The end of the regular season keeps getting better for Courtney Banghart and the UNC women's basketball program.
Ahead of postseason action, the Tar Heels have made the biggest jump in the final AP Top-25 poll of the 2025-2026 regular season.
UNC jumps 5 spots to No. 16
The Tar Heels finish the regular season at No. 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll. This is a five-spot jump from last week's ranking, one that no one else in the country matched this week.
Keep Climbing 📈 pic.twitter.com/PNepGTWoxi
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) March 2, 2026
Revenge win even more sweet
After a heartbreaking loss to Duke in Durham a few weeks prior, the Tar Heels responded well, defeating the rival Blue Devils on their home court to end the regular season. The win, against the ACC regular season champs, added another strong win to UNC's NCAA Tournament resume, one that has the Tar Heels pushing toward potentially hosting tournament games for a second consecutive season.
With their loss to UNC, Duke only slipped one spot to No. 13.
A bad week for the ACC
Both Louisville (dropped two spots to No. 12) and Duke (dropped one spot to No. 13), fell in this week's rankings. Other then UNC's massive leap, no other ACC school claimed a spot among the top-ranked teams in the country this week, as Notre Dame and NC State both received votes but did not secure enough votes to make the cut.
Build the momentum
North Carolina knows what type of team it can be, and they are continuing to build momentum as the season rolls along.
Now heading into postseason action, the Tar Heels are still young but have some experience under their belts, something that will help them as the competition gets tougher and the lights get a bit brighter.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament
This week's goal is to make a run in the ACC Tournament, further solidifying the Tar Heels' resume to prove to the committee that they deserve to play more basketball at Carmichael Arena this season.