UNC basketball remains in the national rankings despite Caleb Wilson’s injury.
The Tar Heels (21-6, 9-5 ACC) moved up one spot to No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll on Monday, Feb. 23. Following its blowout loss at N.C. State, UNC earned a 13-point win at Syracuse in starting center Henri Veesaar’s return after a two-game absence. Wilson remains out with a fractured left hand. UNC doesn’t leave North Carolina for its final four games of the regular season, starting with No. 21 Louisville (20-7, 9-5) on Monday, Feb. 23 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the Smith Center.
Following its win against Michigan in D.C., Duke (25-2) is the new No. 1 team in the nation. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are joined in the national rankings by No. 12 Virginia (24-3, 12-2).
College basketball rankings, Feb. 23
Here’s a look at UNC basketball’s rankings across several polls and analytics sites as of Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.
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. Duke (27)
2. Arizona (4)
3. Michigan
4. Houston
5. Iowa State
6. UConn
7. Florida
8. Purdue
9. Gonzaga
10. Nebraska
11. Illinois
12. Virginia
13. Michigan State
14. Kansas
15. St. John’s
16. Texas Tech
17. Arkansas
18. Alabama
19. UNC
20. Louisville
21. Vanderbilt
22. Tennessee
23. BYU
24. Saint Louis
25. Miami (Ohio)
UNC basketball ranking in AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll
UNC dropped two spots in the AP Top 25 poll. The Tar Heels are No. 18 in the latest AP poll, released on Feb. 23. No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Virginia and No. 24 Louisville are the other ACC teams included in the AP poll.
UNC basketball NET ranking
The Tar Heels are currently 27th in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, as of Feb. 23. Through 27 games, UNC has a 5-6 record in Quadrant 1 games and a 16-0 record in Quadrants 2-4. The Tar Heels have a Q1 opportunity against Louisville, which is No. 13 in the NET. 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 Feb. 23: UNC is 30th in KenPom, 28th on EvanMiya’s site, 28th in Torvik’s T-Rank rankings and 22nd in Haslametrics.
