UNC, Duke basketball set for rare unranked meeting
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When the Duke basketball squad hosts UNC at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN) in this season's first installment of the storied rivalry, neither will have a ranking by its name for only the third time this century. The two previous meetings with neither being ranked were in the 2020-21 season.
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The Tar Heels (15-6, 7-3 ACC), who began this season at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 but struggled early and have been ranked only once in the past nine weeks, now effectively sit at No. 30 with 47 votes (the fifth-highest total among "others receiving votes"). They've won four straight games.
As for the Blue Devils (15-6, 6-4 ACC), who began the season at No. 7 but are now unranked for the third straight week, they were the leading vote-getter among unranked teams last week. Duke received only 24 votes this week, down from last week's 102, effectively putting Jon Scheyer's first team at No. 34.
Despite doubling up Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday, 86-43, Duke lost any chance of reentering the poll this week by posting Monday night's 78-75 road loss to a Virginia Tech team that was 1-7 in ACC play entering the game.
Three ACC teams, the same ones from last week, are in this week's AP Top 25: Virginia (16-3, 8-2 ACC) at No. 6, Clemson (18-4, 10-1 ACC) at No. 20, and Miami (16-5, 7-4 ACC) at No. 23.
Before the bout with UNC, Duke basketball hosts Wake Forest at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN). The Demon Deacons tallied an 81-70 win over the Blue Devils in Winston-Salem on Dec. 21 but are now riding a three-game losing streak.
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Meanwhile, UNC has a home game against Pitt at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday (ACCN).
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