The UNC men’s and women’s basketball teams both jumped two spots in the latest AP Polls Monday. The men rose from No. 18 to No. 16, while the women rose from No. 14 to No. 12.

The men’s team is currently enjoying a 5-0 start, tied for its best in five seasons under head coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels played just once during the past week, beating Navy 73-61 at the Dean Smith Center Tuesday night. This week, Carolina will play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off event in Florida, facing St. Bonaventure on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and No. 11 Michigan State on Thanksgiving Day at 4:30 p.m.

Three other ACC teams are ranked in the poll: No. 4 Duke, No. 6 Louisville and No. 23 NC State. For a full look at the poll, click here.

On the women’s side, the Tar Heels improved to 5-1 with wins at North Carolina A&T and at home vs. UNC-Greensboro during the week. Like the men’s team, the women are now also gearing up for a neutral-site event this week: Carolina is headed to Mexico for three games in the 2025 Cancun Challenge. UNC faces South Dakota State (which received the second-most votes of any unranked team in the latest poll), Kansas State and Columbia across three consecutive days from Thursday to Saturday.

UNC is the highest-ranked ACC team in the poll. Notre Dame slots in at No. 19, Louisville at No. 23 and NC State at No. 25. For a full look at the poll, click here.

In addition to its new ranking, Carolina received an individual honor Monday when Nyla Brooks was named ACC Freshman of the Week.

Brooks averaged 16 points per game in UNC’s wins against the Aggies and Spartans. In Sunday’s game in Chapel Hill, Brooks shot a perfect 7-7 from the field while scoring a career-best 18 points. She is the only freshman in the ACC this season to post a perfect shooting percentage on at least seven shots. Her 18 points were also the most by any freshman in the league this season.

Brooks is the first Tar Heel to earn ACC Freshman of the Year honors since Kayla McPherson did so in 2023. Her win is the 84th in UNC program history, which is the most among all ACC teams.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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