Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels already sliding down Bracketology projections

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels directs his team against the Elizabeth City State Vikings during the second half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 05, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 83-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels directs his team against the Elizabeth City State Vikings during the second half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 05, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 83-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The UNC basketball program suffered a couple of early losses, and ESPN’s latest edition of Bracketology reflects that.

Following a few unconvincing wins against lesser competition to begin the season, the North Carolina Tar Heels lost consecutive games to Purdue and Tennessee in the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. They didn’t play much better in their only game since — a home contest against UNC Asheville — though the 19-point difference in the final score might lead one to believe otherwise.

Whether it was the sub-par play against sub-par teams or the egg they laid against their only two top 25 opponents of the season to this point, or a combination of both, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has already knocked the Tar Heels down a few lines in his latest edition of Bracketology. According to his update on Friday morning, the Tar Heels have dropped all the way from the 6-seed that they began the season at to a 9-seed.

Related Story. Tar Heels remain unranked in latest AP Top 25 poll. light

It’s not shocking given the mixed results they’ve produced over the season’s first few weeks, simply beating the teams that they should, while losing to those that they should, too. And even when they’ve beaten the teams that we expected them to, it’s been one lackadaisical performance after another. They’re turning the ball over at an alarming rate, playing very little defense and not looking all that cohesive through a half-dozen games.

Having said all of that, the season is still young and the Tar Heels have time to improve. So, too, does their position in Lunardi’s Bracketology, as the NCAA Tournament is more than three months away. They’ll need to get more consistency from their sophomore class, learn how to finish better around the rim and play more tenacious defense.

The Tar Heels will look to turn the corner against the Michigan Wolverines in the Big 10/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night. Although the Wolverines have had a similarly disappointing start to the season, it would still be a good win on the Tar Heels’ resume by season’s end.

Next. Brothers, former Tar Heels face off on the hardwood. dark

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC basketball program.

Home/UNC Basketball