North Carolina (12-6) (NET: 34)
1-6 (Q1), 4-0 (Q2), 5-0 (Q3), 2-0 (Q4)
The nonconference schedule presented a plethora of opportunities for the Tar Heels but North Carolina did not take advantage. The lone Quad 1 win came in a close call against UCLA about a month ago in New York, and that Bruins team hasn’t looked great in recent weeks themselves. Other notable wins include Dayton in Maui and against SMU by 15 points last week.
Even though they wasted all those opportunities, at least North Carolina’s losses are all against Quad 1 teams. They had a close call at Kansas in the opening week before dropping three straight games to Auburn, Michigan State, and Alabama, with the first two of those coming in Maui. A 13-point loss at Louisville on New Year’s Day was tough, but do the Tar Heels still have better basketball ahead of them?
Being 5-1 in this version of the ACC clearly sounds better than it actually is. The Tar Heels fumbled away their chances against top teams before league play and now need to do their best to avoid similar fumbles against their league foes. North Carolina can likely afford a loss or two down the stretch, but avoiding serious anchors to this resume is a necessity.
As things currently stand, the Tar Heels have six more Quad 1 games, including home-and-homes with both Duke and Pittsburgh looming large. They’ll not only need to take advantage of those opportunities, but to avoid losing to the non-competitive teams, easier said than done after recent close calls against NC State and Notre Dame. Still, North Carolina has won four straight and would likely nothing more than to at least split the series with the Blue Devils and Panthers in the months to come.