UNC Basketball: 5 reasons why the Tar Heels are preseason title contenders

With a returning superstar and tremendous history of competitiveness, UNC basketball belongs in the preseason discussion as a national title contender.

UNC basketball has been one of the most dominant programs in college hoops for the last several years. As polarizing as they can be sometimes, the Tar Heels are consistently a top-10 team in the country with national championship aspirations. As we look ahead to 2018-19, this season feels no different. While UNC is losing a couple of valuable pieces from last year, it is possible that the team could be even better this time around. This is due to the fact that the team is returning a fair amount of experienced talent while also bringing in some excellent recruits.

North Carolina has been ranked in the AP preseason top-15 in each of the last 12 seasons. Considering the roster that head coach Roy Williams has put together, there is no reason to believe that that trend will stop this year. In addition, the program has received a top-4 seed in their respective region in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons. Our way-too-early preseason Bracketology backs up the possibility of this trend continuing as well, awarding the Tar Heels a No. 2 seed.

Of course, these are lofty expectations. However, given how successful UNC Basketball has been over the course of college basketball history, there are plenty of reasons to believe these expectations can be met. Considering these rankings, it seems likely that the Tar Heels will be among the top contenders to win the national championship in 2018-19. In fact, Odds Shark gives North Carolina 15-1 odds of cutting down the nets.

Let’s take a look at why the Tar Heels are a preseason favorite.