By R.L. Bynum
After being ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, Carolina came in at No. 20 in the preseason coaches poll that was released Wednesday.
Duke is No. 9 in both polls and Virginia is No. 25 in both polls, but Florida State and UNC flipped spots between the two polls. The Seminoles are No. 20 in the AP poll but No. 19 in the coaches poll. FSU topped UNC by only one poll point in the coaches poll.
The top 10 of the two polls are identical with Gonzaga at No. 1 and UCLA, which the Tar Heels play in Las Vegas at the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 3, at No. 2. The Bruins received two first-place votes.
Other UNC opponents in the coaches poll are No. 7 Purdue (Nov. 20 in Uncasville, Conn.) either No. 17 Tennessee or No. 4 Villanova (Nov. 21 in Uncasville, Conn.), No. 6 Michigan at home on Dec. 1, No. 25 Virginia at home on Jan. 8, No. 9 Duke at home on Feb 5 and in Durham on March 10, and No. 19 Florida State at home on Feb. 12.
UNC games with Duke (the matchup in Durham), Purdue, UCLA and Michigan are on Jeff Goodman’s list on Stadium of the top 25 must-see games this season.
The only ACC voter in the coaches poll is Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.
Preseason coaches Top 25
Also receiving votes: Michigan State 55, Texas Tech 46, Southern California 38, West Virginia 18, Indiana 13, Virginia Tech 9, Loyola-Chicago 9, Oklahoma State 8, Arizona 8, Creighton 7, Syracuse 6, Colorado Stat 5, Drake 4, Richmond 3, Notre Dame 3, Iowa 3, Rutgers 2, LSU 2, Colorado 2, Xavier 1, Nevada 1, Butler 1 and Boise State 1.