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Keeping It Heel
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UNC is unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 2005-06

UNC has plenty to prove, and a loaded schedule will give the Tar Heels every opportunity to do it.
ByNick Delahanty
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Oct 18, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Michael Malone instructs his team against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Michael Malone instructs his team against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tar Heel fans shouldn't waste much time complaining about UNC being left out of the preseason AP Top 25.

Quite frankly, they haven't earned anything yet.

For the first time since the 2005-06 season, North Carolina will begin a college basketball season without a number next to its name. That's certainly an unusual sight for one of the sport's most historic programs, but it doesn't necessarily mean the Tar Heels were disrespected.

Michael Malone's first roster in Chapel Hill has plenty of talent, and there are certainly reasons to believe this team can eventually work its way into the national rankings. But with a new head coach, an almost entirely rebuilt roster, and plenty of unanswered questions, leaving the Tar Heels outside the preseason Top 25 feels justified.

If anyone needed a reminder of why voters might be hesitant, UNC's exhibition loss to Indiana provided one.

The Tar Heels were manhandled on the glass, and Malone didn't try to sugarcoat it afterward. At times, UNC didn't look ready to match Indiana's physicality, reminding everyone that this group is still a work in progress.

Of course, it's important to remember that it is still October.

Exhibition results don't count toward the record, and nobody should determine what North Carolina will be four months from now based on what it looked like during a preseason scrimmage. However,
right now, too many questions surround the Tar Heels to argue they deserve a spot among the 25 best teams in college basketball.

The good news for UNC is that, once the games start to matter in a few weeks, they will have more than enough opportunities to prove everyone wrong.

UNC's schedule will provide plenty of opportunities to earn respect

If the Tar Heels believe they belong among the nation's best teams, their schedule will give them every opportunity to prove it.

Based on the preseason AP Top 25, North Carolina is currently scheduled to play nine games against ranked opponents, and they aren't all against teams in the lower half of the preseason rankings.

UNC has a GAUNTLET to get through this season.

The Tar Heels will face these preseason-ranked teams this season:

Duke (No. 2)- twice
Illinois (No. 3)
Virginia (No. 9)
Louisville (No. 11)- twice
Arkansas (No. 12)
Miami (No. 14)
Kentucky (No. 23)

That's nine games against preseason Top 25 opponents, including four matchups against teams currently ranked inside the top 10.

If you want to be considered a Top 25 team, you have to show you can beat those types of teams. UNC will have plenty of chances to do that this season.

Malone and his team don't need to convince voters in October that they belong in the Top 25. They'll have an entire season and a loaded schedule to do that themselves.

For now, UNC doesn't need preseason respect: they need to earn it.

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