Tuesday, November 23, 2010

North Carolina Falls Hard in AP Top 25 Poll, Duke Retains No. 1

North Carolina fell twice over the weekend. The Tar Heels fell even further in the Associated Press Top 25 Monday.

The Tar Heels fell all the way to 25th from eighth a week ago, after losing twice in Puerto Rico. Butler, who was ranked 16th but lost to Louisville in the opener of the Cardinals' new KFC Yum! Center, fell out as did Virginia Tech.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels' Tobacco Road rival Duke retained the No. 1 slot it has now occupied each of the first three weeks. The Blue Devils held steady with 58 first-place votes among the 65 ballots. Michigan State remained in second, but picked up only six first place votes. Kansas State picked up the seventh.



Mnnesota, which moved to 5-0 after beating North Carolina and West Virginia for the Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic, debuted in the poll at No. 15, as did Texas, which upset Illinois and took Pitt to the wire in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Ohio State, which dominated then ninth-ranked Florida Tuesday, jumped a spot to third, followed by Kansas State and Pitt.

Kansas, which learned star freshman Josh Selby would be eligible in December, traded places with Villanova into sixth, while Kentucky, which one in two easy blowouts, moved to eighth. Syracuse, despite generally poor showings, rose a spot to ninth, followed by Purdue.

Missouri, Baylor Washington, Memphis and Minnesota occupied the next five slots followed by Florida, Georgetown, Illinois San Diego State and Texas. Temple, Gonzaga, Brigham Young, Tennessee and North Carolina rounded out the poll.

The big story, and the big drop, belonged to the Tar Heels.

It was a long weekend in Puerto Rico for North Carolina. The Tar Heels opened with a rout of Hofstra, but fell to Minnesota Friday night and lost to Vanderbilt Sunday in the third-place game. Freshman Harrison Barnes scored 19 in the first half of the opener, but like his Tar Heel teammates, struggled afterward. The first freshman to make preseason All-America in nearly a quarter century missed all 12 of his field goal attempts Friday and hit just 4-11 in the consolation loss Sunday.

The Tar Heels dropped out of the rankings last season Jan. 25 and did not reappear.

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