ACC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season

Mar 27, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels pose for a photo after the Tar Heels defeated the St. Peters Peacocks in the finals of the East regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

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Pete Nance Northwestern Wildcats (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

1. North Carolina Tar Heels

After losing to Kansas in the national title game, there was an early expectation that the Tar Heels would have to rebuild its starting lineup. Stretch forward Brady Manek was automatically gone but the other four could’ve easily either graduated and moved on or entered the NBA Draft.

Instead, starting guards Caleb Love and RJ Davis, defensive standout Leaky Black, and star big man and double-double machine Armando Bacot all decided to come back early in the offseason, making head coach Hubert Davis’ job all the easier in terms of remaking the roster. The combined production coming back from that quartet was 55 ppg, 25 rpg and 10 apg, as well as an elite defender in Black.

It took all offseason to find Manek’s replacement at the four-spot but the wait was worth it, landing Northwestern forward Pete Nance. The 6’10 big man averaged 14.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg while shooting 45% from three-point range and while not as good a pure shooter as Manek, is a better defender and more versatile offensive option inside.

That doesn’t even include the bench, featuring top-75 incoming freshmen, Jalen Washington, Seth Trimble and Tyler Nickel. And if any of the sophomores (Dontrez Styles, D’Marco Dunn, Puff Johnson) can break out, the Tar Heels won’t have to play a 6-man rotation in key matchups.

Next. Updated Big Ten power rankings for 2022-23. dark

Duke’s freshmen could turn out better than North Carolina but based on the proven production, the Tar Heels has to get the early nod. And not only are they the team to beat in ACC Basketball, UNC could be the best in the entire country for the 2022-23 campaign.