North Carolina enters the college basketball season with more questions than ever, on both sides of the ball.
It's almost crazy that North Carolina isn't one of the top 25 teams in America, but at the end of the day, preseason rankings don't mean much.
The harsh reality of college basketball, especially nowadays, is that guys need to be ready to play on any given night, and anything can happen.
North Carolina can be upset about not being ranked in the AP Poll or the USA Today Coaches Poll, but it won't change anything on the court. We saw that over the past couple of years now, especially after North Carolina lost in the national championship and returned most of its team just a few seasons ago.
However, it also made history when North Carolina didn't rank in the top 25 in either poll.
According to one North Carolina insider, it's the first time this has happened in 21 years.
“For the first time in 21 years, UNC basketball will open a season outside of the national rankings.
“The Tar Heels are unranked in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll or the AP Top 25 entering the 2026-27 season, the first under coach Michael Malone. UNC has 11 newcomers joining returners Jarin Stevenson, Jaydon Young and Isaiah Denis… It marks just the fourth time since 1984 that UNC has begun a season outside the AP Top 25. The most recent occurrence came in 2005-06, when the Tar Heels entered the season unranked after winning the 2005 national championship,” Rodd Baxley wrote.
I've continued to say that I don't think North Carolina is as bad as anybody is making it seem. Of course, there are more uncertainties than usual, but that's typical with a new head coach.
Even with Michael Malone taking over, I understand that fans want answers before they can properly assess what this team can be.
As for me, I understand that North Carolina has some problems, specifically rebounding, which was evident in one of its recent exhibition games against Indiana.
However, I still believe North Carolina can have one of the best backcourts in college basketball, and if that's the case, it should easily be a top-25 team with a chance to make even more noise.