North Carolina Basketball: How dangerous are the Tar Heels? (Video)

North Carolina basketball has off the charts talent and cohesion that could help them earn an ACC title and a National Championship.

Sitting at 21-4 and atop the ACC Standings, Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels are one of the toughest teams in the country to figure out on a weekly basis.

The Tar Heels haven’t lost in Chapel Hill all season and three of their four losses are against schools in the RPI top 30, but they hold a SOS of 76, which is by far the lowest of any team ranked in the top 10, and they lost at Northern Iowa, a squad that has lost six times in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Marcus Paige went into a dramatic shooting slump in January, Justin Jackson has been hot-and-cold, Kennedy Meeks missed seven games with a bone bruise in his knee and the Tar Heels have dealt with toughness issues in the paint. But through all the adversity, North Carolina still remains the most dangerous team in the ACC and one of the more talented teams in the entire nation.

UNC is capable of cutting the nets down in April because of their depth, experience and a future pro Brice Johnson.

Johnson has molded into one of the front runners for ACC Player of the Year and a candidate for National Player of the Year, as the forward is averaging a stellar 16.3 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. Johnson was a force in the paint when Meeks was out and he put together one of the best performances you will ever see at the college level, scoring 39 points and grabbing 23 rebounds in a victory over Florida State.

While Johnson isn’t a player who can take over a game by creating his own shot, the senior’s knack for the basketball and ability to finish through contact is special.

Most importantly, Johnson won’t have to do the dirty work all by himself.

Even after his slump, Paige has remained confident and has scored 48 points in the Tar Heels’ last three outings. The emergence of Berry at the lead guard position has pushed Paige off the ball, giving him more shots in rhythm, and his intelligence/high basketball IQ will be a huge plus on the biggest stage. The senior guard has played in the NCAA Tournament in all three of his previous seasons and finished with 22 points in a third round win over Arkansas last March.

Meanwhile, Meeks is still starting to round into form but his potential to score in the paint and make an impact nightly has been evident (23 points and six boards against North Carolina State). Jackson, who can play multiple positions, has excellent size, shooting ability and has improved his handles.

There are also key contributors off the bench as Britt can make shots and give UNC another ball handler, Pinson is an athletic wing player who does the dirty work and Isaiah Hicks gives Williams an athletic body that can increase the team’s speed in the interior.

More busting brackets: Busting Brackets Bracketology

The Tar Heels don’t have the future pro prospects of Kentucky and Duke (two other teams that will be feared in March), but they do possess accomplished college stars, who have cohesion and have dealt with the intense rigors of the Big Dance. And with multiple opportunities to prove themselves down the stretch, North Carolina could fight for a number one seed come Selection Sunday and loom as one of the favorites to advance to Houston.