College basketball rankings: North Carolina ticks up in Top 25 And 1 as Caleb Wilson stars in win over Kansas

The star freshman Wilson made a big statement on Friday night in the victory over the Jayhawks

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Nov 8, 2025 at 10:50 am ET • 1 min read

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Caleb Wilson was incredible on the court Friday in North Carolina’s 87-74 win over Kansas. Then, when it was over, he was also awesome with the media.

You want good postgame quotes?

Wilson delivered!

“It was personal for me,” Wilson said after finishing with 24 points and seven rebounds in a performance that reinforced the idea that we really might be watching the best freshman class in college basketball history. “We hadn’t beat [Kansas] in 20 years – and they beat us in the national championship [game in 2022], and [UNC] coach [Hubert Davis] was emotional about that. So I wanted to impress my coach, and I wanted to impress the world. I wanted to let the world know who I am for sure.”

Who he is, it seems, is a 6-foot-10 forward who is just as impressive on a microphone as he is on a court – and he saved his sharpest shot for Darryn Peterson, the Jayhawks’ freshman guard who is most people’s projected favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. As Wilson explained to the assembled media at the Dean E. Smith Center, he’s constantly changing the wallpaper on his phone to things he believes will motivate him. Asked what his wallpaper was heading into the matchup with Kansas, Wilson didn’t hesitate to answer.

“My wallpaper today was my feeling after the McDonald’s All-American Game, when I didn’t touch the ball,” Wilson said. “And Darryn Peterson was on my team. So that was my wallpaper.”

Excellent work.

North Carolina is up to No. 21 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where St. John’s remains No. 1. Kansas is down to No. 22. Those developments caused both Tennessee and Auburn to be pushed down one spot each in these rankings, no fault of their own.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers

3 North Carolina

7 Kansas

| Rk | Teams | | Chg | Rcrd | | – | —– | | — | –– | | 1 | St. John’s | Dillon Mitchell finished with 18 points and four steals in Monday’s 108-74 win over Quinnipiac. The Red Storm’s next game is Saturday against Alabama. | – | 1-0 | | 2 | Purdue | Braden Smith finished with 20 points and nine assists in Friday’s 87-77 win over Oakland. The Boilermakers’ next game is Thursday at Alabama. | – | 2-0 | | 3 | Houston | Emanuel Sharp finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Monday’s 75-57 win over Lehigh. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday against Towson. | – | 1-0 | | 4 | BYU | AJ Dybantsa finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Monday’s 71-66 win over Villanova. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday against Holy Cross. | – | 1-0 | | 5 | UConn | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Friday’s 110-47 win over UMass Lowell. The Huskies’ next game is Monday against Columbia. | – | 2-0 | | 6 | Arizona | Koa Peat finished with 18 points and three assists in Friday’s 93-67 win over Utah Tech. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday against Northern Arizona. | – | 2-0 | | 7 | Florida | Alex Condon finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s 104-64 win over North Florida. The Gators’ next game is Tuesday against Florida State. | – | 1-1 | | 8 | Texas Tech | JT Toppin finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds in Friday’s 98-77 win over Sam Houston. The Red Raiders’ next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | – | 2-0 | | 9 | Michigan | Morez Johnson finished with 24 points and three assists in Monday’s 121-78 win over Oakland. The Wolverines’ next game is Tuesday against Wake Forest. | – | 1-0 | | 10 | Duke | Cameron Boozer finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday’s 75-60 win over Texas. The Blue Devils’ next game is Saturday against Western Carolina. | – | 1-0 | | 11 | UCLA | Xavier Booker finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Friday’s 74-63 win over Pepperdine. The Bruins’ next game is Monday against West Georgia. | – | 2-0 | | 12 | Kentucky | Malachi Moreno finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s 107-59 win over Valparaiso. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday at Louisville. | – | 2-0 | | 13 | Iowa St. | Joshua Jefferson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s 102-62 win over Grambling. The Cyclones’ next game is Monday against Mississippi State. | – | 2-0 | | 14 | Louisville | Ryan Conwell finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s 106-70 win over Jackson State. The Cardinals’ next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | – | 2-0 | | 15 | Illinois | Kylan Boswell finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s 113-70 win over Florida Gulf Coast. The Illini’s next game is Tuesday against Texas Tech. | 1 | 2-0 | | 16 | Alabama | Labaron Philon finished with 22 points and eight assists in Monday’s 91-62 win over North Dakota. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Saturday at St. John’s. | 1 | 1-0 | | 17 | Michigan St. | Jaxon Kohler finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in Monday’s 80-69 win over Colgate. The Spartans’ next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | 1 | 1-0 | | 18 | Oregon | Nate Bittle finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 67-63 win over Rice. The Ducks’ next game is Wednesday against South Dakota State. | 1 | 2-0 | | 19 | Arkansas | Trevon Brazile finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s 109-77 win over Southern. The Razorbacks’ next game is Saturday at Michigan State. | 1 | 1-0 | | 20 | Gonzaga | Tyon Grant-Foster finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Monday’s 98-43 win over Texas Southern. The Zags’ next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | 1 | 1-0 | | 21 | N. Carolina | Caleb Wilson finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Friday’s 87-74 win over Kansas. The Tar Heels’ next game is Tuesday against Radford. | 3 | 2-0 | | 22 | Kansas | Melvin Council Jr. was 2-of-11 from the field in Friday’s 87-74 loss at North Carolina. The Jayhawks’ next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M Corpus Christie. | 7 | 1-1 | | 23 | Tennessee | Nate Ament finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Monday’s 76-61 win over Mercer. The Vols’ next game is Saturday against Northern Kentucky. | 1 | 1-0 | | 24 | Auburn | Keyshawn Hall finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday’s 95-57 win over Merrimack. The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | 1 | 2-0 | | 25 | Wisconsin | Nick Boyd finished with 25 points and two steals in Friday’s 97-72 win over Northern Illinois. The Badgers’ next game is Tuesday against Ball State. | – | 2-0 | | 26 | Ole Miss | AJ Storr finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Friday’s 86-65 win over UL Monroe. The Rebels’ next game is Tuesday against Memphis. | – | 2-0 |