North Carolina entered this season with understandable hype after returning four starters from a team that played in the title game of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Just about everybody was high on the Tar Heels, myself included. Over time, they might prove to be the great team the roster suggests they're capable of being. But the truth is that they've looked less-than-sharp in every game they've played this season — and that reality finally got them beat Friday.
Final score: Iowa State 70, UNC 65.
The Tar Heels had previously overcome deficits to beat UNC Wilmington, Charleston, Gardner-Webb and Portland. But they could not come from behind against Iowa State, which is off to a surprisingly great start for the second straight season under second-year coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Caleb Grill was the star against UNC.
He's a fabulous story.
Grill signed with South Dakota State out of high school when Otzelberger was coaching the Jackrabbits — but reopened his recruitment after Otzelberger left SDSU to be UNLV's coach in March 2019. Grill eventually enrolled at Iowa State. After one season in the Big 12, the 6-foot-3 guard transferred to UNLV to play for Otzelberger, then followed his coach back to Iowa State when Otzelberger replaced Steve Prohm following the 2020-21 season. Grill averaged 6.4 points in 24.1 minutes per game last season while helping the Cyclones make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, the Kansas native had the game of his life, scoring a career-high 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting to give the Cyclones a signature victory and 5-0 start for the second straight year.
"I'm actually really enjoying sitting next to him … just thinking about how long we've known each other and how cool this really was," Otzelberger said at the postgame press conference with Grill by his side. Added Grill: "Just having him be the first person that really had belief in me, it's just really special what he's done for me and my family."
Thanks to the big win that highlights a terrific start, Iowa State is No. 19 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. North Carolina is now No. 20. Yes, I know that's a big drop — from No. 2 to No. 20. But as I've explained many times, I don't tend to punish teams in these rankings for winning unimpressively as much as I just wait for them to lose and then adjust accordingly. Inarguably, North Carolina has looked more like No. 20 than No. 2 all season -- and now the Tar Heels have a resume of zero top-75 KenPom wins and a loss to previously unranked Iowa State. So somewhere in the 20s is probably where UNC belongs right now.
Another reminder: Please don't get caught up on how many spots a team moves up or down after a win or loss this early in the season because I genuinely don't think in those terms. I simply try to make the order make sense relative to a mix of preseason expectations and the actual results of games with little regard for how high or low teams rise or fall each morning. And it's also worth noting that after a wild day like Friday, when schools like Purdue, Connecticut, Tennessee and Iowa State make big jumps thanks to quality victories, some schools below them will be pushed down a spot or two (or three or four) even after wins. It's just a math thing and shouldn't be difficult to understand (even if my Twitter replies often suggest otherwise).
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and four assists in Monday's 73-48 win over Northern Arizona. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against UT Rio Grande Valley. | -- | 10-2 |
| 2 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 16 points and three steals in Sunday's 66-56 win at Oregon. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Kent State. | 1 | 7-3 |
| 3 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 81-79 win over Creighton. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Utah. | 3 | 5-5 |
| 4 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Friday's 72-45 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday at Michigan. | 3 | 6-5 |
| 5 |  | Creighton allowed Arizona to shoot 52.9% from the field in Wednesday's 81-79 loss to the Wildcats. The Bluejays' next game is Thursday at Texas. | 3 | 7-5 |
| 6 |  | Trevon Brazile finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 78-74 overtime with over San Diego State. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Troy. | 3 | 9-2 |
| 7 |  | Zach Edey finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 84-66 wn over Gonzaga. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Duke. | 14 | 8-3 |
| 8 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Friday's 82-67 win over Alabama. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Iowa State. | 14 | 9-3 |
| 9 |  | Gonzaga missed 19 of the 28 3-pointers it attempted in Friday's 84-66 loss to Purdue. The Zags' next game is Sunday against Xavier. | 4 | 8-3 |
| 10 |  | Alabama finished with 21 turnovers and 10 assists in Friday's 82-67 loss to UConn. The Crimson Tide's next game is Sunday against North Carolina. | -- | 9-2 |
| 11 |  | Tyson Walker finished with 18 points and eight assists in Friday's 74-70 win over Oregon. The Spartans' next game is Sunday against Portland. | -- | 9-2 |
| 12 |  | Jacob Toppin finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 96-56 win over North Florida. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Bellarmine. | -- | 10-1 |
| 13 |  | Skyy Clark finished with 19 points and four assists in Friday's 92-59 win over Lindenwood. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Syracuse. | -- | 7-3 |
| 14 |  | Santiago Vescovi finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Friday's 64-50 win over Kansas. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against McNeese State. | 5 | 11-0 |
| 15 |  | Kansas finished with 16 turnovers and 11 assists in Friday's 64-50 loss to Tennessee. The Jayhawks' next game is Monday against Texas Southern. | 11 | 8-2 |
| 16 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 21 points and five assists in Friday's 71-64 win over Xavier. The Blue Devils' next game is Sunday against Purdue. | 2 | 9-2 |
| 17 |  | Tamar Bates finished with 22 points and four assists in Friday's 90-51 win over Jackson State. The Hoosiers' next game is Wednesday against North Carolina. | 2 | 8-3 |
| 18 |  | Keyonte George finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 89-60 win over McNeese. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Marquette. | 2 | 7-3 |
| 19 |  | Caleb Grill finished with 31 points and two rebounds in Friday's 70-65 win over North Carolina. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against UConn. | NR | 9-1 |
| 20 |  | North Carolina missed 15 of the 18 3-pointers it attempted in Friday's 70-65 loss to Iowa State. The Tar Heels' next game is Sunday against Alabama. | 18 | 6-5 |
| 21 |  | Amari Bailey finished with 19 points and five assists in Wednesday's 100-53 win over Pepperdine. The Bruins' next game is Sunday against Bellarmine. | 4 | 10-1 |
| 22 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 11 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 43-42 win over Northwestern. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Saint Louis. | 4 | 10-1 |
| 23 |  | San Diego State squandered a 13-point lead in Wednesday's 78-74 overtime loss to Arkansas. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | 3 | 7-2 |
| 24 |  | Patrick McCaffery finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Friday's 74-71 win over Clemson. The Hawkeyes' next game is Saturday against TCU. | 1 | 8-3 |
| 25 |  | Julian Reese finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 95-79 win over Coppin State. The Terrapins' next game is Tuesday at Louisville. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 26 |  | Justice Sueing finished with 33 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 80-73 win over Texas Tech. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday at Duke. | 1 | 7-4 |
