College Basketball

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels move up in latest AP Top 25

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:04 p.m. ET

Fansided, Blake Cockrum/FanSided via Keeping It Heel

UNC climbs two spots in latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday

The North Carolina Tar Heels jumped two spots to No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after wins against Wake Forest and Florida State last week.

The Tar Heels’ victory over then No. 9 Florida State was their first against a ranked opponent since beating the 16th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers in Maui.

POLL ALERT: Villanova jumps Kansas to return to No. 1; UCLA No. 3, Baylor falls to No. 6. Full poll here shortly: https://t.co/Y3uRKz3S2g pic.twitter.com/BwqaoQlRMK

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 16, 2017

In a bit of a surprise turn, Villanova leapfrogged No. 2 Kansas to return to the top spot in the poll. UCLA came in at third and the only unbeaten team in the country, Gonzaga, is ranked fourth. Kentucky moved up one spot to fifth after wins against Vanderbilt and Auburn.

After its first No. 1 ranking in program history, Baylor lost in blowout fashion to West Virginia, knocking the Bears down to sixth in this week’s poll. The Mountaineers moved up to seventh and Big East powerhouse Creighton is eighth. North Carolina and Florida State round out the top 10.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has six ranked teams in this week’s poll and North Carolina holds the highest position among them.

After UNC and FSU, Louisville comes in at 12th and Notre Dame and Virginia are ranked 15th and 16th, respectively. Duke, who lost back-to-back games against Florida State and Louisville, dropped from seventh to 18th.

The Tar Heels, now 16-3 overall and 4-1 in ACC play, prepare for a home game against Syracuse tonight and a meeting with Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Saturday afternoon.