A flawless finish to non-conference play
As aforementioned, North Carolina has had a whirlwind non-conference season. The Tar Heels have won two of their three contests against ranked opponents, and while the one loss was pretty ugly, a record above .500 against high-level teams is impressive.
However, the Tar Heels aren’t quite done with ranked opponents. They’ll take on the #19 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in Chicago in the CBS Sports Classic, in a game featuring two teams with premier young talent.
While Kentucky hasn’t been nearly as good in 2018 as they typically are, Saturday’s showdown isn’t any less crucial for the Tar Heels. A 3-1 non-conference record against ranked teams would certainly help their resume and strength of schedule come selection time, and would give them serious momentum heading into conference play.
After the showdown in Chicago, North Carolina will face in-state rival Davidson in Chapel Hill, before hosting Harvard on January 2nd to close out their non-conference season.
An 11-2 non-conference record featuring wins over Gonzaga and Kentucky could make the Tar Heels a serious challenger to ACC favorite Duke once conference play begins in a couple of weeks.