AP Polls Week 18: Carolina Concludes the Regular Season in the Top 5

 

(Photo Courtesy Grant Halverson/GettyImages)

By JEREMIAH ARTACHO 

Chapel Hill, N.C. --- North Carolina moves into the Top 5 ahead of their ACC Tournament battle later this week. With wins over both Notre Dame on senior night and Duke on the road to become the outright ACC regular-season champions, they end the AP rankings for this season at the very top. 
 
AP Poll Rankings Week 18, according to ESPN
 
1. Houston 
2. UConn
3. Purdue 
4. North Carolina
5. Tennessee
6. Arizona 
7. Iowa State 
8. Creighton 
9. Kentucky 
10. Marquette
11. Duke 
12. Auburn
13. Illinois 
14. Baylor 
15. South Carolina
16. Kansas
17. Gonzaga 
18. Utah State 
19. Alabama
20. BYU
21. Saint Mary's 
22. Washington State 
23. Nevada
24.Dayton 
25. Texas Tech 
 
The last time the Tar Heels were ranked #4 was during Week 10, after beating NC State (17-14, 9-11 conference) at PNC Arena and completing a blowout against Syracuse (20-11, 11-9 conference) at the Dean Smith Center prior. 
 
Carolina had a massive win against Notre Dame, Cormac Ryan's former squad, where by the end of the first half it was already out of the Irish's reach. The Heels controlled and dominated from the beginning, as the biggest lead they held during the first 20 minutes was 17 points. For the last half of senior night, the Heels were able to gather a 38-point lead around the 3:14 mark following Armando Bacot's final bucket in the Dean Dome, a three-pointer. North Carolina's scoring total broke down into 33 points off three-pointers, 42 two-pointers, and nine from the free throw line. 
 
Just two days ago, Coach Davis' and his squad were able to take over an arena filled with Cameron Crazies. A flaming-hot Cormac Ryan during the first half with three buckets from beyond the arc set the tone offensively for North Carolina. Harrison Ingram had a strong dose of inside scoring for the Heels as he muscled his way to the rim. Jae'Lyn Withers and Seth Trimble provided much-needed help off the bench, combining for 12 points and 12 rebounds. It was an overall team effort to land the ACC regular-season championship trophy in the hands of the third-year coach at his alma mater on a night where RJ Davis and Armando Bacot only had 9 points a piece. 

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