Fansided

5 reasons North Carolina will win the 2019 ACC Tournament

By Mike Phillips

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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ACC Tournament, North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 09: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during their game against the Duke Blue Devilsat Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Even though all the attention is going to Duke, the North Carolina Tar Heels are well positioned to take the ACC’s automatic bid in Charlotte.

The ACC Tournament will be a heavyweight affair, featuring three teams with the potential to land on the one line in the brackets on Selection Sunday. Virginia and Duke appear to be locks for the top line, but North Carolina needs to do a bit more work to get there.

Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they are one of the hottest teams in the country and have a great opportunity to win their way to the top of the bracket by beating both the Blue Devils and Cavaliers in Charlotte.

Here are five reasons why North Carolina will win the ACC, starting with . . .

5. The Tar Heels are playing their best ball of the year

This is obvious, but North Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the country. Since losing to Louisville on Jan. 12, the Tar Heels have won 14 of their last 15 games, with the lone defeat coming to Virginia.

That stretch also included five wins over ranked teams, including a sweep of Duke. Williamson was absent for all but 36 seconds of those games, but it doesn’t diminish the feat of sweeping one of the best teams in America.

The adage goes that it is best to simply get hot in March and the rest will take care of itself, and North Carolina certainly fits that bill.

4. Coby White is emerging as a star

While Duke has drawn all the headlines for their fabulous freshmen, the Tar Heels have a great one of their own. Point guard Coby White has emerged late in the season as an offensive force, scoring 16.3 points per game to trail only Cameron Johnson in scoring.

White has really heated up over his last 10 games, averaging 19.4 points a night, including 21 in the Tar Heels’ victory over Duke on Saturday. North Carolina really needed a third scorer to emerge behind Johnson and Luke Maye, a role that White has filled quite well.

White’s emergence means that teams cannot simply try and lock down Johnson on the outside or double Maye in the paint, a huge development for North Carolina’s postseason chances.

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