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North Carolina Basketball: 5 things the Tar Heels need for Christmas in 2018

By Jason Kinander

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: (L-R) Nassir Little #5, Coby White #2 and Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react during the second half of their against the Gonzaga Bulldogs game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: (L-R) Nassir Little #5, Coby White #2 and Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react during the second half of their against the Gonzaga Bulldogs game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 05: The North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks bench reacts after a turnover by Andrew Platek #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 05, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 05: The North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks bench reacts after a turnover by Andrew Platek #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 05, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

An ACC regular season Conference Championship

Virginia won the ACC regular season championship last season. Before that, the Tar Heels had won back-to-back ACC championships for the first time since 2011-2012.

Most of the players, with the exception of Maye and Williams, from those 2016 and 2017 teams are gone, but that doesn’t mean that the Tar Heels don’t have as good of a chance as anybody. With Little and White at the helm, and the experience of Williams and Maye, the North Carolina Tar Heels are a serious contender to win the ACC.

Duke and Virginia are the only two ACC teams ranked higher than North Carolina, with Virginia Tech not too far behind. Past those four teams, there is a group of a couple of teams that are likely NCAA tournament teams, but not likely ACC championship contenders. Its likely a four-team race this time around, with Duke the clear favorite.

However, if the wish in the last slide can come true, then the Tar Heels’ path to a regular season championship would get a lot easier. They’d likely need to split their two games against Virginia, and win at least one game against Virginia Tech. Only a couple of conference losses should do the trick in what should be a very, very competitive conference from top-to-bottom.

Additionally, an ACC conference championship certainly net the Tar Heels a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. While last season showed us that being a one seed isn’t a guaranteed win, being a top seed would make the Tar Heels’ path to the Final Four a whole lot easier.

Next. Latest Bracketology field of 68. dark

North Carolina is in pretty good shape heading into the New Year, but they still have a lot to wish for Christmas. If everything on the Tar Heels’ list is fulfilled, UNC players and fans will certainly still be reaping the benefits of Christmas well into April.

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