Andy Katz has UNC facing Patriot League power in NCAA Tournament
By this point in time, every college basketball team should be well into conference play.
We won’t see Rivalry Week for some time, but conferences should have an early idea of their contenders and who’ll be fighting every inch for a postseason berth.
With its mix of veteran returners, talented freshmen and clutch additions from the transfer portal, UNC has all the pieces needed to make a Final Four run. Through a week-and-a-half of January, the Tar Heels are showing they’re a serious contender in the ACC, sitting at 11-3 (3-0) with several quality wins already on their resumé.
Carolina wraps up its 3-game, ACC-opening road trip on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at rival N.C. State, before returning home against Syracuse on Saturday. As of Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. ET, UNC was tied atop the ACC with the fellow Wolfpack.
Because of their recent hot streak, the Tar Heels are projected as an East Region 2-seed in Andy Katz’ latest bracket predictions.
UNC’s projected opponent? The Colgate Raiders, who’ve won the Patriot League Tournament four of the past five years and – in 2019 – gave 2-seeded Tennessee a scare in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round.
If Carolina wants to nab that two seed, it’ll need to beat N.C. State, Duke and win the games it’s supposed to. Just because the Tar Heels are projected to nab a high seed, doesn’t mean they’ll get it or win if they do.
So far in the 2023-2024 college hoops season, though, UNC looks as good a team they’ve had since the 2017 national title run.
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