UNC basketball made another move up the national polls ahead of Christmas after adding another quality win to its NCAA Tournament resume. Coming off a one-point win against Ohio State in Atlanta, the Tar Heels are No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, which was released on Monday, Dec. 22.
The Tar Heels, who moved up from No. 13 in the coaches poll, picked up a third Quadrant 1 win to boost their March Madness seeding scenarios. UNC hosts East Carolina (5-7) on Monday, Dec. 22 (8 p.m., ACC Network) before an eight-day break. The Heels will be back in action to tip off ACC play against Florida State (6-6) on Tuesday, Dec. 30 (7 p.m., ESPN2), in Chapel Hill.
Following a five-week absence due to an arm injury, senior guard Seth Trimble returned to the lineup with 17 points against Ohio State in Atlanta. Freshman forward Caleb Wilson had 20 points and a season-high 15 rebounds in his homecoming game. Henri Veesaar, who made the go-ahead dunk against the Buckeyes, had 17 points, 10 rebounds and career-high five assists.
No. 3 Duke (10-0), No. 11 Louisville (9-1) and No. 22 Virginia (9-1) are the other ACC teams in the coaches poll. Michigan (10-0) remains the No. 1 team in the nation, followed by No. 2 Arizona (9-0).
College basketball rankings, Dec. 15
Here’s a look at UNC basketball’s rankings across several polls and analytics sites as of Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.
USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. First-place votes in parentheses.
1. Michigan (20)
2. Arizona (11)
3. Iowa State
4. UConn
5. Purdue
6. Duke
7. Gonzaga
8. Houston
9. Michigan State
10. BYU
11. Vanderbilt
12. UNC
13. Nebraska
14. Louisville
15. Alabama
16. Texas Tech
17. Kansas
18. Illinois
19. Texas Tech
20. Illinois
21. Virginia
22. Florida
23. Iowa
24. Georgia
25. USC
UNC basketball ranking in AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll
UNC moved up to No. 12 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Tar Heels started the season at No. 25. No. 6 Duke, No. 16 Louisville and No. 21 Virginia are the other ACC teams included in the AP poll.
UNC basketball NET ranking
The Tar Heels are currently 19th in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings. Through 12 games, UNC has a 3-1 record in Quadrant 1 games – with wins against Kansas at home, at Kentucky and against Ohio State on a neutral court, with a loss against Michigan State at a neutral site – and a 8-0 record in Quadrants 2-4. The win against the Buckeyes gave the Tar Heels a third Q1 victory. Breaking down the quadrant system, home games against teams ranked from No. 1-30, neutral-site games against teams ranked No. 1-50 and away games against opponents ranked No. 1-75 are considered Q1 chances.
UNC basketball ranking on KenPom, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya analytics sites
Here’s a look at the Tar Heels’ rankings on analytics sites, including KenPom, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya and Haslametrics as of Dec. 22. UNC is 22nd in KenPom, 23rd in EvanMiya, 21st on Torvik’s T-Rank and 22nd in Haslametrics.
