’s 10, Kentucky 9, California 8, Miami 5, Indiana 4, Auburn 3, TCU 2, UCLA 2, Virginia Tech 2.
TeamLeagueOverallNET*
No. 6 Duke2–013–17
Clemson2–012–334
Miami1–012–236
No. 24 SMU1–012–224
California1–113–258
No. 17 North Carolina1–113–218
No. 23 Virginia1–112–225
Stanford1–112–375
Virginia Tech1–112–356
No. 20 Louisville1–111–314
Georgia Tech1–110–5148
N.C. State1–110–537
Notre Dame1–110–568
Wake Forest1–110–561
Syracuse0–19–591
Boston College0–17–7187
Florida State0–27–8113
Pittsburgh0–27–8114

* — Through Sunday games
Friday’s results
Stanford 80, No. 20 Louisville 76
California 72, Notre Dame 71
Saturday’s results
SMU 97, No. 17 North Carolina 83
No. 23 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. 20 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. 23 Virginia, 8 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 8 p.m., ESPNU

DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)		TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 9 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 22 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 12 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22MondayW, 99–51vs. East Carolina12–1
30TuesdayW, 79–66vs. Florida State13–1,
1–0 ACC
January
3SaturdayL, 97–83at No. 24 SMU13–2, 1–1
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 p.m.at No. 23 VirginiaESPN
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 6 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 20 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 6 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament		Spectrum Center,
Charlotte

Photo via smumustangs.com

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Published by R.L. Bynum

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