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College basketball rankings: UNC, No. 19 in Top 25 And 1, looks to rebound in showdown with No. 16 Indiana – CBS Sports
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The ACC/Big Ten Challenge gives us at least one more compelling high-profile matchup before the event suffers a death via television networks and ceases to exist: North Carolina at Indiana on Wednesday night at 9:15 p.m. ET. The get-in price on the secondary market is nearly $200 before fees, according to Stubhub.com.
“I know [my players are] excited about having an opportunity to compete against a really good Indiana team,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis. “[They’re] looking forward to the challenge.”
North Carolina enters this blue-blood showdown having lost its preseason No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll thanks to back-to-back losses to Iowa State and Alabama. The Tar Heels are now 5-2 with zero notable wins. It’s been a less-than-ideal start to the season, inarguably. Meantime, Indiana is 6-0 with a victory at Xavier serving as the highlight of its resume. That’s among the reasons the Hoosiers are 5-point favorites and thus expected to soon extend North Carolina’s losing streak to three games.
And yet I mostly remain unconcerned about UNC.
Am I surprised the Tar Heels are struggling again early? Honestly, yes. But it’s important to remember that this coach (Hubert Davis) and these players (Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, Leaky Black, RJ Davis) have already proven they can be great — evidence being last season’s trip to the national title game, which, contrary to what many have suggested, wasn’t merely the result of “a hot run through the NCAA Tournament.”
Truth is, the Tar Heels got really good several weeks before the NCAA Tournament even started. They went 6-1 in the seven games leading into Selection Sunday, then went 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament. That’s an 11-2 record over a seven-week period in which UNC performed like a top-three team in the sport, according to BartTorvik.com.
Will UNC get back to that level of play?
As always, we’ll see.
But it would be foolish, at this point, to assume the Tar Heels can’t or won’t again emerge as legitimate title contenders considering how they flipped a switch last February — and we still have two more months until February. So, I’m not comfortable ruling out anything quite yet. Call it a lesson learned from last season.
Anyway …
As for Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, I pushed Maryland up to No. 20 after the Terrapins destroyed Louisville 79-54 on Tuesday to improve to 7-0 with seven double-digit victories, and I moved Mississippi State into the rankings largely because the Bulldogs are undefeated with a neutral-court win over the Marquette team that blasted Baylor 96-70 on Tuesday. Simply put, it would be intellectually inconsistent to rank Marquette and Baylor without also ranking the Mississippi State team that’s 7-0 with a win over the Marquette team that just smashed Baylor.
So, Mississippi State is now No. 21, Marquette is now No. 22, and Baylor is now No. 23 — one spot ahead of the UCLA team it beat last week. All that movement — Maryland going up to No. 20 and Mississippi State and Marquette entering the Top 25 And 1 at No. 21 and No. 22, respectively — pushed UCLA, Auburn, San Diego State, Ohio State and Texas Tech down three spots each, no fault of their own. That means Ohio State and Texas Tech are now what amounts to No. 27 and No. 28 in the Top 25 And 1.
In: Mississippi State, Marquette
Out: Ohio State, Texas Tech
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