NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 1st week of 2022-23 season

2. Are There Reason for Concern at North Carolina?

Last season was an epic performance for North Carolina. Hubert Davis took over the program from legendary head coach Roy Williams and these Tar Heels struggled at times last year. The Tar Heels lost a few head-scratchers, including a home game to Pittsburgh, before putting everything together when it mattered most. They advanced to the national championship game as an 8-seed, knocking off rival Duke in the Final Four along the way.

This season, much of that talent is back in Chapel Hill and it’s a major reason why the Tar Heels were ranked #1 to start the year. Armando Bacot is the biggest name back for the Tar Heels, but the talented forward is just the beginning. Leaky Black, RJ Davis, and Caleb Love all returned as well and they added Pete Nance, a former forward at Northwestern and an attractive piece in the transfer portal.

However, the open to the season hasn’t exactly been the high-powered impressive start that many expected. On opening night, the Tar Heels pulled out a 13-point win against UNC Wilmington, perhaps a closer margin than many expected. Their second game was even more dire, as they actually trailed Charleston by 7 at the half before notching a 102-86 victory. Sure, they took care of business and sit 2-0 but should we be worried?

Giving up 50 points in a half to those Cougars isn’t a good sign for the defense. Additionally, the Tar Heels are just 7 of 30 from beyond the arc through two games, with poor shooting plaguing their efforts in the opening week of the season. They let Charleston shoot pretty well on Friday night but fortunately had more than enough in the tank to claw back to a win. The Tar Heels can’t play like this against some of the stronger teams on their schedule, but it’s too early to panic in Chapel Hill. If they play like this in the Phil Knight Invitational in two weeks, then maybe we’ll have another conversation.