19. North Carolina (16-4)
Last season was about as bad as things could get for the Tar Heels. While this team had showed promise in wins over Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio State, they were really scuffling in ACC play. After a poor showing in a loss at SMU, the Tar Heels lost both ends of the west coast road trip, falling at Stanford and California last week thanks largely to shoddy defensive play. This week they began to put those shortcomings behind them.
Back at home, the Tar Heels began to look more comfortable again, starting the week with a 91-69 victory against Notre Dame. Caleb Wilson had 22 points and Henri Veesaar had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the usual suspects prevailed. What transpired Saturday was perhaps a turning point as North Carolina used a strong second half to win 85-80 at Virginia, coming back from a 9-point halftime hold. The Tar Heels picked up their first ACC road win thanks to 20 points from Caleb Wilson as well as 17 points from Jarin Stevenson off the bench.
Even in those recent wins North Carolina’s defense hasn’t exactly been elite, but the season got back on track this week. The Tar Heels showed they can handle business away from Chapel Hill and even did it against a team some considered the second best in the ACC. These upcoming weeks will tell us plenty about Hubert Davis and this squad, especially next weekend’s latest road chance at Georgia Tech.
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