Coming off of what some would consider to be the greatest Cinderella run in the history of the NCAA Tournament, the North Carolina Tar Heels find themselves putting away their glass slippers in hopes of redeeming their last outing at the Big Dance. With head coach Hubert Davis recently extending his contract with Carolina to include another six years, a move that will net him $16 million dollars in the process, it’s safe to say that the Tar Heels are locked in.
2021-2022 Season Recap
By late December, many fans had seemingly written North Carolina off. Given that they had just lost to both of the only two ranked opponents that they had played at the time, Iowa and Texas, in addition to losing to unranked opponents North Carolina State and Georgia Tech, they were seemingly right to do so. However, something changed for the Tar Heels. Players and coaching staff alike started to fulfill their potential. Despite starting the season with a questionable 5-4 record, Carolina would go on to deliver some of the most magical performances of the season.
Looking for some NBA picks? The Pick and Roll duo on The Hammer Betting Network has you covered with more bets to start off the new month.
Led by Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels produced an 18-11 record. While struggling to secure regular season wins over ranked opponents, Davis ultimately managed to secure the team an appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the expense of one Mike Krzyzewski. At the time, many believed Carolina to be a “bubble team.” In response to both the criticisms and pressure surrounding their program, North Carolina would show up ready to make a statement. The Tar Heels absolutely routed Duke, posting a final score of 91-73. In doing so, the team showed that it could hang with the best of them.
Even after such a dominant display against the season’s opening favorite, Carolina continued to face doubts entering the tournament. Only after a controversial performance against Baylor and a heart-pounding win over UCLA did fans begin to take them more seriously. After dispatching Saint Peter’s from the tournament, it was clear that the Tar Heels were the true Cinderella all along. What subsequently occurred on the night of April 2, 2021, can only be described as the greatest game of basketball to ever be played. In the second most watched game of college basketball history, Carolina vs Duke delivered an astounding 16.3 million viewers, coming only second to the legendary 1979 faceoff between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In a back-and-forth, heart-wrenching battle that ultimately saw Caleb Love deliver on one of the most spectacular 3-point shots you will ever see in your life, the North Carolina Tar Heels ended the career of Coach K and sent the Duke Blue Devils packing with a final score of 81-77. However, the fairytale run would come to a close after Carolina sputtered out in the second half of the NCAA Championship. Drained from the historical and legendary win against their perpetual rivals, the Tar Heels ultimately came up short.
2022-2023 Betting Prediction: North Carolina Over 28.5 Wins
Turning away from the dramatic past that is the 2021-2022 season and focusing now on the task at hand, I believe this Carolina team is primed to go on another run. Currently sitting as the third-most favored team to win the title, according to most sportsbooks, the Tar Heels have clearly dispersed any and all criticisms that they may have held last year. However, I’m not interested in this year's championship odds. My interest lies in this season’s win total. WynnBet currently has Carolina’s total set at 28.5 games with standard odds of -110.
While this may seem high at first, considering there are only 28 games in total slated for the Tar Heels this year, I still love this bet. Understand, you’re not betting on regular seasons, but rather on tournament runs. North Carolina is expected to feature in three tournaments this season, the Phil Knight Invitational, the ACC Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament. As seen last year, this is a team that is built for tournaments. But, if the one-year sample size of Hubert Davis’ head coaching career isn’t enough to garner trust, then maybe some of these statistics will help to persuade you.
Looking at Carolina’s season schedule, there is only one team on the slate that has an all-time series lead over the Tar Heels, Indiana. Apart from them, Carolina seems to have both a relatively and historically easy regular season on their hands. Additionally, the team was recently named the No. 1 team in the nation by the illustrious AP preseason poll. Lastly, this is a program that holds records for the most number-one seeds in NCAA Tournament history and the most Final Four appearances by any D1 program. They also have the second-most Elite Eight appearances of all time and the most ACC regular season championships by a country mile. Led by a budding head coach, this team is now as battle tested as it is talented, and it is ready to win 30-plus games in my opinion. This is a program that is arguably the most dominant force in the
history of college athletics. This is the program that tarnished the historical retirement of Mike Krzyzewski. This is Carolina basketball. Take the Tar Heels to cover, and don’t look back!