Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels climbing Associated Press Top 25

By Blake Cockrum

Dec 19, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Leaky Black (1) drives to the basket against Kentucky Wildcats guard Brandon Boston Jr. (3) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 19, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Leaky Black (1) drives to the basket against Kentucky Wildcats guard Brandon Boston Jr. (3) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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UNC basketball program rises five spots in latest Associated Press Top 25 poll

The North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the CBS Sports Classic in their only game last week, and have risen five spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll that was released on Monday morning. The Tar Heels, now 5-2 on the season, are ranked No. 17 after their 75-63 victory over the struggling 1-5 Wildcats.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs resumed play after a two-week hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but strengthened their case for the poll’s No. 1 spot after a double-digit victory over the formerly No. 3-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The Zags received 61 of 64 first-place votes for the top spot. No. 2 Baylor received the other three No. 1 votes, coming in ahead of conference foe Kansas at No. 3. The Jayhawks are followed by Iowa, which fell to fourth, and Villanova at No. 5.

Undefeated Houston is a No. 6, and the one-loss West Virginia Mountaineers are ranked seventh. Tennessee, Wisconsin and Texas round out this week’s top 10. Rutgers is at No. 11, Michigan State is at No. 12 and Creighton is 13th. The surprising Missouri Tigers are up to 14th in the poll, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are 15th. The Virginia Cavaliers are one spot ahead of the Tar Heels at No. 16, while Illinois, Michigan and Duke are ranked 18th through 20th. Florida State, Xavier, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Oregon are 21st through 25th, respectively.

The Atlantic Coast Conference currently has five ranked teams, with the 3-1 Virginia Cavaliers being the highest. Tony Bennett’s group has a tough test against No. 1 Gonzaga set for December 26. The Tar Heels have a road game against NC State scheduled for Tuesday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

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