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ACC Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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ACC Basketball North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

2. North Carolina Tar Heels

Realistically, there wasn’t any question as to who the top two spots on this list would be. The funny thing is, had this expansion news come a year prior, I might have had the Tar Heels No. 1. That’s because new head coach Hubert Davis led a surprising run all the way to the national title game.

The replacement for Hall of Famer Roy Williams had all of the momentum in the world entering the past year. However, despite entering the 2022-23 campaign as the preseason No. 1 team, the Tar Heels made history by missing out on the NCAA Tournament altogether. Coach Davis may not be fully on the hot seat yet but it would be advised if he got the program back towards being ranked and in the top tier of ACC Basketball.

But the reality is that this is one of the historic blue bloods in all of college basketball and will always be an ideal destination for any prospects. Despite what happened last season, UNC already has the early No. 1 recruiting class for 2024 and still managed a good transfer class to retool the roster.

The question about Davis being the long-term coach is valid but not enough to take them out of the No. 2 spot. But the in-state rival with a little more stability owns them on this list.