UNC basketball will start the 2025-26 season with its lowest preseason ranking in 20 years.

The Tar Heels are No. 25 in the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll, which was released Oct. 22. That’s the worst preseason spot for the program since starting the 2005-06 season as an unranked squad.

Led by senior David Noel and a talented freshmen class headlined by Tyler Hansbrough, that UNC team finished the year with a top-10 ranking, losing to Final Four participant George Mason in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. With 11 newcomers — including five-star freshman Caleb Wilson — around senior guard Seth Trimble, the Tar Heels will try to take a similar path with a different ending in their fifth season under head coach Hubert Davis.

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