North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina tops college basketball preseason AP poll

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 10/17/22

Coming off their shocking run to last season's National Championship game, the North Carolina Tar Heels are ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll.

BREAKING: North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll, ahead of Gonzaga, Houston and Kentucky and a tie for fifth place.

See the full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWZhI pic.twitter.com/qMTO5jzL1S
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 17, 2022

Under first-year head coach Hubert Davis, UNC earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and went on a Cinderella run to the National Championship game, where they fell to No. 1 Kansas, 72-69. The Tar Heels are followed by Gonzaga, Houston and Kentucky in the top-four, while Baylor and Kansas are tied for fifth in the preseason poll.

Davis' team will return four starters from last season, including senior Armando Bacot. The big man led UNC in points (16.3), rebounds (13.1) and blocks per game (1.7), while shooting a team-high 56.9% from the field.

Bacot played and started in all 39 games for the Tar Heels and earned First-Team All-ACC and Second-Team All-ACC Tournament honors, while being named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. His 13.1 boards per contest led the entire ACC.

More must-reads: