North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC (27-7, 14-4)
Following their disappointing loss to Villanova in the national championship game, North Carolina will look to take one more step and claim another title. With an ACC title under their belt, this group has the talent and experience, which is not always the case with Tar Heel squads, to make it happen in 2017.
Big Wins: 1/14 Florida State (96-83), 2/18 Virginia (65-41), 2/22 Louisville (74-63)
Bad Losses: 11/30 at Indiana (67-76), 12/31 at Georgia Tech (63-75), 1/28 at Miami FL (62-77)
Coach: Roy Williams
Why They Can Surprise:
North Carolina does a lot of things well, but what they do best is crash the glass. It helps that Coach Roy Williams has a lot of size in his starting five. Theo Pinson, who is 6-6, and Justin Jackson, at 6-8, start on the wing. Pinson and Jackson usually matchup with players who struggle to deal with their size and athleticism. Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks are the bruisers in the paint. Meeks is one of the best rebounders in the country and averages 9.1 per game. This team will get a lot of second chance points from their willingness to hit the offensive glass and that can be extremely demoralizing for the opposition. It also leads to plenty of points and few teams have had any luck slowing down this offense.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The two things that can slow down the Tar Heels offense are turnovers and poor shooting. Much of that comes down to Joel Berry II. The junior point guard has done a very good job setting up his teammates and scoring himself, but it is his job to make sure the North Carolina offense stays under control and works through Hicks and Meeks in the paint. Along with Jackson, Berry is this team’s three-point shooting threat as well. The season ending injury to Kenny Williams has really limited North Carolina’s shooters. Nate Britt is basically the only shooter on the bench and if Jackson and Berry are struggling with their shots, Britt better be ready to come in and knock down some shots and help stretch the defense. North Carolina is not a team that is going to rely heavily on three-pointers, but they do need to make some. The loss of Williams has also hurt the overall depth. Coach Williams will still make his line switches by bringing in four or five new players at a time, but not all those players are going to stay in the game very long since this group really only goes eight deep, not nine or ten.
Probable Starters:
Joel Berry II, Junior, Guard, 14.8 ppg, 3.7 apg
Theo Pinson, Junior, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 4.1 apg, 4.5 rpg
Justin Jackson, Junior, Forward, 18.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg
Isaiah Hicks, Senior, Forward, 12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Kennedy Meeks, Senior, Forward, 12.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Luke Maye, Sophomore, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Tony Bradley, Freshman, Forward, 7.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg
Nate Britt, Senior, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 2.3 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 85.2 (11th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.5 (128, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.2 (43, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.6 (62, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.3 (181, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.0 (84, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.0 (176, 11)
Rebound Margin: 13.0 (1, 1)
Assists Per Game: 18.0 (4, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.0 (73, 8)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Florida Gulf Coast
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Providence
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Indiana
2016 NCAA Regional Final win over Notre Dame
2016 NCAA National Semifinal win over Syracuse
2016 NCAA National Final loss to Villanova
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over Harvard
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arkansas
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Wisconsin
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Providence
2014 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Iowa State
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Villanova
2013 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Vermont
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Creighton
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Ohio
2012 NCAA Regional Final loss to Kansas
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Long Island
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Washington
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Marquette
2011 NCAA Regional Final loss to Kentucky
2010 NIT First Round win over William & Mary
2010 NIT Second Round win over Mississippi State
2010 NIT Quarterfinal win over UAB
2010 NIT Semifinal win over Rhode Island
2010 NIT Final loss to Dayton
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Radford
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over LSU
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Gonzaga
2009 NCAA Regional Final win over Oklahoma
2009 NCAA National Semifinal win over Villanova
2009 NCAA National Final win over Michigan State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Mount St. Mary's
2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arkansas
2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Washington State
2008 NCAA Regional Final win over Louisville
2008 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Kansas
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Eastern Kentucky
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Michigan State
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over USC
2007 NCAA Regional Final loss to Georgetown
*all team stats through 3/5
