NCAA Basketball: “League Pass Rankings” for 2022-23 season

Tier Three: The “UNC” Tier

11. North Carolina

There was no team I shifted between “this is the worst watch in America” and “wow these guys look great tonight!” than 2021-2022 UNC. With two gunners in the backcourt, Caleb Love and RJ Davis, there was no telling what you were going to get. They were a combined 5-22 in a 28-point loss to Miami but combined for 37 a week later in a win against Virginia Tech. It’s a risk on a nightly basis.

Both Love and Davis are a year older, so you’d think they would be more consistent. Pressure is on them being the No. 1 team in the country preseason, can they rise to the occasion? I haven’t mentioned Armando Bacot yet, but I’m pretty neutral on him as a viewer. He is going to walk into double-doubles nightly on offensive rebounds and putbacks and post-ups, it is what it is. I do love the addition of Pete Nance next to him, an ultra-skilled and fun forward who should wake the country up to how good he is.

We’re all going to watch UNC given their status, but I’m not convinced the gun-slinging backcourt has the off-nights out of their system. The Carolina Blue, though, is one of the most iconic color schemes in the country.

10. Tennessee 

Tennessee falls in the UNC tier for similar reasons. I think two of the worst played basketball games I had the pleasure of watching last season were Tennessee-Texas Tech, a 57-52 overtime where both teams were a combined 10-64 from three. And Tennessee-Texas, which featured three fewer fouls than made field goals.

The Vols will be good again, and Zakai Ziegler should be one of the more exciting guards in the country. They are loaded with big forwards in Josiah Jordan-James, Julian Phillips, Uros Plavsic, and Jonas Aidoo. They don’t play particularly fast, or shoot a ton of threes, but rather just try to beat the crap out of you in the paint. When they hum, they are a well-oiled machine. They are my pick to win the SEC and should have a ton of competitive games, just be weary of some low scoring, grind-it-out clunkers.

Tier Two: The Auburn Experience

9. Auburn

Nothing attests more to the Auburn basketball experience than when their fans jumped in the mentions of the official Twitter account of Israel with a Auburn memes, after beating an Israeli youth team on a summer tour this past July. It’s a rabid fanbase that was a blast to follow along with during their 2022 SEC title run. Their homecourt, when buzzing, is one of the best in the country.

Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler are off to the NBA, but their ravenous backcourt of Wendell Green Jr. and KD Johnson is back. On the right night, you might think they are the best backcourt in the country. Off nights? They might be 3-20. But there won’t be a more energetic player than Johnson, and not one player makes me laugh more than him when the camera cuts to him. I would watch a “KD Johnson cam” every Auburn game if I could.

On the basketball side, the Yohan Traore-Dylan Cardwell frontcourt should be pretty interesting. Traore is a skilled freshman forward getting NBA buzz, and Cardwell has posted incredibly high dunk and block rates in his time as a backup. The team will go as far as Green and Johnson ultimately take them, but I will be tuned in for the ride.