The early schedule was a GAUNTLET
For a team that lost three of its five starters from a season ago, including a legendary big man who left big shoes to fill, the UNC basketball program was (and continues to) transition into a new style of play.
Instead of having a big, dominant force in the paint, this group is very small in terms of length, as North Carolina's best lineups are ones with four guards on the floor.
While the Tar Heels work to figure this out, it doesn't help that they've played three teams that had top-10 rankings at the time of the matchup.
Sure, the 2024-2025 Tar Heels don't seem ready to play with the "big dogs," but let's not forget that this same group gave No. 1-ranked Kansas everything it had in arguably the toughest environment to play in throughout college basketball.
Fortunately, the schedule gets more manageable, as North Carolina currently only has one more top-25 opponent on the slate throughout the remainder of non-conference play.
Once the Tar Heels get past the matchup with No. 13-ranked Florida in the CBS Sports Classic, the next ranked opponent on the schedule is Pittsburgh (a game that will be played at the end of January). Now, that can change, but given the strength of the ACC this season, there might not be many top-25 spots allocated to the conference.
If North Carolina can bounce back and take care of the teams they should beat, it could build momentum for the tougher stretch of conference play that occurs throughout the final month of the regular season.