In an offseason when the UNC basketball program had been anointed as the preseason favorites to win the ACC and the National Championship, it all became official over the last week with preseason AP and ACC polls.
After being selected as the No. 1 overall team in the preseason AP Top 25, the Tar Heels were also pinned as the No. 1 team in the ACC in its official preseason standings.
The Tar Heels earned 90 votes for first place. Others to receive first place votes were Virginia (6), Duke (2), Miami (2) and Virginia Tech (1).
This if the first time since the 2015-16 season in which North Carolina has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the ACC. That team went on to the National Championship game, before losing in heartbreaking fashion to Villanova at the buzzer.
Along with their first place standing, the Tar Heels also had [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] named as the ACC Player of the Year and [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and Bacot on the All-ACC First Team and [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] on the Second Team.
As Hubert Davis enters his second season, expectations for this team and program and extremely high. For a team that returns four starters and the majority of its main core from last year’s runner-up team, the sentiment around the team is a ‘championship or bust’ type mentality.
The Tar Heels get their season started officially on Nov. 7 with a home matchup against UNC-Wilmington.
Below are the full preseason standings.
2022 ACC Preseason Poll
1. North Carolina (90), 1504 points
2. Duke (2), 1339
3. Virginia (6), 1310
4. Miami (2), 1138
5. Florida State, 1064
6. Notre Dame, 971
7. Virginia Tech (1), 921
8. Syracuse, 700
9. Wake Forest, 672
10. NC State, 548
11. Clemson, 528
12. Louisville, 477
13. Boston College, 368
14. Pitt, 320
15. Georgia Tech, 260
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.