UNC Basketball surprisingly drops two spots in the latest AP Top 25 Poll

In college basketball, it pays to peak late in the season — in March, and hopefully April.

November play hardly holds any weight in crowning a college basketball champion. The favorites, sleepers, and Cinderellas will certainly shake up between now and March Madness. Nonetheless, it’s always fun monitoring the AP Poll, which can be a useful tool in giving a snapshot of a team’s performance.

In the most recent men’s college basketball AP Poll, released this afternoon, the Tar Heels came in at No. 12. The Tar Heels dropped two places, from No. 10 in the previous AP Poll.

Some North Carolina fans may be a little peeved at dropping two spots after beating a then undefeated Hawaii team by 18 points and covering the spread. It’s understandable to feel that UNC should’ve maintained its top-10 status. Especially considering the Tar Heels’ only loss came on the road at No. 1 Kansas by three points.

However, as mentioned, the Tar Heels are looking to play their best basketball in March, and the Week 4 AP Poll doesn’t count for anything.

There are three teams that jumped the Tar Heels from the Week 3 to Week 4 AP Poll: Tennessee, Marquette and Duke. It makes sense these three teams were rewarded for their wins more than UNC, simply because they all had ranked wins this past week.

Tennessee is 6-0 and beat Baylor by 15. Marquette is 6-0 and beat Purdue by 18. Duke is 4-1 and beat Arizona by 14. The only one of these teams that UNC could have stayed ranked higher than is Duke.

Duke’s win over a struggling Arizona squad shouldn’t hold a lot of weight. Arizona has not impressed at all this season, falling to 2-2, and losing two games in a row for the first time under Head Coach Tommy Lloyd. But, the Tar Heels are still looking for their first ranked win, and hopefully it comes during the Maui Invitational.

North Carolina will have a prime opportunity to rise in the rankings and pick up quality Quadrant 1 wins in the Maui Invitational tournament, starting today. The Maui bracket is loaded with talent. No. 2 UConn, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State and of course No. 12 UNC are all in this in-season tournament. The Tar Heels tip off versus Dayton tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET.