UNC Moves Into the Top Spot

UNC, so impressive in blowing out Florida State on Sunday night, is the new No. 1 in the latest Associated Press college basketball poll out this week.

The Tar Heels at 14-1 have won 11 straight, and they’re not beating teams, they’re pulverizing them. UNC received 64 of the 72 first place votes cast.

Roy Williams says being No. 1 now means nothing except that they are playing well at this juncture. And he’s right about that. It’s, of course, where you finish that counts, but Carolina’s depth is mind-boggling, and they can keep the pressure on for 40 minutes. They just wore Florida State down, and they’ll do that to most teams.

Choosing to run with Carolina is like trying to outquick a cobra -- demise will come quickly.

There’s no question that UNC is the class of the ACC. The rest of the league, this early, is not so clear cut.

I’m very interested to see how Carolina will handle the road. They haven’t faced very much adversity and some should come in the weeks ahead. But in basketball, talent can overcome just about anything, and the Tar Heels have a lot of that. Still, there’s never a guarantee, and I’m still not certain that Williams can play so many people in close games. We’ll see.

Only three ACC teams are in the top 25. Duke has fallen to 11th and Clemson the only undefeated team left in the country is 17th, but with a lot of doubters. The Tigers come to State on Tuesday. If State manages to win, then it will look like same old Clemson. This game should be watched with interest.

By the way, the Pac Ten, the SEC, the Big East and the Big 12 all have four teams in the top 25. The Big Ten has two, but both of those, Wisconsin and Ohio State, are in the top five.

The ACC had just four teams in the NCAA tournament last season. I would think they’d get more in this season, but that’s not a given. Only Carolina in this ACC appears to be a powerhouse.

Opportunity is there for any team that can put it together. The way I see it, the fight is for second place.