If there’s anything I’ve learned during my years covering the sports industry, it’s that betting against the North Carolina Tar Heels is never a good idea, no matter how dire things may seem. The Tar Heels were picked to finish third in the conference in the ACC’s preseason poll this year: for any other program, that would be the mark of an exciting season ahead, but for the Tar Heels, it feels more like a slight… especially when their arch rival, the Duke Blue Devils, were a near unanimous pick to lead the conference.
North Carolina was coming off a difficult season in which they missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a full season since 2010, and after seeing a team ranked No. 1 in the preseason go entirely off the rails, it’s safe to say that the jury was out on head coach Hubert Davis: had the Tar Heels struggled again this season, he could’ve ended up on the hot seat for a team reeling to replace the presence of Hall of Fame head coach Roy Williams.
Tar Heels Silence the Doubters
With barely a month to go in the regular season, the Tar Heels sit atop the ACC with a gleaming 18-4 record (10-1 in ACC play), having won 11 of their last 12 games. Two of those early season losses came against current Top Ten teams, including the UConn Huskies, reigning national champions, and the Tar Heels are ranked No. 3. UNC doubled down on their dominance this weekend, handing the No. 7 Blue Devils a commanding 93-84 loss, a result that gave them a two-game cushion for the conference lead with nine games to play.
As things stand right now, North Carolina betting sites list the Tar Heels with the runaway best odds of winning the regular season (at or around -800) and the fourth best odds (at or around +300) of making the Final Four. There’s still plenty of season left, and as last year’s disappointing campaign showed, anything can happen… but Tar Heels fans have to feel good about their chances now, especially given the guarded expectations coming into this season.
It’s been a weird few years for college basketball, with no real super teams taking shape since the Blue Devils’ trio of Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish took the NCAA by storm during the 2018-19 season, but if anything, that has to give the Tar Heels even more confidence. Anything can happen in a wide open competition, and it wouldn’t be any surprise if UNC ends up cutting down the nets for the seventh time in program history by the time early April rolls around.
What Spurs the Heels Success?
In this era of ‘one and dones’ taking off for the NBA Draft after one season spent in college, there’s something to be said for players who stay in school, taking time to develop and learn the college game, giving coaches ample time to meld them to the needs of the program.
That’s precisely what the Tar Heels have in super senior Armando Bacot, who feels like he’s been in college for much of the past decade. The 6-foot-11, 240 pound big man has averaged a double-double for each of the past three seasons, growing into one of the better players in the NCAA. He may not be a top tier NBA prospect, but overwhelming talent isn’t everything in college basketball. If you look at the Tar Heels’ most recent championship in 2017, it was players like Kennedy Meeks, Justin Jackson and Luke Maye who helped carry them to victory—none of whom had much of a career to speak of in the NBA.
Senior guard RJ Davis, much like Bacot, has helped the Tar Heels succeed, averaging 21.3 points per game: the 11th-best margin in the entire NCAA. Those long-time teammates helped give Davis some continuity through a tumultuous offseason, making it easier for new recruits and transfer portal additions to find their feet in Chapel Hill.
Praise For Hubert Davis
Similarly, it’s important to give due credit to Hubert Davis for the job he’s done coaching the Tar Heels this season. Following on the heels of Roy Williams is no easy feat, especially with rumors swirling that he could be coaching for his job because of last season’s disappointing result.
It feels ridiculous that a coach would see his career on the line less than two years removed from a three-point loss in the National Championship game, but that’s what happens in a town like Chapel Hill where expectations are sky high year in and year out.
Davis had his work cut out for him after the Tar Heels got raided in the transfer portal, but he managed to bring in five star point guard recruit Elliot Cadeau, who currently leads the team in assists as a true freshman, before rounding out his roster with additions like Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan. It can’t be easy to weather the storm of an offseason of uncertainty, but Davis has done so with gusto, and the Tar Heels seem poised for another deep tournament run because of it. He may not be the second coming of Roy Williams, but Davis certainly deserves patience. He’s acquitted himself nicely in the past three years at the helm.
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