Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 18 state of North Carolina teams for 2021-22 season

By Cooper Watson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: A general view of the tip off between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: A general view of the tip off between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 9
Next
NCAA Basketball Andre Jackson North Carolina A&T Aggies (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Andre Jackson North Carolina A&T Aggies (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /

14. North Carolina A&T

A founding member of the MEAC, North Carolina A&T has moved on to the Big South this offseason—a significant step-up in men’s basketball competition. A&T joins Campbell, UNC Asheville, Gardner-Webb, and High Point as the five North Carolina schools in the league.

Although the competitive balance in the Big South will be a challenge, the Aggies will have a team capable of landing them well into the upper half of the league in 2021-22.

A&T finished second in the country in bench minutes last season per KenPom, with Head Coach Will Jones playing a 12-man rotation. The Aggies return six of those 12 rotation players, including three of their top five scorers in Kameron Langley (10.6 PPG), Blake Harris (8.6 PPG), and Tyler Maye (7.8 PPG).

The Aggies also brought in five key transfers in UCF center Collin Smith (12.6 PPG), Purdue-Fort Wayne G Demetric Horton (9.1 PPG), La Salle G David Beatty (8.8 PPG), North Carolina Central F Justin Whatley (6.2 PPG) and former four-star recruit Marcus Watson (3.4 PPG) from New Mexico State.

Although A&T lost quite a bit to the transfer portal, they brought in and retain enough talent to make a push for their fifth straight winning season in 2021-22.

13. UNC Asheville

After winning four regular-season titles and making three NCAA Tournaments over the span of a decade, UNC Asheville has failed to put together a winning season overall in Mike Morrell’s three seasons as head coach. Just two years after a 4-27 season, UNCA managed to piece together a 9-5 record in conference play last year, although they finished at 10-10 overall.

The good news is that the Bulldogs return their entire starting five from last season, highlighted by seniors guards Tajion Jones (15.9 PPG) and L.J. Thorpe (11.6 PPG).

Although it seems like Asheville is still a few years away from returning to their spot towards the top of the Big South hierarchy, they retain enough talent and experience to approach the favorites on the right night in 2021-22.

Home/NCAA Basketball News