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College basketball rankings: North Carolina moves up in Top 25 And 1 after Belmont's Cade Tyson transfers in – CBS Sports
College coaches — not all of them, but certainly some college coaches — are starting to better understand how important it is to add pieces that make sense and improve weaknesses as opposed to just stack talent on top of talent with little regard for how everything fits and works.
Shooting has been prioritized.
Which is why it should come as no surprise that two of the biggest brands in college athletics — North Carolina and Tennessee — both spent the past few weeks seriously pursuing Cade Tyson, a 6-foot-7 guard who shot 46.5% from 3-point range on 5.5 attempts per game as a sophomore at Belmont. On Sunday, Tyson announced a commitment to UNC — meaning the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, who graduated high school just 150 miles from North Carolina’s campus, will soon be representing his home-state university. It’s an incredible story considering Tyson was listed as a zero-star recruit by 247Sports just two years ago.
Tyson’s commitment will help fourth-year coach Hubert Davis offset some of the shooting that left the program when Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram exited after helping the Tar Heels win the ACC regular-season title and secure a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The development has North Carolina up to No. 3 in Version 15.0 of the 2024-25 CBS Sports preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, where Kansas remains No. 1 thanks to the return of Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams — plus the additions of transfers AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Rylan Griffen (Alabama), Riley Kugel (Florida), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and five-star freshman Flory Bidunga.
Simply put, the Jayhawks are loaded and have understandably become the favorites in the betting markets to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament. KU is currently +1000 to cut nets next April in San Antonio, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The only other development that impacted Version 15.0 of the Top 25 And 1 is Alabama securing a commitment on Sunday from four-star prospect Labaron Philon. The 6-4 point guard is ranked 33rd in the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports. The Crimson Tide are now No. 8 in the Top 25 And 1 and will jump higher if Mark Sears ultimately decides to withdraw from the 2024 NBA Draft and return to school.
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