North Carolina stumbles in latest AP Poll as ACC race tightens

North Carolina is still a top-10 team in the latest AP Poll, but the Tar Heels did slide multiple spots in Monday’s updated AP Top 25. A potential shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is also slipping away after some recent setbacks.

UConn continues to lead the country as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll while dominating the first-place votes with 45. Purdue is No. 2 in the country while North Carolina leads the ACC at No. 7 overall. Duke (No. 9) is the only other ACC program in the top 20 while Virginia checks in at No. 21 overall.

North Carolina did start off last week with a home loss to Clemson but the Tar Heels did respond with a road win against Miami. The Tar Heels are now 2-2 in their past 4 games with losses to unranked Georgia Tech and Clemson to go with wins over Duke and Miami.

In Joe Lunardi’s weekend update of his bracketology

, UNC was slotted in as a 2-seed and the No. 5 team in the NCAA Tournament. That means there is still a shot at a No. 1 seed in March Madness, but a recent trend of inconsistent results will need to change.

In the more immediate picture, North Carolina’s lead in the ACC standings is down to 1 game over Virginia and 1.5 games over Duke. There are 7 games left to go in the regular season, and the Tar Heels must face the Cavaliers and the Blue Devils on the road to finish out the year.