North Carolina Continues Climb, Reaches No. 11 In This Week’s AP Poll

Following back-to-back wins over Syracuse and No. 4 Duke, and riding a five-game winning streak, North Carolina climbed to No. 11 in this week’s AP Top 25, released Monday.

The Tar Heels built a 32-point lead Monday night before a 37-11 Syracuse run made things uncomfortably close, trimming the Tar Heels’ lead to six in the final minute before UNC held on to win 87-77.

Then on Saturday night, Seth Trimble’s right-corner 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining lifted UNC past Duke in the rivalry’s latest instant classic. The Tar Heels erased a 12-point halftime deficit to hand the Blue Devils their first ACC loss of the season, closing on a 9–0 run over the final three minutes for their fifth Quad 1 win and fourth victory over a ranked opponent.

North Carolina ranks second out of five ACC teams in this week’s poll, behind No. 4 Duke, and ahead of No. 15 Virginia, No. 20 Clemson, and No. 24 Louisville.

The Tar Heels will be in South Florida Tuesday night at 7 p.m. for a midweek matchup with Miami (18-5, 7-3 ACC), before hosting Pitt (9-15, 2-9 ACC) Saturday afternoon in the Smith Center at 2 p.m.

This Week’s AP Top 25 Poll

1. Arizona
2. Michigan
3. Houston
4. Duke
5. Iowa State
6. UConn
7. Nebraska
8. Illinois
9. Kansas
10. Michigan State
11. North Carolina
12. Gonzaga
13. Purdue
14. Florida
15. Virginia
16. Texas Tech
17. St. John’s
18. Saint Louis
19. Vanderbilt
20. Clemson
21. Arkansas
22. BYU
23. Miami (OH)
24. Louisville
25. Kentucky

Others Receiving Votes: Alabama 72, Iowa 69, NC State 31, Tennessee 26, Villanova 17, Utah St. 15, Georgia 6, Santa Clara 2, Auburn 2, Saint Mary’s 1