UNC basketball has achieved a dubious feat.
It’s been one heck of a calendar year for the Tar Heels. North Carolina took out rival Duke and Coach K at Cameron Indoor and then sent the legendary coach packing with a drubbing in the Final Four. The Tar Heels didn’t win the title but came into the 2022 season with high expectations. They were the Preseason No. 1 team in the country.
UNC passed early tests but has dropped to a meager 5-4 after four consecutive losses, their latest coming at the hands of Virginia Tech. As such, the AP released the new Top 25 on Monday and the Heels were nowhere to be found.
This marked a historic feat for the program. But not, however, in a positive light. UNC became the first team to ever fall out of the AP poll after being preseason No. 1.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports tweeted, “It’s official: Preseason No. 1 UNC is unranked after one month. Per Isaac Schade’s research, it is indeed historic. UNC is by far the earliest preseason 1 to fall out of the AP Top 25.”
It's official: preseason No. 1 UNC is unranked after one month. Per @isaacschade's research, it is indeed historic. UNC is far the earliest preseason 1 to fall out of the AP Top 25. No one else is close. )UCLA in the '60s was only in a 10-team-poll era.) https://t.co/6oFYv4DVyZ
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) December 5, 2022
Yikes. And the Tar Heels did handily beat everybody else’s dropoff. By a lot. As fellow insider Jeff Goodman said, it might be time to ask another question. He tweeted, “My bigger curiosity: Has a Preseason No. 1 ever not made the NCAA Tourney?”
My bigger curiosity: Has a Preseason No. 1 ever not made the NCAA tourney?
I do not believe it’s happened since the expansion of the tourney to 64 teams. https://t.co/eFzRVglvcH
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 5, 2022
I went into the archives on this yesterday.
UNC would beat UCLA’s 65-66’ record by 3 weeks if not on the top-25 today https://t.co/TjbCzL5V64
— Ian Mumm (@FiveOnFiveHoops) December 5, 2022
Yeesh https://t.co/jLkxyJzdib
— Aidan Joly (@ByAidanJoly) December 5, 2022
From the good news department: Michigan State about to lose a dubious distinction today https://t.co/1tWxTmV1pc
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) December 5, 2022
North Carolina is now officially out of the Top 25. Received just one vote. 43rd overall. https://t.co/74hcjPkouz
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) December 5, 2022
