Last week, the preseason AP Poll was released and North Carolina came in as the No. 9 ranked team in the nation. Today, the first release of the USA TODAY Sport’s men’s basketball coaches’ poll came out and UNC basketball was ranked No. 10, one lower than the AP Poll.
The coaches’ poll is a ranking put together by 31 head coaches at Division I colleges and universities. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The most notable coaches on this year’s panel include Purdue’s Matt Painter, Alabama’s Nate Oats, Baylor’s Scott Drew, Oakland’s Greg Kampe, and Creighton’s Greg McDermott.
The Atlantic Coast Conference again saw just two teams ranked including No. 5 ranked Duke alongside the Tar Heels.
There were four teams to draw first-place votes including Kansas, Alabama, two-time defending champion UConn, and Houston.
North Carolina drew 498 points in the poll which sits closely behind Arizona, who is ranked No. 9, by just 12 points and 33 points ahead of Auburn, who is ranked No. 11.
Below you will find the complete coaches’ poll top 25 rankings.
Rank | School | Last Year’s Record | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kansas | 23-11 | 743 (15) |
2 | Alabama | 25-12 | 718 (6) |
3 | Connecticut | 37-3 | 717 (6) |
4 | Houston | 32-5 | 698 (4) |
5 | Duke | 27-9 | 625 |
6 | Iowa State | 29-8 | 591 |
7 | Gonzaga | 27-8 | 575 |
8 | Baylor | 24-11 | 545 |
9 | Arizona | 27-9 | 510 |
10 | North Carolina | 29-8 | 498 |
11 | Auburn | 27-8 | 465 |
12 | Tennessee | 27-9 | 437 |
13 | Purdue | 34-5 | 390 |
14 | Creighton | 25-10 | 342 |
15 | Texas A&M | 21-15 | 332 |
16 | Arkansas | 16-17 | 272 |
17 | Marquette | 27-10 | 268 |
18 | Indiana | 19-14 | 208 |
19 | Texas | 21-13 | 166 |
20 | Cincinnati | 22-15 | 163 |
21 | Florida | 24-12 | 130 |
22 | UCLA | 16-17 | 123 |
23 | Kentucky | 23-10 | 95 |
24 | Illinois | 29-9 | 87 |
25 | Mississippi | 20-12 | 66 |
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