By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina slipped two spots to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 men’s poll, with Duke supplanting Michigan as the top-ranked team.
UNC (21–6, 9–5 ACC) rebounded from Tuesday’s 82–58 loss at N.C. State with Henri Veesaar’s return, winning at Syracuse 77–64 on Saturday. The Tar Heels are tied for sixth in the ACC with No. 24 Louisville (20–7, 9–5), which they host at 7 p.m. Monday. The Cardinals fell three spots after losing to SMU 95–85 but beating Georgia Tech 87–70.
It’s the second consecutive week that the Tar Heels have fallen in the poll after slipping five spots in the previous poll.
Duke (25–2, 13–1 ACC) won in Washington against Michigan (25–2, 15–1 Big Ten) on Saturday to take over at No. 1, swapping spots with Elliot Cadeau’s Big Ten-leading Wolverines, which is now No. 3. Arizona (25–2) jumped two spots to No. 2 after its 73–66 victory over Houston, which dropped three spots to No. 5.
The only other ranked ACC team is No. 11 Virginia (24–3, 12–2), which moved up three spots after beating Georgia Tech 94–68 and Miami 86–73.
Ian Jackson’s Big East-leading St. John’s team (22–5, 15–1 Big East) moved up two spots to No. 15 after beating Marquette 76–70 and Creighton 71–52 to extend its win streak to 13 ahead of Wednesday’s 7 p.m. showdown at No. 6 UConn (25–3, 15–2).
Vanderbilt (21–6, 8–6 SEC), with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington, fell six spots to No. 25 after losing 81–80 to Missouri and 69–65 to Tennessee.
Voting Carolina the highest at No. 14 were Brice Cherry of the Waco Tribune-Herald and Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle. Seven voters left the Tar Heels off their ballots.
Chris Lea of WRAL and John Johnson of WXII voted UNC No. 17, and WTVD’s Kate Rogerson had the Tar Heels No. 18.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previoius |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke (56) | 25–2 | 1,520 | 3 |
| 2 | Arizona (5) | 25–2 | 1,439 | 4 |
| 3 | Michigan | 25–2 | 1,433 | 1 |
| 4 | Iowa State | 23–4 | 1,272 | 6 |
| 5 | Houston | 23–4 | 1,251 | 2 |
| 6 | UConn | 25–3 | 1,211 | 5 |
| 7 | Florida | 21–6 | 1,112 | 12 |
| 8 | Purdue | 22–5 | 1,062 | 7 |
| 9 | Gonzaga | 27–2 | 1,039 | 11 |
| 10 | Illinois | 22–6 | 895 | 10 |
| 11 | Virginia | 24–3 | 884 | 14 |
| 12 | Nebraska | 23–4 | 858 | 9 |
| 13 | Michigan State | 22–5 | 856 | 15 |
| 14 | Kansas | 20–7 | 774 | 8 |
| 15 | St. John’s | 22–5 | 763 | 17 |
| 16 | Texas Tech | 20–7 | 592 | 13 |
| 17 | Alabama | 20–7 | 402 | 25 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 21–6 | 388 | 16 |
| 19 | BYU | 20–7 | 361 | 23 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 20–7 | 356 | 20 |
| 21 | Miami (OH) | 27–0 | 335 | 22 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 20–7 | 288 | NR |
| 23 | Saint Louis | 25–2 | 242 | 18 |
| 24 | Louisville | 20–7 | 186 | 21 |
| 25 | Vanderbilt | 21–6 | 171 | 19 |
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 47, Saint Mary’s 30, Villanova 15, Miami 10, Utah St. 8, N.C. State 7, SMU 4, Texas A&M 3, Iowa 3, UCF 3, High Point 2, Stephen F Austin 2, Navy 1.
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. 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. 11 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 | 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. 9 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. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
