By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina is No. 9 in the preseason AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll, which was released on Monday, and will play three (possibly four) teams in the top 10.
The Tar Heels will visit No. 1 Kansas on Friday, Nov. 8, host No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday, Dec. 4, could face two-time reigning national champion No. 3 UConn in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 27 and will face No. 9 Duke twice.
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time, trailing only North Carolina (10), Duke (9) and UCLA (8) for the most since the first preseason rankings in 1962.
Carolina, which went 29–8 last season and extended its NCAA-record streak of 25-win seasons to 41, meets No. 21 Florida in Charlotte on Dec. 17 in the Jumpman Invitational and could meet No. 11 Auburn at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 26.
Bob Ballou of CBS Austin in Texas and Jeff Rabjohns of 247 Sports voted UNC the highest at No. 3, while Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News ranked the Heels the lowest at No. 15.
Kate Rogerson of WTVD and Louis Fernandez of WRAL both voted UNC No. 10.
UNC and Duke are the only ACC teams in the poll. Wake Forest, Miami, Clemson and Louisville received votes.
The Tar Heels, who play at Memphis at 7 p.m. Tuesday in an exhibition (ESPNU), open the season against Elon on Nov. 4 at 9 p.m. in the Smith Center.
Caleb Love’s Arizona team rounds out the top 10 at No. 10. Coach Wes Miller’s Cincinnati team is No. 20.
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AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team (1st-place votes) | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (30) | 1,449 | 19 |
| 2 | Alabama (14) | 1,428 | 3 |
| 3 | UConn (11) | 1,345 | 1 |
| 4 | Houston (4) | 1,343 | 3 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 1,177 | 8 |
| 6 | Gonzaga (1) | 1,157 | 15 |
| 7 | Duke | 1,154 | 9 |
| 8 | Baylor | 1,109 | 16 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 1,037 | 7 |
| 10 | Arizona | 905 | 11 |
| 11 | Auburn | 901 | 18 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 775 | 5 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 737 | NR |
| 14 | Purdue | 678 | 2 |
| 15 | Creighton | 631 | 13 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 625 | NR |
| 17 | Indiana | 492 | NR |
| 18 | Marquette | 484 | 12 |
| 19 | Texas | 332 | NR |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 271 | NR |
| 21 | Florida | 249 | NR |
| 22 | UCLA | 210 | NR |
| 23 | Kentucky | 191 | 20 |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 132 | NR |
| 25 | Rutgers | 102 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 37, Kansas St 30, Michigan St. 29, Ohio St. 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, McNeese St. 11, Miami 11, Boise St. 9, Saint Louis 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Mississippi St. 6, VCU 6, Wisconsin 5, Saint Mary’s 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Ark Little Rock 3, Grand Canyon 3, Arizona St 2, San Diego St. 2, Princeton 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo) | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alexandros Samodurov (Alex-ANN-drose SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
