College basketball rankings: Coaches Poll top 25 sees UNC skyrocket by beating Duke

North Carolina’s stock continues to rise as the calendar turns to the last full month of the 2025-26 regular season. The Tar Heels hit a new high as they downed top rival Duke in a 71-68 thriller. 

Seth Trimble’s last second three helped lift North Carolina to a 19-4 record, snapped a three-game losing streak to the Blue Devils and elevated the Tar Heels five spots to No. 13 in the latest Coaches Poll. Duke, which suffered just its second loss of the season, remained in the top 10 at No. 6. 

North Carolina is now on a five-game winning streak, dating back to its Jan. 21 triumph against Notre Dame. Two of its victories in that span have come against ranked opponents. 

While the ACC is putting up a strong national effort, few individual conferences have projected power like the Big 12. Four Big 12 teams landed inside the top 10 of this week’s Coaches Poll, including three in the top five. Arizona continues to mop up a majority of votes as the No. 1 team in the country. 

No wonder, given that the Wildcats remain unblemished at 23-0. They face a huge test Monday night as they hit the road to play No. 9 Kansas, which just made its debut in the top 10 as it rides a seven-game winning streak. 

Here’s a look at the Feb. 2 Coaches Poll in its entirety.

First-place votes in parenthesis

Coaches Poll 

1. Arizona (30) 
2. Michigan (1)
3. Houston 
4. Iowa State
5. UConn 
6. Duke
7. Illinois
8. Nebraska 
9. Kansas 
10. Michigan State
11. Gonzaga 
12. Purdue
13. North Carolina
14. Florida
15. Virginia 
16. Texas Tech 
17. St. John’s
18. Clemson
19. Saint Louis
20. Vanderbilt 
21. Arkansas
22. BYU
23. Louisville 
24. Miami (OH) 
25. Iowa 

Others receiving votes: Kentucky 30; Alabama 24; Villanova 13; North Carolina State 13; Tennessee 10; Utah State 8; Texas A&M 7; Georgia 3; Santa Clara 1