UNC Basketball AP Ranking History
North Carolina’s basketball program has few peers when it comes to its history.
UNC has played in at least one national championship game in every full decade since the first NCAA Tournament in 1939. No other program has come close.
And when is comes to Associated Press rankings, the Tar Heels are almost in a class by themselves, as the numbers below show.
Here is a deep dive into Carolina’s AP rankings history:
through the 3/18/24 poll
Total Polls Ranked 956 (of 1,279)
Current Streak of Weeks in AP Poll 20
Weeks at No. 1 113
Weeks at No. 2 81
Weeks at No. 3 87
Weeks at No. 4 89
Weeks at No. 5 72
Weeks at No. 6 58
Weeks at No. 7 55
Weeks at No. 8 55
Weeks at No. 9 58
Weeks at No. 10 36
Top 5 Rankings 442
Top 10 Rankings 704
Longest Streak of Weeks Ranked 172 from 1989-90 to 1999-2000
Most Consecutive Weeks No. 1 15 in 1983-84
Seasons Ranked 67 of 76
Seasons Ranked in the Top 10 58 of 75
Seasons in Final Top 10 38 of 75 through 2022-23
FINAL ASSOCIATED PRESS POLLS (charts researched at collegepollarchive.com)
MOST TIMES RANKED NO. 1 IN THE FINAL AP POLL
10 – Kentucky
8 – Duke
8 – UCLA
6 – North Carolina
4 – Kansas
4 – Ohio State
MOST TIMES RANKED IN THE TOP 5 IN THE FINAL AP POLL
30 – Kentucky
24 – North Carolina
24 – Kansas
18 – UCLA
17 – Duke
MOST TIMES RANKED IN THE TOP 10 IN THE FINAL AP POLL
46 – Kentucky
39 – Duke
38 – North Carolina
33 – Kansas
27 – UCLA
MOST TIMES RANKED IN THE FINAL AP POLL
54 – Kentucky
51 – North Carolina
51 – Duke
48 – Kansas
43 – UCLA
ALL ASSOCIATED PRESS POLLS (through the 3/18/24 poll)
MOST WEEKS RANKED IN THE AP POLL (OUT OF 1,279 TOTAL POLLS)
969 – Kentucky
956 – North Carolina (74.7 percent)
892 – Duke
858 – Kansas
737 – UCLA
MOST CONSECUTIVE WEEKS RANKED IN THE AP POLL
172 – 1989-90 to 1999-2000 (No. 4 in college basketball history)
171 – 1972-73 to 1982-83 (No. 5 all-time)
106 – 2013-14 to 2019-20 (No. 16 all-time)
87 – 1984-85 to 1989-90 (No. 25 all-time)
75 – 2005-06 to 2009-10 (No. 32 all-time)
MOST TIMES RANKED NO. 1 IN ALL AP POLLS
145 – Duke
134 – UCLA
125 – Kentucky
113 – North Carolina
76 – Kansas
MOST CONSECUTIVE WEEKS RANKED NO. 1 IN THE AP POLL
15 – 1983-84 (No. 11 all-time)
13 – 1985-86 (No. 15 all-time)
11 – 2007-08 to 2008-09 (No. 18 all-time)
11 – 2007-08 (No. 18 all-time)
10 – 1956-67 to 1957-58 (No. 23 all-time)
MOST TIMES RANKED NO. 1 IN PRESEASON AP POLL
10 – North Carolina
9 – Duke
8 – UCLA
6 – Kentucky
4 – Kansas
MOST TIMES RANKED IN THE TOP 5 IN ALL AP POLLS
469 – Kentucky
442 – North Carolina
434 – Duke
408 – Kansas
327 – UCLA
MOST TIMES RANKED IN THE TOP 10 IN ALL AP POLLS
734 – Kentucky
730 – Duke
704 – North Carolina
637 – Kansas
487 – UCLA
MOST CONSECUTIVE WEEKS RANKED IN THE TOP 10 IN THE AP POLL
62 – 2005-06 to 2009-10 (No. 11 all-time)
62 – 1984-85 to 1988-89 (No. 11 all-time)
57 – 1966-67 to 1969-70 (No. 13 all-time)
54 – 1992-93 to 1994-95 (No. 14 all-time)
25 – 1990-91 to 1991-92 (No. 87 all-time)
NUMBER 1 VERSUS NUMBER 2 (UNC is 7-0 in 1 vs. 2 games)
Date Result
3/23/57 No. 1 UNC 54, No. 2 Kansas 53 (3 OT) – NCAA championship
12/26/81 No. 1 UNC 82, No. 2 Kentucky 69
1/9/82 No. 1 UNC 65, No. 2 Virginia 60
2/4/86 No. 1 UNC 78, No. 2 Georgia Tech 77 (OT)
2/3/94 No. 2 UNC 89, No. 1 Duke 78
2/5/98 No. 2 UNC 97, No. 1 Duke, 73
4/4/05 No. 2 UNC 75, No. 1 Illinois 70 – NCAA championship
MOST WINS OVER THE NO. 1 TEAM IN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
North Carolina 14
UCLA 12
Duke 10
Maryland 10
Ohio State 10
Kansas 9
Kentucky 9
Indiana 8
Georgia Tech 8
Notre Dame 8
Vanderbilt 8
*Numbers provided by UNC Athletics Communications