North Carolina put together a 1-1 record last week, suffering an ugly, shorthanded loss to NC State while bouncing back nicely with a road victory over Syracuse.
Of course, regardless of who you have available, if you are in the top 25 and lose, it's likely you'll slide down the rankings a bit.
That was the case for Hubert Davis' team, who dropped a few spots in the latest edition of the AP Top 25 Poll
UNC slides two spots to No. 18
After claiming the No. 16 spot on last week's rankings, North Carolina dropped two spots to No. 18 in this week's poll.
NEW AP POLL! 🚨
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 23, 2026
1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. Michigan
4. Iowa State
5. Houston
6. UConn
7. Florida
8. Purdue
9. Gonzaga
10. Illinois
11. Virginia
12. Nebraska
13. Michigan State
14. Kansas
15. St. John's
16. Texas Tech
17. Alabama
18. North Carolina
19. BYU
20. Arkansas
21. Miami (OH)…
UNC vs. Louisville still a top 25 clash
Both North Carolina and Louisville slid down this week's rankings but were able to cling onto spots among the top 25.
Louisville, who was No. 21 a week ago, dropped three spots to No. 24. This comes after the Cardinals suffered a road loss to SMU on the same night that the Tar Heels were defeated by the Wolfpack.
This game held a great deal of importance even before the updated rankings were revealed, but now it could ultimately be a factor as to whether or not both teams will be ranked at this point next week ahead of the final week of the 2025-2026 regular season.
The SOS looks GOOD!
North Carolina has victories over three teams who are currently ranked ahead of them.
Duke, who took the top spot after defeating Michigan this past weekend, has a blemish on their record courtesy of North Carolina, while Virginia (No. 11) and Kansas (No. 14) suffered losses to the Tar Heels earlier in the season.
When it comes time to fully evaluate each team's NCAA Tournament resumes, UNC has put itself in a very nice position when it comes to beating some top-tier teams.