Monday afternoon, the Associated Press unveiled its preseason poll for the 2022-23 college basketball season, and there’s a familiar name leading the way.
The North Carolina men’s basketball team earned the No. 1 ranking — the 10th time ever the Tar Heels have been the top-ranked team entering a season. There’s plenty of reason to be excited for 2022-23, as UNC brings back four of its five starters from last year’s team that made it all the way to the national title game, but how will this year’s team stack up with those who previously came into the year as No. 1?
The last time North Carolina was the preseason AP No. 1 was in 2015-16, when I myself was a junior in Chapel Hill. That year, the Tar Heels made it all the way to the national final before falling on a heart-breaking buzzer-beater by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins.
While they ultimately came up short of lifting a trophy that season, the preseason No. 1 ranking is normally followed with successful seasons. The previous eight times they entered the year No. 1 — 1977-78, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1993-94, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12 — have featured two national championship (1982, 2009), one Final Four (2008) and two Elite Eights (1987, 2012). UNC made the NCAA Tournament in each year they have been No. 1 to open the season.
With a history of success leading from the front, the Tar Heels will be among the top teams in the country once again in 2022-23, their second season under head coach Hubert Davis.
Last year was a magical ride for the Tar Heels, who shook off some early-season struggles to make it all the way to the national title game against Kansas. The highlight of the year for UNC was defeating Duke in the Final Four in what was Blue Devils’ head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last game as a coach.
The 2022-23 North Carolina team brings back four starters from last year’s Cinderella squad — senior forwards Armando Bacot and Leaky Black and junior guards Caleb Love and R.J. Davis.
Bacot — who stands at 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds — has been the most consistent Tar Heel over the last several seasons. As a junior in 2021-22, Bacot tied the NCAA single-season record for double-doubles (31), which was previously set by former Navy and San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson. Bacot is the only player in NCAA history with six double-doubles in a single NCAA Tournament, and he’s currently 10th in UNC history in career rebounds with 1,002, though he will likely take the top spot away from Tyler Hansbrough (1,219) by season’s end.
Davis and Love are the starting backcourt tandem for the Tar Heels. The duo are coming off a 2021-22 season that saw them combine for 29.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.
Love has had an up-and-down first few years in Chapel Hill after arriving as a top-20 national prospect back in 2020. He finally found his groove over the second half of last season, as he averaged 17.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during the final 13 games of the season. His biggest moment came in the Final Four, as he nailed a three-pointer over Duke’s Mark Williams to ice the game for UNC.
Davis, on the other hand, was a mark of consistency for the Tar Heels last season.
Davis nearly doubled his scoring average last season (13.5) from his first year with the Tar Heels (8.5), and he became a better shooter across the board. After shooting 35% from the field and 32.3% from 3-point range as a freshman in 2020-21, Davis upped those numbers to 42.5% and 36.7% during his second year with the team.
Black, who enters his fifth season with the Tar Heels in 2022-23, is the team’s unsung hero, as he effects the game in numerous ways that don’t show up on the box score.
Black normally guard’s the opposing team’s best player. His size at 6-foot-8 is a problem for smaller guards, while his physicality is enough to match up with larger forwards. Last season, Black played a big role in helping shut down Duke’s Paolo Banchero and A.J Griffin in last year’s final two meetings between the two teams.
Outside of their top four players, UNC will have to experiment a little to get the most out of its lineups. Currently the expected starting power forward is transfer Pete Nance, who will play his first season in Chapel Hill this winter after spending the past several seasons playing for Northwestern.
Last season, Nance averaged 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 45.2% from 3-point range. If Nance can give UNC another viable shooting option in the starting lineup — similar to how Brady Manek fit into the offense last season — it could take the North Carolina offense to new heights.
In the end, UNC’s depth will likely determine how far they make it into the postseason this time around. Several of the Tar Heels slated to start the year on the bench have playing experience, including Puff Johnson and Justin McKoy, but younger players like Seth Trimble, D’Marco Dunn and Dontrez Styles also figure to contribute some this winter.
The last time UNC raised a national championship banner was 2017, during my senior year at the school. That spring, I was lucky enough to travel to Phoenix to see the Tar Heels play in the Final Four.
The 2023 Final Four will be held in Houston. Should I go ahead and book my tickets now?
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.