UNC falls in NET ranking after Kentucky loss, but has plenty of chances coming up to improve it

North Carolina’s trip to Atlanta didn’t help the Tar Heels’ NET ranking, but they’ll have plenty of chances to improve it in the next couple of weeks. No. 11 Carolina (7–3) has a NET ranking of 37, which is down five spots since Saturday’s 87–83 loss at the CBS Sports Classic to No. 9 Kentucky (NET ranking of 27), with all three losses in Quad 1 games.

Tar Heels fall in AP Top 25 men’s poll after second consecutive loss

Oklahoma will be ranked higher than North Carolina when the teams meet on Wednesday after the Sooners moved up four spots to No. 7 and the Tar Heels fell two spots to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday afternoon. The Sooners (10–0) and Tar Heels (7–3) meet at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center at 9 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN) in the final game of the four-game, two-day Jumpman Invitational.

UNC moves up in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after rolling to win

North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after coasting to a 96–36 win Friday over Western Carolina in the Tar Heels’ only game last week. The Tar Heels (7–4) face Oklahoma (6–3) on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center in the second Jumpman Invitational. The Sooners have lost three of their last four, and haven’t played since losing 92–76 at home to UNLV on Dec. 9.

Ustby’s parents built Triangle house when UNC career started, quickly embraced area

CHAPEL HILL — Alyssa Ustby’s conversation with her dad after committing to North Carolina is hard to imagine for a star who has been integral to the program’s resurgence. Todd Ustby, 61, told her that he and her mom, Lisa, planned to build a second house in the Triangle to avoid frequent trips from their Rochester, Minn., home during her college career and be closer to her. His daughter’s first reaction wasn’t positive.

Love’s 29 not enough against Purdue; Dunn’s career-high 17, Johnson’s 15 can’t push Penn State over Jackets

Three former Carolina players had big games in tough losses Saturday.
Caleb Love’s season-high 29 points, 20 in the second half, weren’t enough for No. 1 Arizona to overcome No. 3 Purdue. D’Marco Dunn scored a career-high 17 points and Puff Johnson had a season-high 15 points in a tough overtime loss with a controversial finish.