NCAA Tournament 2019: Buy or sell Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia and UNC?

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 15: Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a three pointer against the Duke Blue Devils during their game in the semifinals of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

North Carolina Tar Heels – SELL

North Carolina is 15-2 in their last 17 games and have played some of the best basketball in the country as of late. This run included two wins against Duke, of course it was without Zion Williamson. They did lose to the Blue Devils in the ACC semifinals, but it was a great game and was even throughout.

The Tar Heels are led by Cameron Johnson and Coby White along with senior Luke Maye. This trio has been great for North Carolina and will allow them to beat anybody. After a somewhat slow start to the year, they have hit their stride and can play with anybody. They like to run and have been able to do that throughout the ACC. They play as fast as anybody in the country and is tough to defend. They score a lot of points and force turnovers. The combination is tough to go up against and can cause problems for any team.

The problem for North Carolina is they could run into Auburn in the Sweet 16. The Tigers are playing as well as the Tar Heels right now and have found their shooting touch and when they do that, they can win. They got hot in the SEC tournament and blew out Tennessee in the final for their second win against the Volunteers. They would be a tough game for North Carolina.

If they get by Auburn then Kentucky or Houston could be waiting for them. Kentucky already beat them in the regular season and Houston has only lost three games this year and can play with anyone. Iowa State could also sneak through and they just got done winning the Big 12 tournament. It is not an easy draw for the Tar Heels, and yes they have played great lately but if they run into a team that can slow them down they struggle in the half court at times. They have some bad matchup possibilities in their region and could be tough to make it out.

There are a lot of people picking the Tar Heels to make the finals, but they need to be careful with them. They might not make it out of the Sweet 16. The teams that are easy to pick into the finals, usually come up short.

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