Not According to Plan

UNC's Tyler Zeller goes up for a shot/AP Images

The University of North Carolina has been synonymous with “good at basketball” for at least the last 30 years. This year was no different.


By Ron Schiltz


The Tar Heels started the year at number 1 in the preseason polls and was a heavy favorite to win the National Championship. The Heels returned an all-star lineup for the 2011-2012 campaign that included the likes of Kendall Marshall, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller.  

UNC started the season out strong, with five straight wins over non-conference opponents. Next up was UNLV. The Heels saw their first signs of weakness in this game vs. the Rebels and lost by 10. They bounced back with a win over then #7, Wisconsin, but then lost again to the team who had replaced them at the top, Kentucky.  
However, the season has not been a disaster by any means. The Heels are still 23-4 and have a share of the #1 spot in the ACC with Duke and Florida State, two teams that have also beaten UNC.  There is however room for improvement for the #7 Tar Heels. Roy Williams’ squad is only 2-2 against ranked teams this year, with their wins coming over #20 Virginia and #7 Wisconsin. They also fell one point short of beating arch-rival Duke when Austin Rivers buried a three in the face of Tyler Zeller as the horn sounded.

It isn’t time to panic in Chapel Hill, as the Heels still have a great shot at cutting down the nets in April, but the rest of the ACC season will be a test; A test that will either prepare the team for the NCAA tournament, or a test that will expose more weaknesses in the powder blue.