The North Carolina Tar Heels had just one game this past week, taking care of business on Saturday by beating Georgia Tech on the road. That extended the win streak to three games as they enter a very important week.
North Carolina will have a quick turnaround as they face off against Syracuse on Monday night and then host the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. With both games at home, the Tar Heels need to take advantage and get two big wins.
When they do take the court on Monday, they will do so as the No. 18 team in the country.
North Carolina stayed put at No. 18 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll that was released on Monday afternoon. With just the one game, the Tar Heels weren’t able to move up but they have a big opportunity to do so this week.
Duke checked in at No. 4 as the top 4 didn’t change at all.
Below is the full top 25:
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | 22-0 | 775 | 31 | 1 | – | 1/13 |
| 2 | Michigan | 20-1 | 728 | 0 | 2 | – | 1/7 |
| 3 | UConn | 21-1 | 715 | 0 | 3 | – | 3/7 |
| 4 | Duke | 20-1 | 692 | 0 | 4 | – | 3/6 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 22-1 | 625 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5/20 |
| 6 | Illinois | 19-3 | 599 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6/19 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 20-2 | 588 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 2/18 |
| 8 | Houston | 19-2 | 586 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2/8 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 20-2 | 502 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5/NR |
| 10 | Michigan State | 19-3 | 486 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 8/21 |
| 11 | Kansas | 16-5 | 448 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 11/NR |
| 12 | Purdue | 18-4 | 387 | 0 | 12 | – | 1/12 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 16-5 | 365 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 11/20 |
| 14 | BYU | 17-4 | 315 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 7/14 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 19-3 | 311 | 0 | 15 | – | 8/NR |
| 16 | Florida | 16-6 | 306 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 3/NR |
| 17 | Virginia | 18-3 | 303 | 0 | 17 | – | 15/NR |
| 18 | North Carolina | 17-4 | 280 | 0 | 18 | – | 12/25 |
| 19 | Clemson | 18-4 | 217 | 0 | 19 | – | 18/NR |
| 20 | Saint Louis | 21-1 | 197 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 20/NR |
| 21 | Arkansas | 16-6 | 154 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 14/23 |
| 22 | St. John’s | 16-5 | 132 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 6/NR |
| 23 | Louisville | 15-6 | 72 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 5/23 |
| 24 | Miami (OH) | 22-0 | 68 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 24/NR |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 17-4 | 61 | 0 | NR | 4 | 25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Alabama; No. 25 Iowa;
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 52; Tennessee 50; UCF 15; Alabama 15; Villanova 13; Kentucky 9; North Carolina State 4; Utah State 2; Georgia 2; Saint Mary’s 1;
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Tar Heels stay put in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll