By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina fell six spots to No. 22 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll after the Tar Heels’ 77–71 home overtime loss Sunday to Stanford.
It was the first loss to an unranked team this season for the Tar Heels (13–4, 2–2 ACC), who were 13–0 in such games after Thursday’s 71–55 home win over California.
It’s UNC’s lowest rank of the season, with the previous low No. 18 in the Dec. 15 poll. Carolina earned the fewest poll points since they received votes in only the last six polls of the 2023–24 season.
UNC is one of nine teams in the previous poll on Dec. 22 to lose, including two that lost twice — LSU (14–2, which dropped seven spots to No. 12 after falling 80–78 to Kentucky and 65–61 to Vanderbilt) and Notre Dame (10–4, 2–2, which fell out of the poll after losing 95–90 to Georgia Tech in overtime and 92–68 at Duke).
Louisville (14–3), one of four teams atop the ACC at 4–0, remained the highest-ranked ACC team at No. 10 (up three spots) after beating SMU 91–59 and Virginia Tech 85–60.
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AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn (28) | 15–0 | 796 | 1 |
| 2 | Texas (4) | 17–0 | 772 | 2 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 15–1 | 725 | 3 |
| 4 | UCLA | 14–1 | 715 | 4 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 14–1 | 654 | T8 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 15–1 | 625 | 11 |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 15–0 | 621 | 12 |
| 8 | Maryland | 15–1 | 537 | 7 |
| 9 | Michigan | 11–2 | 517 | 6 |
| 10 | Louisville | 14–3 | 485 | 13 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 14–1 | 462 | 10 |
| 12 | LSU | 14–2 | 456 | 5 |
| 13 | TCU | 14–1 | 454 | T8 |
| 14 | Iowa | 12–2 | 403 | 14 |
| 15 | Michigan State | 14–1 | 280 | 24 |
| 16 | Baylor | 13–3 | 278 | 22 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 16–0 | 263 | 21 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 14–3 | 243 | 15 |
| 19 | Ohio State | 13–2 | 237 | 19 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 10–3 | 162 | 23 |
| 21 | Southern Cal | 10–4 | 150 | 17 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 13–4 | 129 | 16 |
| 23 | Washington | 12–2 | 117 | NR |
| 24 | Princeton | 13–1 | 91 | 25 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 13–2 | 65 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Illinois 58, Notre Dame 27, Stanford 25, N.C. State 22, Alabama 13, West Virginia 9, Georgia 5, Duke 3, Oklahoma St. 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first place votes.
UNC schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Maryland | B1G+ |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | 2:30 ET | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 12 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 9 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 19 Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
