UNC Basketball needs frontcourt to excel to win against Wisconsin Badgers
By Ian Mumm
UNC Basketball seemed to find themselves late in the season and managed to string together some wins to secure an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. A shaky start to the season cast doubt on if this squad could pull it together enough to make the tournament. However, the tremendous frontcourt depth on this year’s roster has shown drastic development lately to drive Carolina’s successes.
Winning six of their last nine games, Coach Roy Williams has been able to reliably go deeper into his frontcourt rotations for production. Relying on this talented group has provided the Tar Heels with the nation’s best offensive rebounding numbers and the #3 overall rebounding squad. This production has been extremely advantageous in controlling games on both ends of the floor and balances the youthful backcourt.
The freshman trio of Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, and RJ Davis have been maturing as the season has progressed and have been much more consistent in managing games for North Carolina. Collectively, they have helped to guide the program with minimal turnovers and strong defense. Increased consistency shooting the ball has also provided a nice boost to the team’s scoring potential, specifically showcased in wins over Duke and blowouts of Louisville and Notre Dame.
Selected as the #8 seed in the South Region, Carolina is facing a tough matchup against the #9 seed Wisconsin Badgers from the Big Ten conference. A mature and incredibly experienced group, the Tar Heels will have their work cut out for them and cannot be caught looking ahead to a potential meeting with #1 seed Baylor. Ahead of their opening-round game, what are the keys for UNC to pull out the victory?