It feels like basketball heaven in Chapel Hill, North Carolina right now.
The UNC men’s basketball team sits atop the ACC (13-3, 5-0) and is playing its best all season, winning its last six games thanks to its signature, high-octane offense and newly-discovered strong defense. Carolina has beaten some phenomenal teams this seasons, including two ranked teams in previously-undefeated Oklahoma and sixth-ranked Tennessee.
The Tar Heels, themselves, are ranked fourth in the latest AP Poll. For those of you who are already making NCAA Tournament bracket predictions, that translates to a top regional seed.
Given UNC is one of college hoops’ best teams this year, they’re also high in several additional rankings.
One of those is ESPN’s Power Rankings, which Carolina rose to third in the latest edition of.
“In the six games since UNC lost to Kentucky, the Tar Heels have had the best defense in college basketball,” ESPN staff writer Jeff Borzello wrote.” “During this span, they’re first in defensive effective field goal percentage, fourth in 2-point percentage defense and second in 3-point percentage defense. They’ve held all six opponents to fewer than 0.93 points per possession, with neither NC State or Syracuse – their past two opponents – reaching even 0.80 points per possession. Their past four opponents have shot a combined 12-for-87 (13.8%) from 3-point range.”
UNC had the ACC’s third-worst defense earlier this season – in terms of opponent points per game. The Tar Heels have faced talented, offensive players in P.J. Hall and Judah Mintz during recent games, only to shut them down.
Carolina’s offense still sports the scoring prowess we’ve all come to know and love, scoring 100 points for the third time all year last Saturday against Syracuse.
UNC will look to continue its dominance on Wednesday, Jan. 17, as it faces Louisville for a 9 p.m. ET tip-off. The Cardinals (6-10, 1-4), who sit in the ACC’s cellar, have struggled ever since former player Kenny Payne took over before the 2022-2023 campaign.
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