Now that North Carolina is almost a week removed from finishing its gauntlet of noteworthy opponents, do any stretches remain that can compare to what UNC faced over that month’s time?
Dating back to a November 23 overtime loss to Villanova in The Bahamas, the No. 9 Heels (8-3, 1-0 ACC) also faced Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Oklahoma on neutral floors while hosting Tennessee. Carolina’s lone ACC game in the stretch was versus Florida State.
The Heels went 3-3 in the gauntlet of non-ACC games, with the one overtime loss, as noted, and they had the ball with a chance of sending the UK game into overtime. So, what are the two toughest and most gauntlet-like periods remaining?
Two stretches stand out. One is only four games and the other is a whopping nine games. Here they are:
First One
After the Charleston Southern game Friday, UNC hits the road for games at Pittsburgh, Clemson, and NC State. As it stands, each qualify as Quad 1 games. They have a combined record of 28-7 with NET rankings of 39, 12, and 70, respectively.
Clemson just might be the best team in the ACC, Pitt has come on and looks much like it did a year ago, and certainly passes the NCAA Tournament eye test. And the Wolfpack is an interesting club with enough talent to beat anyone on a given night, especially at home. And no doubt State will be fired up that night.
The fourth game in the stretch is at home versus Syracuse. The Orange are an intriguing club. At 9-3, they move the combined record of the foursome to 36-10. Their losses are to Tennessee and Gonzaga on neutral floors and at Virginia. Syracuse’s best wins are over LSU, at Georgetown, and Oregon by 20 points on a neutral court.
No longer a 2-3 zone team, the Orange carry a different look under Adrian Autry, and have enough talent to be a pest at home.
Second One
Following the end of the first stretch are four games at home against Louisville, at Boston College, home versus Wake Forest, and at Florida State. Not an easy run of games, but it’s the most manageable part of the conference schedule.
But the nine games that follow are: Jan. 30 at Georgia Tech; Feb. 3 at home versus Duke; Feb. 6 at home versus Clemson; Feb. 10 at Miami; Feb. 13 at Syracuse; Feb. 17 at home versus Virginia Tech; Feb. 24 at Virginia; Feb. 26 at home versus Miami; and March 2 at home versus NC State.
Now, at least there is a week off between games versus the Hokies and Cavaliers. Yet, this is still a tough stretch as four of the games are Quad 1 affairs, as of this writing, and five are Q2 contests.
The last two games didn’t make the second part because before closing at Duke, the Heels host Notre Dame, which currently boasts an NET ranking of 240.
In Closing: So, 13 of UNC’s 19 remaining ACC contests will figure into some sort of gauntlet. Neither are against the six Carolina recently faced, but these games could be just as challenging given many are on the road and against opponents that will know the Heels very well.
