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UNC Basketball: Tar Heel women finally recognized in Coaches Poll

By Blake Cockrum

Jan 19, 2021; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart watches the game against the Syracuse Orange in the second quarter at Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2021; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart watches the game against the Syracuse Orange in the second quarter at Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UNC women’s basketball program is finally ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams according to the USA Today Coaches Poll.

It took a little over a month, eight wins, and a margin of victory north of 33 points per game, but the North Carolina women’s basketball program is finally ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams, at least according to the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Associated Press voters still don’t think so, and they can kick rocks. December rankings honestly don’t make a dang bit of difference anyway, and being the perpetual underdog certainly has its advantages. It does make me wonder, though, what it will take for the Tar Heels to earn a top 25 ranking in their minds beyond what they’ve already done to begin the season. After all, they’ve won all of their games — seven of them by double-digits — and worked their way into the nation’s second-highest NET ranking in the process.

But as far as the coaches poll is concerned, the Tar Heels join this week’s list at No. 24. They received 88 points from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, 55 more than the November 30 poll. That puts them five spots higher than a week ago when their 33 votes were good for 29th-most overall.

Courtney Banghart’s squad has been really good to start the season, winning the Goombay Splash Tournament in Bimini, Bahamas, and beating the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis as part of the Big 10/ACC Challenge. They’ve also won five of their eight games away from Carmichael Arena and racked up an 81.8 point-per-game average. There’s no doubt in my mind that they deserve their top 25 ranking based on their body of work to this point, but they’ll have a bunch of opportunities to prove it during their difficult Atlantic Coast Conference schedule.

Latest Bracketology projections for Tar Heels. dark. Next

The Tar Heels will take the court next in a home game against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Sunday. Check back with Keeping It Heel for coverage of that game, and everything on the UNC women’s basketball program.

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