UNC Basketball: Tar Heels crack top 20 in preseason AP Poll

The start of the college basketball season is rapidly approaching and so will the newest era for the UNC Basketball program in November under Hubert Davis. The head coach took over for Roy Williams back in April and is hoping to find success here in his first season in charge.

With a deep roster that includes a two-man recruiting class, three transfers and key returners like Caleb Love, Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis, Kerwin Walton and Leaky Black, the Tar Heels could be a team to keep an eye on this season.

But when they open up their campaign on November 9th against Loyola (MD) they will be the No. 19 team in the country.

On Monday, the Associated Press released their preseason Top 25 for the upcoming college basketball season with UNC checking in at that No. 19 spot. The Tar Heels are one of 4 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference to be ranked this season and the second-highest team behind only Duke who is No. 9.

Florida State is No. 20 while Virginia checks in at No. 25 in the poll.

Gonzaga is the preseason favorite this year, checking in at No. 1 followed by UCLA, Kansas, Villanova and Texas in the Top 5. Michigan, Purdue, Baylor, Duke and Kentucky round out the top 10 in the initial poll.

The Tar Heels are set to face Duke twice this season as well as Florida State and Virginia once each. In terms of non-conference, they will host Michigan while playing UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic and Purdue in the HOF Tip-Off Tournament, with the potential to play Villanova if they win that game. It won’t be an easy non-conference schedule for Davis in his first season.

For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.