North Carolina
A lot has happened in Chapel Hill since Roy Williams retired back in 2021, though Hubert Davis has seemed more than capable of winning big games with the Tar Heels. After all, he led this program to the national championship game in his first season at the helm. Just RJ Davis remains from that breakthrough season, though North Carolina leans heavily on him and a few other important faces for success this year.
It’s hard to be too disappointed, especially with how this team has fought, but the results haven’t been pretty through the opening week. Elon hung around with this team on opening night before the Tar Heels pulled away for the win. The loss was a bit more understandable, as the Tar Heels played a true road game at Kansas on Friday night. After trailing early by as many as 20 points, North Carolina fought back to take a late lead before falling by 3 points.
There is an extremely short list of teams in the nation that would’ve won at Kansas on Friday, let alone clawed all the way back after trailing by nearly two dozen. What’s apparent is that replacing Armando Bacot and his interior presence is going to be a bigger challenge than expected, as Hunter Dickinson excelled against this defense. Davis and the offense hit the shots when they needed them, while Seth Trimble and Elliot Cadeau are taking early steps forward. We’re buying North Carolina only if they can figure out the frontcourt, because that’s a major issue two games into the season.
Buy