It’s only the first week of December but unranked North Carolina now has the two best wins of any team in the nation.
And that may remain the case for several months.
“You could say the same thing at the end of February,” CBSSports.com bracketologist Jerry Palm told SNY.tv.
North Carolina won at No. 1 Michigan State, 79-65, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night, becoming the first unranked team to win at a No. 1 since the 2008-09 season.
The loss snapped a 35-game home winning-streak against unranked opponents for Michigan State.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams improved to 7-0 against Michigan State while at North Carolina and owns seven wins against top-ranked teams.
Just two weeks ago, the Tar Heels stunned defending NCAA champion and then-No. 3 Louisville on a neutral court in Uncasville, Conn behind Marcus Paige’s 32 points.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carolina is the first team since UCLA in 1986-7 to beat the AP No. 1 team and the defending NCAA champ in non-conference play during the regular season.
“They’re huge [wins], assuming those teams don’t completely fall apart,” Palm said when asked how big the wins were.
Of course, Carolina also has losses to Belmont and at UAB.
“[The wins] give you margin for error, which they’ve already used, although Belmont was a favorite in their league,” Palm said. [Belmont was actually picked second in the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference.]
“It gives you a cushion. Nobody expects Carolina to have trouble making the tournament so it helps your seeding.”
Palm was also impressed by Villanova’s win over then-No. 2 Kansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. The Wildcats went on to beat Iowa to win that title and are now 8-0 and ranked No. 14.
“If you’re a borderline team, it could be the difference between making it or not,” Palm said. “If you’re not a borderline team, it could help your seeding.”
Photo: North Carolina Athletics
