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UNC Basketball: NBC Sports has UNC as a top 20 team

By Zack Pearson

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The Tar Heels crack NBC Sports preseason Top 25 but it’s not where you think

Next week will mark the start of the 2017-18 college basketball season for the North Carolina Tar Heels when they host Northern Iowa on Nov. 10.

UNC is opening up their title defense in the Dean Dome but have some question marks entering the season.

The biggest one comes in the front court.

The Tar Heels lost a lot of production when Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks graduated and Tony Bradley Jr. left for the NBA.

Even with the question marks, the Tar Heels are still considered one of the top teams in the nation and were ranked No. 9 in the USA Today preseason poll released just two weeks ago.  They likely will be in a similar spot when the Associated Press preseason Top 25 is released later this week.

But there is at least one media site that doesn’t think UNC is a top 10 team.

NBC Sports released their first poll of the season and it likely won’t make UNC fans happy.

The site has UNC as the No. 17 team in the nation going into the season, citing the front court problems as the reasoning.

Here’s what they wrote:

"This front line is not going to look like the front line of a typical North Carolina team. The best, most experienced player on the front line is Luke Maye, who had a couple of explosive performances last season but who is nothing like a typical, bully-on-the-block big that we’re used to seeing from Roy Williams."

Michigan State took the top spot in the rankings beating out No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Villanova.

The No. 17 ranking puts UNC behind fellow ACC schools Duke, No. 11 Miami, No. 12 Louisville and No. 14 Notre Dame.

UNC will need players like Luke Maye, Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman to step up down low. But with players like Joel Berry, Theo Pinson, Kenny Williams, Seventh Woods  and Cam Johnson on the team, the Tar Heels have plenty of experience on the perimeter.

Next: Kenny Williams season preview

The Tar Heels will tip off a week from Friday when they host Northern Iowa. Stay tuned for more on the upcoming season.

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