Today marks the beginning of ACC play for North Carolina (even though they have taken on Georgia Tech last month). The Tar Heels are one of the favorites this season to take the ACC title, but playing in this conference is very tough especially now that three more schools have joined. This preview will breakdown each team and UNC's conference schedule. A preview about North Carolina for 2024-25 season can be accessed from this link.
North Carolina's 2024-25 ACC Schedule
Game 1: Vs Georgia Tech
Game 2: At Louisville
Game 3: At Notre Dame
Game 4: Vs SMU
Game 5: At NC State
Game 6: Vs California
Game 7: Vs Stanford
Game 8: At Wake Forest
Game 9: Vs Boston College
Game 10: At Pittsburgh
Game 11: At Duke
Game 12: Vs Pittsburgh
Game 13: At Clemson
Game 14: At Syracuse
Game 15: Vs NC State
Game 16: Vs Virginia
Game 17: At Florida State
Game 18: vs Miami
Game 19: At Virginia Tech
Game 20: Vs Duke
Team-By-Team In ACC
Duke
The arch-rival of the Tar Heels, obviously they are the biggest threat to UNC's shot at the ACC title. The best rivalry in not just college basketball, but the entirety of the sport, this season's matchups have the chance at being the best edition if they both live up to expectations. Duke, however, had one of the best recruiting classes especially bringing in a player like Cooper Flagg whom will give RJ Davis a run for his money for the ACC Player of the Year honors as he's one of the best recruits in college basketball history. Other players to be on the lookout for are Khaman Malauch, Tyrese Proctor, and Maliq Brown.
Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets will look to improve on last year's performance of 14 wins, but while the pundits aren't high on them, the team could be sneaky good. Their two standouts are Naithan George and Baye Ndongo, but Georgia Tech is getting some experience added to their team with Javian McCollum (whom was Oklahoma's top scorer last season) and Luke O'Brien who had a ton of success shooting from beyond the arc.
Boston College
Boston College is expected to be the worst team in the conference, so that might be a game where the Tar Heels won't face too many problems. That being said, there is still some talent here thus meaning UNC should not take them lightly. Dion Brown just transferred in and he's a very good player and will give North Carolina a lot of problems defensively. Other transfers, Roger McFarlane and Chad Venning should also contribute, but simply this team does not have the depth or quality of talent to match the Tar Heels in their meeting.
California
Another really bad side in the ACC who will probably fight with Boston College to not finish in last all season long. However, they had a massive overhaul during the offseason which suggests they are on the up-and-up. One of the transfers Cal brought in was Rytis Petraitis who is an all around great player. A few other names Cal found on the transfer portal was Christian Tucker, Jovan Blacksher Jr, Andrej Stojakovic, Mady Sissoko, Joshua Ola-Joseph, and BJ Omot as bringing those players in will hands down make them better and deeper, but this team should struggle all season long.
Clemson
Clemson is an interesting side as they made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and are projected to finish very high in the standings. Clemson should be a side that should make things difficult for UNC. Chase Hunter is one of the best players in the conference, but he should be complimented by transfer Jaeden Zackery as well as Chauncey Wiggins, Ian Schieffelin, and transfer Viktor Lahkin. This team has a lot of talent and expect them to be a team that North Carolina will have a lot of problems with.
Florida State
Leonard Hamilton is getting older, but he's still an excellent coach. However, this seems like the time is running out as the team has missed out on the tournament for the last four seasons. That being said, there is some talent here and might be ripe for a bunch of upsets during the campaign. Jamir Watkins will lead this team as he's far and away the best player on the team. That being said, others to keep an eye on are Chandler Jackson, transfers Malique Ewin and Bostyn Holt, and freshman recruit Daquan Davis. Just keep an eye on what this team will do.
Louisville
A team that has been in disarray for a long time, but with a new head coach and a whole bunch of transfers coming in, the only way this team could go is up. Because of that, there is a lot of unknowns about how this team will actually be this season. With essentially a whole new team, how this side will gel together is going to be interesting. That being said, there is some talent needless to say such as Chucky Hepburn, Terrence Edwards Jr, Noah Waterman, Kasean Pryor, and Koren Johnson are all transfers. Very interesting team to watch indeed.
Miami
Another one of the top tier teams in the conference, UNC will have to prepare hard for them. However, with Jim Larranaga retiring midseason, there's going to be some question marks. Last season's 10 game losing streak did not reflect the type of quality of talent on the roster, but they certainly struggled. Nijel Pack is one of the best guards in the conference and one of the top scorers in Matthew Cleveland. Miami also recruited a highly touted guard Jalil Bethea, so there is a lot to like. Even transfers such as Lynn Kidd, Brandon Johnson, and Jalen Blackmon, plus recruit Austin Swartz, this team is deep and could make a case at winning the ACC title despite losing Larranaga.
NC State
The darlings of the conference, for now, after their run to the Final Four in a cinderella run, but theres still some question marks. Star guard Michael O'Connell is back and should lead this side, but there is also talent around him like Jayden Taylor, transfers Marcus Hill, Mike James, Dontrez Styles (hey, a familiar face), and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, plus Ben Middlebrooks having to step up in a starting role. So, essentially, this is an intriguing team to watch who could make some noise.
Notre Dame
Yes, this team also has a solid basketball program though with bigger question marks than it's football version. There is some talent here especially with having Markus Burton, the ACC Rookie of the Year, but also with him is the sharp shooters in Braeden Shrewsberry and transfer Matt Allocco which potentially makes this the best backcourt in the conference. Then there is other talent such as Tae Davis, Kebba Njie, and J.R. Konieczny around those three, but they won't help too much contributing buckets. That being said, this is an intriguing team to watch as well.
Pittsburgh
This is another intriguing team to watch as they can probably make a deep run in the ACC Tournament. They have retained most of their team from last season, so the team will be building upon what was done last season. Pittsburgh finished the season red hot and looked like they had a good chance at making the NCAA Tournament, but missed out. This season should be a better indicator of what type of team Pittsburgh has. Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett will lead the team, but they'll rely on Guillermo Diaz-Graham and transfer Damian Dunn as well to help contribute.
SMU
Another team new to ACC play, the Mustangs should be on the lower end of the standings. There is new leadership at head coach, so there is a lot of question marks of what type of ball they will play. Some key players on the team from last season are Chuck Harris, Matt Cross, and Keon Ambrose-Hylton, but the rest of the team is going to be a mystery. Watch what they might do this season.
Stanford
Wow, this team is also going to be really bad. This team has been bad for a while. There really isn't much to write about here except to highlight their key players. Stanford is not going to play the Tar Heels well at all this season. Maxime Raynaud is the only notable returning player, but he will be playing with a bunch of transfers in Chisom Okpara, Jaylen Blakes, Derin Saran, and Ozyiah Sellers. This team is going to be really bad.
Syracuse
The Orange are in a transition as the once proud basketball program is looking at a probable mediocre season. That just means a rebuild to be a better team is in the works. That being said, there is a lot to underrate this team as they are bringing a lot of key contributors. JJ Starling and transfer Jaquan Carlos should make for a fun backcourt, plus Chris Bell should be a sharp shooter from the beyond the arc to help. The frontcourt is also intriguing with transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr and recruit Donnie Freeman, plus having the big man Naheem McLeod expected to put in some productive minutes.
Virginia
With Tony Bennett's sudden retirement, there now is a lot of question marks with this team. There is certainly a lot of talent though, but with a sudden change at the guard (or head coach), how will this team do this season? Virginia is always known for it's top notch defense, but what will the new game plan be? Isaac McKneely is a top notch shooter, but he will be dependent a lot to score. Then there is a lot of transfers such as Dai Dai Ames, TJ Power, and Jalen Warley, so who knows how they will gel here. In terms of talent, this should be a great team, but in terms of chemistry, there is some questions that need to be answered.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies have an entirely different team from last season and have been reliant on transfers to remain competitive for this campaign. Jaden Schutt should be the main guy for Virginia Tech, but also other players such as Ben Burnham, Mylyjael Poteat, Toibu Lawal, and Rodney Brown Jr should have the opportunity to prove that this team is better than some think. There is a lot of question marks here, but a lot of potential.
Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons are expected to be one of the best teams in the conference, so it should be a clash when North Carolina faces them. Hunter Sallis is going to be one of the best players in the ACC as he is one of the best three point shooters. Cameron Hildreth is another really great player too, but transfer Ty-Laur Johnson is a really talented player that makes the team deeper. Efton Reid III is a transfer from Gonzaga and is expected to lead the frontcourt, but there is also another transfer in Tre'von Spillers that should make their tandem interesting to watch. Then with transfers Davin Crosby and Omaha Biliew, this Wake Forest team should be really, really good and should make things difficult for UNC.
Comentarios