NCAA Tournament 2017 Sweet 16: Grading Each Team’s Title Hopes
North Carolina Tar Heels (1) – South Region
After being in the National Championship Game one year ago and coming within a buzzer-beater of forcing overtime, the North Carolina Tar Heels again appeared to be in the conversation of the top contenders to win it all in 2017 entering the NCAA Tournament. After a dominant win over a 16-seed, that still seemed to be the case. Then the Arkansas game happened and, well, there are questions.
North Carolina played about as bad as they have all season (save for maybe their 43-point outing against Virginia) and still managed to survive, albeit not without some referee-induced controversy. Joel Berry struggled in every facet of the game, something hugely detrimental to UNC considering how heavily they lean on their point guard play for their success. What’s more, they seemed to get frustrated with the physical defense of the Razorbacks and ultimately play into their hands to make the situation dire.
However, that might actually be a positive for the Tar Heels. In their best form, North Carolina can beat any team in the country. They have high-caliber talent on every level, rebound better than any team in the country and are also a solid and versatile defensive team. So that they were able to survive what is likely going to be their worst game of the tournament could be a good sign moving forward.
Even still, it’s hard to put their chances on the same level as Kansas because of that Arkansas game. They’re up in that mix, though, and seeing the Tar Heels back in the National Championship Game is most definitely a viable possibility.
Chances: High, But Volatile