North Carolina the first unanimous preseason No. 1

[dbackjon]

As if there weren’t enough expectations for North Carolina this season, they just got bigger.

Not only are the Tar Heels No. 1 in The Associated Press’ preseason Top 25, they are the first unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1981-82.

North Carolina has the top six scorers—including national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough—back from a team that had a school-record 36 wins and reached the Final Four.

The Tar Heels, No. 1 in the final poll last season, are the preseason No. 1 for the second straight year, joining UNLV in 1989-90 and 1990-91 as the only schools to do that. It also marks North Carolina’s record sixth time atop the preseason rankings, breaking a tie with Duke.

“We have a really good group of kids who are working very hard to get ready for a challenging season,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “They’ve worked so hard because they know they have to prove it on the court. No one gives you any awards for preseason rankings. Our guys know these lofty rankings are a result of what they have done in the past and what people think could probably happen this year. But we have to earn everything out there on the floor.”

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... &type=lgns

[dbackjon]

1. North Carolina (72) 0-0 1,800
2. Connecticut 0-0 1,661
3. Louisville 0-0 1,638
4. UCLA 0-0 1,487
5. Pittsburgh 0-0 1,319
6. Michigan State 0-0 1,311
7. Texas 0-0 1,259
8. Duke 0-0 1,250
9. Notre Dame 0-0 1,243
10. Gonzaga 0-0 1,162
11. Purdue 0-0 1,099
12. Oklahoma 0-0 987
13. Memphis 0-0 977
14. Tennessee 0-0 920
15. Arizona State 0-0 645
16. Marquette 0-0 592
17. Miami (FL) 0-0 570
18. USC 0-0 414
19. Florida 0-0 403
20. Davidson 0-0 347
21. Wake Forest 0-0 312
22. Georgetown 0-0 311
23. Villanova 0-0 256
24. Kansas 0-0 233
25. Wisconsin 0-0 196
Others Receiving Votes
Xavier 154, UNLV 143, Baylor 128, Saint Mary's 112, Syracuse 83, Kentucky 75, Ohio State 64, LSU 31, Texas A&M 30, Washington 19, West Virginia 17, Virginia Tech 16, Brigham Young 16, Alabama 16, Siena 13, Washington State 11, Vanderbilt 11, Clemson 11, Arizona 11, Temple 10, Virginia Commonwealth 8, Creighton 7, Butler 7, New Mexico 3, Cleveland State 2, UAB 2, Stanford 2, San Diego 1, American University 1, Cal State Northridge 1, Saint Joseph's 1, Drake 1, Miami (OH) 1.

[Appaholic]

Hansbrough out for the 1st 2 weeks.....