UNC Basketball: Tar Heels climb latest NET rankings

With their NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance following a double-digit loss to Marquette at home on Wednesday, the UNC Basketball program needed to turn things around in a hurry. And the task ahead of them wasn’t easy.

UNC welcomed in No. 11 Florida State, the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, on Saturday afternoon and fell behind by as much as 16 in the first half. But in the second half, they turned it around and dominated the Seminoles, outscoring them by 20 to earn the victory.

The win was the second Quad 1 win for the Tar Heels this season, putting them at 2-6 in Quad 1 chances. It also helped them move up in the newest NCAA Net Rankings that were updated on Sunday morning.

While UNC moved up, it wasn’t by much. They climbed one spot from No. 43 to No. 42. That’s mainly because they suffered that bad loss to Marquette just a few days ago. Still, this win will help the Tar Heels in terms of seeding and improved their tournament odds big time.

With two games left, on the road at Syracuse and home vs. Duke, the Tar Heels need to finish strong. They currently sit projected in the NCAA Tournament field but if they lose both and then have a short stay in the ACC Tournament, they could head right to a place they don’t want to be on Selection Sunday — the bubble.

UNC does have at least one more Quad 1 games left as Syracuse is currently ranked No. 55 and a road win over a Top 75 team gives them a victory in that category. They could also have another in the ACC Tournament depending on the seeding.

For more on the UNC Basketball program as the regular season winds down, please check back with Keeping It Heel.