North Carolina’s preseason number one ranking in the college basketball poll is the ninth in school history and it is also the 109th time the team has been atop the poll overall, The AP noted.
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Michigan State tied for the hardest fall of any ranked team, losing one spot from No. 5 to No. 6. Monday marked Maryland’s 374th appearance in the poll, although it has never been ranked No. 1.
“We made a nice run previous year but were disappointed with the way it ended”. The Bulldogs have been ranked for 38 weeks under coach Dan Mullen since October 2010.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled at 6 p.m. Tuesday live on ESPN.
State (6-2, 2-2 SEC) travels to face Missouri (4-4, 1-4) in a rare Thursday night contest this week.
They received 10 first-place votes to UNC’s 35.
Rounding out the top 10 is: Virginia (6, with 1 first-place vote), Iowa State (7), Oklahoma (8), Gonzaga (9), and Wichita State (10).
That kind of talent and depth has brought a wave of expectations and adulation over the past six months, and Maryland was considered a strong contender to enter the season as the AP’s top team.
This year’s Tar Heels return four double-digit scorers, including preseason ACC co-player of the year Marcus Paige and returning all-ACC forward Brice Johnson. The Tar Heels look as if they are ready to leave that label behind.
North Carolina won 26 games last season, played for the ACC Tournament title and took eventual NCAA finalist Wisconsin to the final minutes in last year’s Sweet 16 loss.
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“Our goal is Final Four and national championship”, sophomore Justin Jackson said during last week’s ACC media day.
