UNC basketball’s California calamity contributed to a plummet in the polls for the Tar Heels.
Following consecutive losses at Stanford and Cal, the Tar Heels dropped nine spots to No. 24 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll on Jan. 19.
Advertisement
UNC (14-4, 2-3 ACC) has an important week ahead as it tries to rebound from back-to-back defeats and a stretch of three losses in the last four games. The Tar Heels return to the Smith Center to play Notre Dame (10-8, 1-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 21 (7 p.m., ESPN2) before facing No. 15 Virginia (16-2, 5-1) in Charlottesville on Saturday, Jan. 24 (2 p.m., ESPN).
In addition to the Heels and Hoos, No. 5 Duke (17-1, 6-0), No. 16 Clemson (16-3, 6-0) and No. 21 Louisville (13-5, 3-3) represented the ACC in the coaches poll. Arizona (18-0) remains No. 1 in the rankings.
College basketball rankings, Jan. 19
Here’s a look at UNC basketball’s rankings across several polls and analytics sites as of Monday, Jan. 19, 2026.
Advertisement
USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. First-place votes in parentheses.
UNC basketball ranking in AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll
Like the coaches poll, UNC took a dip in the AP Top 25 poll. The Tar Heels, who started the season at No. 25, are No. 22 in the latest AP poll, released on Jan. 19. No. 5 Duke, No. 14 Virginia, No. 18 Clemson and No. 23 Louisville are the other ACC teams included in the AP poll.
UNC basketball NET ranking
The Tar Heels are currently 29nd in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, as of Jan. 19. Through 18 games, UNC has a 3-4 record in Quadrant 1 games and a 11-0 record in Quadrants 2-4. It missed out in Q1 chances at Stanford and Cal, but UNC will get another Q1 shot at Virginia, which is 14th in the NET. Breaking down the quadrant system, home games against teams ranked from No. 1-30, neutral-site games against teams ranked No. 1-50 and away games against opponents ranked No. 1-75 are considered Q1 chances.
Advertisement
UNC basketball ranking on KenPom, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya analytics sites
Here’s a look at the Tar Heels’ rankings on analytics sites, including KenPom, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya and Haslametrics as of Jan. 19. UNC is 36th in KenPom, 35th on EvanMiya’s site, 31st in Torvik’s T-Rank rankings and 33rd in Haslametrics.
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to rbaxley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball rankings, Tar Heels in polls before ACC game at Virginia
