When a college basketball team loses three games before the New Year, chances are they’ll drop out of the rankings.
This is particularly the case when you lose to several unranked teams, as the thought is the ranked ones are amongst the country’s best. As we’ve seen plenty of times, however, rankings mean virtually nothing.
If you hadn’t guessed it already, UNC is the team we’re describing here.
The Tar Heels have won seven games, but lost three. Their most impressive win came against a ranked Tennessee team, but all three losses have came against ranked, Blue Blood opponents (UConn, Kentucky, no-longer-ranked Villanova). Carolina led in all of its losses and kept them close.
Ahead of its Wednesday night, Jumpman Invitational matchup against Oklahoma, UNC fell to 11th in the latest USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
Despite UConn and Kentucky being quality losses, Wednesday night is, essentially a must-win game for the Heels. Even with its current ranking, a third-consecutive loss might be considered enough to entirely drop Carolina.
Outside of UConn, the Sooners are UNC’s toughest test. They’re off to a 10-0 start, with their most impressive victory coming over a historically-strong USC (California) squad.
I expect Oklahoma to be the favorite, but Carolina has two things working in its advantage for Wednesday night: the game is in Charlotte, plus it’s the toughest opponent on Oklahoma’s schedule yet.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Purdue | 10-1 | 785 (20) | +3 |
| 2 | Kansas | 10-1 | 750 (3) | – |
| 3 | Houston | 11-0 | 732 (9) | – |
| 4 | Arizona | 8-1 | 707 | -3 |
| 5 | UConn | 10-1 | 704 | – |
| 6 | Marquette | 9-2 | 628 | +1 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 8-3 | 541 | +3 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 10-0 | 533 | +4 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 8-2 | 485 | +6 |
| 10 | Baylor | 9-1 | 431 | -4 |
| 11 | Illinois | 8-2 | 422 | +5 |
| 12 | Florida Atlantic | 9-2 | 403 | +2 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 7-3 | 371 | -4 |
| 14 | Creighton | 9-2 | 354 | -6 |
| 15 | BYU | 10-1 | 332 | +2 |
| 16 | Gonzaga | 8-3 | 307 | -3 |
| 17 | Colorado State | 10-1 | 264 | +1 |
| 18 | Clemson | 9-1 | 254 | -7 |
| 19 | Duke | 7-3 | 211 | – |
| 20 | Virginia | 9-1 | 184 | +1 |
| 21 | James Madison | 10-0 | 165 | -1 |
| 22 | Texas | 8-2 | 156 | – |
| 23 | Memphis | 8-2 | 146 | +8 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 8-3 | 141 | -1 |
| 25 | Ole Miss | 10-0 | 132 | – |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 24 Miami (FL)
Others Receiving Votes
Auburn 60; Miami (FL) 41; Colorado 36; TCU 26; Michigan State 18; Ohio State 17; Grand Canyon 13; Iowa State 12; Utah 7; Texas A&M 7; South Carolina 5; New Mexico 4; Nebraska 4; Princeton 3; Nevada 3; San Diego State 2; Alabama 2; Indiana State 1; Dayton 1
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