4. North Carolina (25-6)
Some of the new pieces in Chapel Hill this season have been essential. These Tar Heels were dreadful at times last season, completely missing the Big Dance after entering the season as national favorites. This year, new faces like transfer Harrison Ingram and freshman Elliot Cadeau are having their impact felt, though it was a different newcomer who really starred this past weekend.
Before we get into that, the Tar Heels finished their home schedule back on Tuesday, suffering little drama in an 84-51 win over Notre Dame. RJ Davis contributed 22 points and 6 assists while Armando Bacot added 14 points and 5 rebounds. Saturday was perhaps the sweetest game of the season, with North Carolina winning 84-79 on the road against rival Duke. They completed the sweep over the Blue Devils thanks to a career-effort from Cormac Ryan, as the transfer had 31 points in the win.
It felt great for North Carolina to sweep their bitter rivals, though the result also means they are sitting alone atop the ACC standings this season. The Tar Heels had a few slip-ups back in early February, but finish the regular season at 17-3 in this league. North Carolina sprints to the ACC Tournament as one of the certain favorites, with a third shot at Duke likely ahead this upcoming weekend.