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State and Carolina are anchoring the first network poll.
The Wolfpack and Tar Heels are like ships in the night when it comes to the preseason college basketball rankings. They are the last two teams in ESPN’s top 25 and two of only four picked from the ACC.
State has a new coach and a new attitude. Will Wade promises a reckoning in his first season with the Pack. He is a promoter and perhaps talked his way into the No. 24 spot. Wade has a projected starting lineup of five transfers including Ven Allen Lubin, who moved up I-40 from Chapel Hill. Wade’s other transfers from power conferences include projected top scoring forward Darrion Williams from Texas Tech, where he averaged 15 points last season.
The Carolina cast is also different besides senior Seth Trimble, but the Heels’ pick at No. 25 is still remindful of the program that eked into the NCAA Tournament last season by making the First Four.
Luka Bogavac averaged 15 points as a pro in Montenegro a year ago. UNC’s most talented prospect is 6-9 true freshman Caleb Wilson, a multi-skilled 5-star from Atlanta who is already on the 2026 NBA mock draft board and the highest rated recruit Hubert Davis has signed in five years. Other projected starters are Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans and 7-foot Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar.
Louisville is No. 7 and Duke No. 12, with Boozer twins following their father Carlos to Durham, as the ACC’s highest ranked schools in the ESPN poll. Only the Big East with three – No. 4 UConn, No. 5 St. Johns and No. 22 Creighton has fewer. The completely rebuilt Pac 12 has one team, but a good one in Gonzaga at No. 19.
There is no question about the ACC’s slide from preeminence in basketball. The Big 12 has six teams in the top 25, No. 3 Houston, No. 6 BYU (an exhibition opponent for the Tar Heels) and No. 10 Texas Tech as the only conference with three teams in the top 10. There is also No. 13 Arizona, No. 18 Iowa State and No. 21 Kansas, which visits the Smith Center on November 7.
The SEC also has six led by No. 2 and defending national champion Florida, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 11 Arkansas, followed by No. 14 Auburn, No. 17 Alabama and No. 23 Tennessee, where veteran coach Rick Barnes has signed a lifetime contract with the Vols.
The Big Ten has five ranked teams, including No. 1 pick Purdue, looking for its second Final Four trip in three years, No. 8 Michigan, No. 15 UCLA, No. 16 Illinois and No. 20 Wisconsin.
ESPN calls this its “way too early top 25,” which is truer than ever because so many teams have so many new players. Game program sales will go up in most arenas just so the fans can tell who is who.
Featured image via Associated Press/Vasha Hunt
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
