Sitting at 7-2 after nine games into the current college basketball season, UNC’s men’s hoops squad is in a pretty solid position ahead of another tough, non-conference test against Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 16.
Carolina just lost its Jimmy V Classic matchup to UConn, the reigning National Champions, on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Despite the Tar Heels’ best efforts and multiple second-half runs, which closed the game to a couple possessions, the Huskies’ hot shooting proved too much to overcome.
UNC’s only other loss is in overtime to Villanova, another college basketball blue blood who sits at 6-4. Carolina’s lost non-conference games in years’ past to the likes of Belmont (Tenn.) University and Wofford who, despite being some of the stronger, mid-major conference teams, are nowhere near the level of Nova and UConn.
Regardless of what happens against Kentucky, Carolina’s already off to its best start since 2021-2022. We’d talk about how disappointing last season was, but I’m sure you all are tired of hearing the “Preseason Number One to missing the NCAA Tournament” narrative.
Instead in this story, we’ll compare UNC’s current nine-game start to those of the past 10 seasons.
While every team’s goal is to play solid basketball all year long, it’s always better to play your strongest in March and April.