Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Updated way-too-early power rankings for 2023-24 season

By Tristan Freeman

Jan 11, 2023; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers forward PJ Hall (24) celebrates after scoring and being fouled against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2023; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers forward PJ Hall (24) celebrates after scoring and being fouled against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball
ACC Basketball Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

2022-23 season record: 20-13 (11-9)

After going from preseason No. 1 to missing out on the NCAA Tournament altogether, changes were going to be made. Seniors Leaky Black and Pete Nance were going to move on regardless while leading scorer Caleb Love entered the transfer portal. Also gone are a number of bench players and former top-100 prospects, including Puff Johnson, D’Marco Dunn, Dontrez Styles, and Tyler Nickel.

Who is back are arguably the two best players on last season’s roster. RJ Davis averaged 16.1 ppg and 3.2 apg in the backcourt, while Armando Bacot is one of the best big men in the country, producing 15.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg at the center position. The team also has top-30 guard Simeon Wilcher joining in, as well as four-star forward, Zayden High.

There are four incoming transfers on the roster, including two that are ACC players. Jae’lyn Withers averaged 8.9 ppg as the starting forward at Louisville, making 42% of his three-point shots. And Cormac Ryan is another incoming sharpshooter, coming off 12.5 ppg at Notre Dame. Paxson Wojcik is a 6’4 transfer from Brown that produced 14.9 ppg and 7.2 rpg, while Harrison Ingram is a former five-star prospect and double-digit scoring wing, coming over from Stanford.

Will the new supporting cast work for Bacot and Davis? That remains to be seen. But the program and Coach Hubert Davis have plenty of expectations to get back to the postseason next year and if they don’t, the coach’s seat could start to get warm.