The North Carolina Tar Heels opened up the 2024-25 college basketball season with a 1-1 record. After holding on to beat Elon in the season opener on Monday, North Carolina took No. 1 Kansas to the brink.
But in the end, the Jayhawks pulled out the victory with a 5-0 run in what was a hard-fought game for both programs.
As UNC gets set for their only game of the week, hosting American this Friday, they are down in the latest USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll. UNC fell one spot with the loss to Kansas and is ranked No. 11 this week.
Below is the full poll for this week:
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 2-0 | 759 (21) |
| 2 | Alabama | 2-0 | 724 (4) |
| 3 | UConn | 2-0 | 702 (3) |
| 4 | Auburn | 2-0 | 660 (2) |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 2-0 | 651 (1) |
| 6 | Duke | 2-0 | 608 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 1-0 | 576 |
| 8 | Arizona | 2-0 | 516 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 2-0 | 502 |
| 10 | Houston | 1-1 | 488 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 1-1 | 456 |
| 12 | Purdue | 2-0 | 437 |
| 13 | Creighton | 2-0 | 385 |
| 14 | Baylor | 1-1 | 328 |
| 15 | Marquette | 2-0 | 308 |
| 16 | Indiana | 2-0 | 234 |
| 17 | Cincinnati | 2-0 | 230 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 2-0 | 182 |
| 19 | Florida | 2-0 | 179 |
| 20 | Illinois | 2-0 | 151 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 1-1 | 150 |
| 22 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 148 |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 1-1 | 99 |
| 24 | Rutgers | 1-0 | 84 |
| 25 | St. John’s | 2-0 | 79 |
North Carolina hosts American before hitting the road next week to take on Hawai’i and then play in a loaded Maui Invitational field that includes No. 3 UConn, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 7 Iowa State.
The Tar Heels will open that tournament against Dayton and will play either Iowa State or Auburn depending on the result.
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