At first thought, when looking over North Carolina’s nonconference schedule that was released Tuesday morning, one couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the Tar Heels’ quality opponents and the teams they should handle with relative ease.
The separation is cavernous.
Facing Purdue at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in November is a difficult assignment, and either Tennessee or Villanova the next day will be as well. Michigan at home and UCLA on a neutral floor for the CBS Sports Classic could pit the Heels versus the top two teams in the nation before Christmas arrives. Nova might be among the top three, to be frank.
Major tests early on and we will learn a lot about Hubert Davis’ first team.
But the other seven games are against clubs that one might consider “cupcakes” or “patsies,” and in some respects that’s true. Though, given how the last two seasons have gone for Carolina, no opponent should be taken for granted.
Not slated are games versus solid teams from the Missouri Valley, MAC, or Atlantic 10. An Illinois State, Akron, and Duquesne would serve as tweeners from Elon to UCLA. Those games aren’t on the slate and understandably so.
The new-look Tar Heels are deep and talented with 10 players vying for spots in the rotation, but they will enter the season with a boatload of question marks. Very little is proven among the players on the roster, and they have a rookie head coach who’s tasked with replacing a legend whose name is on the court in which Carolina plays its home games.
UNC returns four starters from a year ago plus brought in two freshmen and three transfers, two of latter could start, or at least will be among the top six players. There is plenty for Davis to sort out and it will take time. Jumping into the deep end and hanging out there could be treacherous.
Davis wants to spread things out offensively. Carolina will look like a different club this year by intent. Many familiar parts are back, but Davis will take an altered approach, which will take time for the Heels to learn and eventually find their comfort zone. Just like in football, when a team goes from one offensive scheme to another, loading up on some less challenging opponents affords a program time to get grounded in the new system. Think of this somewhat the same way with the 2021-22 Heels.
The tough games are a necessity, too. Contracts mandate some matchups, and Davis needs to know how his team measures up against what could be four top-10 teams when the preseason rankings come out. So, they will be battle tested enough but also have an opportunity in seven of the 11 games to find themselves. One of those contests is on the road at College of Charleston, so the Heels will get an early taste of playing in a packed opponents’ arena, something only three of them have done at the college level.
Plus, let’s remember, the Heels will play two ACC games in early December breaking up some of the nonconference slate, so if there are struggles, the Elon, Furman, and App State games will allow Davis opportunities for tweaking and refinement.
More challenging slates are a certainty coming down the road, but this is the right schedule for this team and its new head coach. If Carolina splits the P5 games and finishes as expected in the ACC (likely top four), it will do plenty to earn a nice seed in the NCAA Tournament.
And it’s never too early to have that on the radar, though first things first: Figure out who they are, find some chemistry, and develop. That is exactly what this schedule should achieve.
