UNC Tabbed As AP Preseason No. 1 Basketball Team

The Tar Heels return four starters plus brought in Northwestern transfer Pete Nance, who was honorable mention All-Big Ten last season, and welcome back a host of reserves as well. UNC went 29-10 last season and reached the national championship game, where it lost to Kansas by three points.

"It's an honor to be recognized for our team's potential but the only way for us to reach any of our dreams and goals will be to improve each and every day by our commitment to preparing, practicing and playing to the best of our ability," UNC Coach Hubert Davis told the AP.

Carolina’s players have made it clear their mission is to win the national title.

“It’s championship or bust,” junior point guard RJ Davis recently said. He later added:

“I remember that feeling. That feeling of walking off the Final Four stage. Just walking out, seeing that confetti drop, my head was down, but then I picked it up to look around and say, ‘hey I'll be back here again.’”

UNC earned 47 of 62 first-place votes for the AP poll.

It is the 10th time that North Carolina has been preseason No. 1, breaking a tie with Duke for the most in the history of the AP poll. But only twice during those years did the Tar Heels reach the national championship game, and only the 1981-82 team with James Worthy and Michael Jordan ultimately cut down the nets.

“Like Coach Davis always preaches, a lot of outside noise, and we don’t really worry about any of that,” said Caleb Love, who is a returning starter along with Davis, Leaky Black and Armando Bacot.

“We just focus on our team,” Love said, “and us getting better each and every day.”

The last preseason No. 1 team to win the national championship was the 2008-09 Tar Heels.

Carolina's No. 1 ranking in the 2022-23 preseason poll marks the 66th season UNC has been ranked at least once in the 75-year history of the Associated Press poll. In 58 of those 66 seasons, the Tar Heels have been ranked in the top 10 at least once.

This is the 21st season UNC has been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll at some point in the season. It's the first time UNC is the preseason No. 1 team since 2015-16; the Tar Heels played in the national championship game that year.

The Tar Heels have been voted No. 1 in the preseason in 1977-78, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1993-94, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2015-16 and 2022-23.

This is the 111th time UNC is ranked No. 1 in an AP poll, fourth most in NCAA college basketball history.

Gonzaga placed second, Houston third, Kentucky fourth, with Baylor and Kansas tied for fifth.

UNC opens its season November 7 at home versus UNC-Wilmington.

Note: Some parts of this report was taken from the AP rankings release as well as UNC's release.