College basketball rankings: North Carolina enters Top 25 And 1 after season-changing win over UCLA

NEW YORK — The CBS Sports Classic is a doubleheader held every December with rotating matchups between four of college athletics’ biggest brands. This year, the matchups were UCLA-North Carolina and Kentucky-Ohio State. Surprisingly, the underdogs won both games and — as Matt Norlander explained in a column filed from here inside Madison Square Garden — revived two seasons that were going the wrong directions until the Tar Heels and Buckeyes recorded massive victories.

I didn’t really see either coming.

In hindsight, though, there’s nothing crazy about North Carolina “upsetting” UCLA. UNC entered with a 6-5 record, sure, but a 6-5 record with all five losses coming to teams in the top 24 of the NET, as I explained in a column filed from MSG. Simply put, the Tar Heels have never been as bad as their record suggested, which is among the reasons they’ve reentered Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings at No. 26.

The more-surprising result was OSU over UK by 20.

Who saw that coming?

The same Ohio State team that lost to Auburn by 38 a week earlier turned around and beat Kentucky from start to finish, which is why I’ll understand if AP voters decide to flip Bruce Pearl’s Tigers into the top spot on their ballots this week. But me? I’m keeping undefeated Tennessee No. 1. UT’s résumé features the home wins you’d expect, neutral-court wins over Baylor, Virginia and Miami, true road wins at Illinois and Louisville — and, again, a zero in the loss column. No, the Vols can’t match Auburn win-for-win. But they do still have that zero in the loss column despite playing multiple Quadrant 1 games on the road, and that’s enough for me to give UT the edge for now.

So when might Tennessee lose?

Barring a surprise, not in 2024. The Vols have won their first 11 games by an average of 25.2 points, and the only things left on their nonconference schedule are home games against Middle Tennessee and Norfolk State. Considering they’ll be favored by 20-plus points in both, they’ll (almost certainly) be 13-0 heading into their SEC opener against Arkansas (Jan. 4), meaning they should be 14-0 heading into their first SEC road game at Florida (Jan. 7).

That’s where things could get tricky for Tennessee — at the beginning of a six-game stretch that includes road games at Florida (Jan. 7), at Texas (Jan. 11) and at Auburn (Jan. 25). But, for now, Rick Barnes’ Vols remain undefeated and No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 for the 18th consecutive morning and counting.