After two victories during the opening week of the 2025-2026 college basketball season, including a top-25 win over then-ranked No. 19 Kansas, it was expected that the UNC basketball program would rise up the latest AP Top 25 rankings.
Well, they did, and took a massive leap at that.
BREAKING: College Basketball AP Poll🏀 https://t.co/0H5QRGnb2s pic.twitter.com/JEmagyRxf2
— On3 (@On3sports) November 10, 2025
The UNC basketball program climbed up seven spots to No. 18 on this week's rankings. Kansas, following the loss to North Carolina, fell six spots to No. 25.
Only three ACC schools made the cut for this week's list. Duke climbed up two spots to No. 4 while Louisville dropped back a spot to No. 12. NC State once again missed cracking the top 25, as they received the most votes from any team who did not make the cut.
The win over Kansas proved to be a statement victory for the UNC basketball program, one that has more people who follow college basketball believing in the Tar Heels. While it's still early in the season, that type of win goes to show that this year's team is built to compete with the nation's best, something teams of recent memory have had difficulty accomplishing.
Of course, the rankings don't mean anything until the end of the season, as every team in the sport aspires to be the No. 1 ranked team in the land when it's all said and done. For now, the UNC basketball program is looking to build momentum, as they''ll let their ranking take care of itself by what they do on the court.
North Carolina returns to action on Tuesday night as they host Radford in non-conference action at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. Tip-off for the third game of the season is slated for 7:00 PM EST, and the game can be viewed on the ACC Network.