4. North Carolina (1-seed)
Armando Bacot (Senior – Forward)
A major presence for the Tar Heels across the last five seasons, Bacot is in his swan song but is having another excellent season, averaging 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for North Carolina. In his third straight season averaging a double-double, Bacot has maintained his standing as one of the nation’s top rebounders and has scored at least 18 points in each of North Carolina’s last four games. He helped push the Tar Heels to title game two years ago and hopes to end his career on a similar high note.
Elliot Cadeau (Freshman – Guard)
A true freshman playing major minutes, Cadeau has settled into a nice role with the Tar Heels. He’s averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 assists in a significant role in the backcourt. North Carolina isn’t leaning on Cadeau to score every night, but he’s making his impact with the little things that don’t often show up on the stats sheet; he has more assists than points so far in the Big Dance and sits 2nd in the ACC in total assists on the year.
RJ Davis (Senior – Guard)
Recently named ACC Player of the Year, it’s fair to say that Davis is having a massive fourth season at North Carolina. A major part of that run to the championship game from 2022, he’s averaging 21.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this year as the Tar Heels’ leader on the offensive end. The ACC’s top scorer, Davis dropped at least 20 in the first two NCAA Tournament games and has several 30-point efforts on the season, standing as one of the most impactful presences left in the Big Dance.
Harrison Ingram (Sophomore – Forward)
Ingram is a former 5-star recruit who committed to Stanford back in 2021 but transferred to North Carolina this past offseason. Impactful for the Cardinal, Ingram has been ever important for the Tar Heels, putting up 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. His addition to the frontcourt has been a major reason for the Tar Heels’ bounce back performance this season and he just dropped 17 points and 7 rebounds against Michigan State this past Saturday.
Cormac Ryan (Senior – Guard)
A highly-touted recruit from 2018, Ryan opted to spend his final season of eligibility with these Tar Heels after previously playing at Stanford and Notre Dame. He’s putting up great numbers, averaging 11.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and has been a great addition and veteran presence for North Carolina. Ryan is great from the charity stripe and affects the game in a number of ways, scoring at least 13 points in each of the Tar Heels’ first two Tournament performances.