Basketball is booming in North Carolina and the two marquee schools in the state, North Carolina and Duke, climbed even further up the latest AP Top 25 poll released on Monday. With win streaks of four and six games, respectively, the Tar Heels jumped one spot to No. 7 and Duke moved up three spots to No. 11 in the refreshed rankings, headlining some of the big changes in the second AP poll of the 2024 calendar year.
UNC began last season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll and went on to make history as the first-ever preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA Tournament, but it has gone the opposite direction this season. After starting No. 19 in the AP poll this season, Carolina has steadily won voters over in the last month, jumping from 11 to 9 to 8 to 7 in the last four rankings releases. It marks the sixth consecutive AP poll UNC has been the highest-ranked team out of the ACC.
The only other ACC team this season to hold that distinction is Duke, which began the season ranked No. 2, dropped to the 20s in December and narrowly missed the top 10 on Monday. Duke won its sixth consecutive game Saturday in a 67-59 victory over Notre Dame to move into a tie for No. 11 in the rankings alongside Marquette, which fell out of the top 10 after a 78-75 road loss to Seton Hall to begin its 2024 calendar year.
AP Top 25
1. Purdue (54)
2. Houston (7)
3. Kansas (2)
4. UConn
5. Tennessee
6. Kentucky
7. North Carolina
8. Arizona
9. Oklahoma
10. Illinois
T11. Marquette
T11. Duke
13. Memphis
14. Baylor
15. Wisconsin
16. Auburn
17. Colorado State
18. BYU
19. San Diego State
20. Utah State
21. Clemson
22. Creighton
23. Gonzaga
24. FAU
25. Texas
Others receiving votes: Dayton 126, Mississippi 125, James Madison 98, Cincinnati 79, Nevada 77, Texas Tech 62, Wake Forest 38, Grand Canyon 35, Seton Hall 34, South Carolina 29, Miami 27, St. John's 18, Iowa St. 16, Colorado 8, NC State 7, Michigan St. 7, Alabama 7, Providence 6, Oregon 4, TCU 3, Northwestern 3, Princeton 2, Utah 2.