Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ position in first NET rankings of season?

By Blake Cockrum

Feb 20, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) celebrates with guard R.J. Davis (4) after scoring in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) celebrates with guard R.J. Davis (4) after scoring in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Where does the UNC basketball program rank in this season’s first edition of NET rankings?

The first NET rankings of the 2021-22 college basketball season were released on Monday morning, and the North Carolina Tar Heels are 26th among the nation’s 358 Division I programs.

That’s a good sign for the Tar Heels, who are currently riding a three-game win streak and looking to build on their budding resume with a handful of non-conference games prior to the bulk of their Atlantic Coast Conference slate.

Related Story. Tar Heels planning trip to Hawaii?. light

Home games against Elon and Appalacian State may not help much, but a matchup with the Furman Paladins might. The Paladins currently sit at 6-2 on the season and have a road win over the Louisville Cardinals under their belt. And of course, the Tar Heels’ upcoming game against No. 4 UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic could go a long way toward NCAA Tournament seeding when March rolls around.

Although the ACC has hit a rough patch over the past few years, there are still quality wins to be had within the conference portion of the Tar Heels’ schedule. Namely, a pair of games against Duke, and just about any ACC road victory will give luster to North Carolina’s 2021-22 campaign. And even though they are all home games, wins against the Virginia Cavaliers, Syracuse Orange and Florida State Seminoles can’t hurt either.

ACC programs not named North Carolina that currently rank within the top 50 of the NET rankings include Duke at No. 10, Wake Forest at No. 31 and Virginia Tech at No. 40.

The NET rankings, or NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings, replaced the highly-fallible RPI system that was used in college basketball prior to the 2018-19 season. While RPI’s metrics were essentially all tied to winning percentage, NET takes into account a number of other factors including game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. It is now the NCAA’s primary sorting tool for evaluating teams.

Next. UNC isn't ranked, and I couldn't care less. dark

For all the latest on the UNC basketball program, check back with Keeping It Heel.

Home/UNC Basketball