The North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team started last season ranked #1 in the country in the preseason AP poll. Expectations were sky-high for the talented Tar Heels after their surprise run to the national championship game in 2022. But the team failed miserably to live up to expectations, losing four of their first five games. They continued to struggle in ACC play and never even qualified for the NCAA Tournament. This shocked fans and experts alike, who expected Carolina to contend for another Final Four.
The epic collapse marked one of the most disappointing seasons in college basketball history. North Carolina became the first preseason #1 team to miss March Madness entirely since Kentucky in 2013-14. For a proud program like UNC with six national championships, last year proved humiliating.
RJ Davis Emerges as Team Leader
Senior guard RJ Davis has emerged this season as the leader Coach Hubert Davis hoped he would be. After testing NBA Draft waters, Davis returned to redeem himself and restore the Tar Heels. He leads the ACC in scoring at 21.3 points per game while shooting 41% from three-point range. His scoring average is the highest of any North Carolina guard since the legendary Charlie Scott in 1968-69. That includes famous players like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison.
When asked about Davis recently, star big man Armando Bacot said simply: “It’s his team.” Bacot’s willingness to take a lesser role shows his commitment to winning after last year’s debacle. Davis has taken full advantage of the opportunity. He ranks among the elite guards in college basketball this season and should earn All-American honors.
Change Starts on Defense
After last season, Coach Davis knew that changing the team culture had to start on defense. The Tar Heels allowed a dreadful 97.2 points per 100 possessions in 2021-22. That ranked 321st nationally and is one of the worst defensive marks in program history. They struggled especially to contain dribble penetration and gave up too many easy baskets.
So Coach Davis instilled a defensive mindset by quizzing players repeatedly on key principles. The team failed his initial pop quiz but eventually answered perfectly. Davis forced the players to take ownership of playing gritty, aggressive defense through accountability. As a result, the Tar Heels have executed a stunning turnaround defensively. They currently lead the ACC in scoring defense, allowing just 68.2 points per game. Teams are shooting under 47% on two-point attempts against Carolina’s revamped defense – the toughest mark in the conference.
Bacot Takes Back Seat in Final Season
Bacot earned first team All-ACC honors the past two seasons and entered this year on several preseason All-American teams. But the senior big man understood that for the Tar Heels to meet expectations, he needed to play a supporting role to Davis. Bacot has focused more on rebounding, screening, interior defense and doing the dirty work – rather than scoring.
This season, Bacot is averaging just 14.6 points per game. That is over five points fewer than last season and his lowest scoring average since 2020-21. But the team’s leading rebounder is content sacrificing shots if it leads to wins. Bacot said, “I want to be the guy making everything happen. I love it and it’s a lot of fun and we’re winning.” His selfless attitude has helped power Carolina’s resurgence.
Hungry for March Redemption
The roster this season mixes talented returners like Davis and Bacot with several key transfers. The newcomers came to North Carolina equally hungry for redemption. Transfers like Notre Dame graduate transfer Cormac Ryan and former 5-star recruit Harrison Ingram arrived after playing for losing teams last season. Ryan’s Notre Dame squad went just 10-14, while Ingram’s Stanford teams won just 15 games combined during his two years there.
There is now a collective chip on the Tar Heels’ shoulder after last year’s embarrassment. Davis and Bacot want to permanently erase the disappointment of last season from fans’ minds in their last chance together. The transfers came to Carolina precisely for the chance at deep March redemption. There is a palpable hunger throughout the roster to make an NCAA tournament run after missing out last season.
When Carolina hit adversity earlier this season with losses like the December setback against Kentucky, the team responded. They held a players-only meeting and then reeled off 10 straight wins. The Tar Heels seem genuinely driven to maintain focus until they achieve March success together.
Tar Heel Fans Embrace Sports Betting
The strong play of RJ Davis and the Tar Heels has brought extra interest from fans this season. North Carolina basketball has always enjoyed a large and devout following of passionate fans. But legislation passed in 2021 has brought sports betting to North Carolina for the first time ever. This finally lets local fans legally bet on Carolina basketball and other sports through various North Carolina sports betting apps.
National brands like FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings have entered the NC market with generous sign-up bonuses to gain new users. They also offer special promotions like boosted odds around March Madness to incentivize betting on the Tar Heels. These North Carolina sports betting apps make it easy for both new and existing fans to wager on UNC games. While Coach Davis may not approve, plenty of Tar Heels supporters are likely using these apps to place bets on RJ Davis and company entering tournament season.
Back Atop ACC Entering March
With three regular season ACC games left before tournament play begins, North Carolina sits tied atop the league standings with Pittsburgh. They seem poised to lock up a high seed in March Madness after last year’s absence. Star RJ Davis continues his quest to become the leading career scorer in school history. And the selfless Armando Bacot does the dirty work inside as the Tar Heels drive toward tournament redemption.
Coach Davis has successfully redeemed last year’s crushing disappointment so far. Now the players strive to fully redeem themselves on the national stage next month. Given their talent and hunger, this year’s Tar Heels team may erase their past failure with an inspired March run.