UNC in a position to create an NCAAT CV

CHAPEL HILL, NC – North Carolina enters the last week of January on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble, though its schedule is now getting tough with four road games in its next five ACC contests.

The Tar Heels (10-5, 5-3 ACC) have won five of their last six ACC games, correcting a tedious trajectory entering 2021 after losing four of their last six games in 2020. The UNC’s recent success was a necessity given the backloaded nature of its ACC schedule. The Tar Heels’ five conference wins have all come against teams that currently reside in the lower half of the league standings.

The resumption of the UNC NCAA tournament is good enough to be included if March Madness started today, although it still has some work to do to bounce off the bubble. Joe Lunardi currently lists the Tar Heels as one of his “last four byes,” which in the nomenclature of bracketology means the last four teams that avoid play-in games.

The Tar Heels is ranked # 51 in the NET, which is the abbreviation for NCAA Evaluation Tool. The metric system replaced the RPI after the 2017-18 season and serves as the primary sorting tool for the selection and ranking of NCAA tournaments. UNC ranks so low due to its 0-4 record against opponents from Quad 1 in addition to seven of its 15 games played against opponents from Q3 / Q4.

The problem for the Tar Heels is that the traditional ACC bump, due to a regular series of games against Q1 opposition in conference, is lacking in 2020-21. The UNC played eight games in Q1 against the ACC competition last season and have only played two to eight games this season. Depending on how their remaining opponents perform over the next six weeks, the Tar Heels may only have five more chances in Q1 on the regular season schedule.

A road trip to Pittsburgh (# 58) Tuesday is the first, followed by road trips to Clemson (# 53), Virginia (# 8) and Syracuse (# 40) and a home game against Florida State (No 21). Virginia and FSU are the only ACC programs that rank in the NET’s Top-35.

Q1 matches count as home matches against # 1-30, neutral versus # 1-50, and road match against # 1-75.

The good news for UNC is that it has shown dramatic improvement in recent games. The Tar Heels have shot better than 51% in their last three halves – having accomplished that feat just five times in their first 27 halves of the season – and posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio during of four consecutive games after suffering negative help – turnover rate in seven of their first 11 games

“I think we’re getting a little bit better every day, a little bit better,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said on the CCA teleconference Monday. “And I want it to be at a faster pace. I always come back to the same thing, but it’s very honest, with seven freshmen in our top 11, we have to be a lot more meticulous about what we’re doing and take our time a little more, give them a little more. instruction. I think if you go back and look… our teams have, for the most part, really improved over the season.

The Tar Heels are currently 1-4 on the road with six of their last 11 ACC contests taking place outside the Dean E. Smith Center.