19. North Carolina (2-0)
The four years that Hubert Davis has spent as head coach at North Carolina have been a wildly rocky ride, but he’s spent the offseason trying to get this program in the right direction again. The Tar Heels entered the season certainly among the favorites in the ACC, but just may have proven this week why they are serious contenders both at the conference level and the national one too.
We weren’t going to learn much on opening night, but the Tar Heels did get a nice 94-54 win over Central Arkansas in the process. It was a great defensive effort while freshman Caleb Wilson put up 22 points in his collegiate debut. The magic came in full force on Friday, as a strong second half helped North Carolina top Kansas 87-74 in a brilliant performance. Wilson continued to shine in the early season with 24 points and 7 rebounds while fellow newcomer Henri Veesaar added 20 points to topple the Jayhawks.
All victories matter, especially at this point in the season, but triumphing over a team like Kansas feels extra sweet for Davis and these Tar Heels. Despite digging an early hole, North Carolina dug deeper and played a fantastic game on offense to get a win that could help propel this team in the weeks ahead. The Tar Heels can keep figuring out their rotations in the weeks ahead, as they’ll be staying home, with their most notable game in the next fifteen days coming against Radford.