The ACC Tournament is finally here, and everyone involved in the event is playing for different things. For teams like SMU, Pitt, and Wake Forest, they are battling to find their way into the NCAA Tournament. For Duke, they’re looking to assert their dominance on the ACC and win the conference title yet again. Then there is UNC, who isn’t fighting to make it into the tournament, and while one could make an argument that they are fighting to win the conference, it doesn’t feel like a reachable goal
without Caleb Wilson. So then, what is the goal? Do the best you can, and gear up for the Big Dance.
UNC will play their first game in the ACC Tournament on Thursday when they face either Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, or Clemson. Here are three things to watch as the Heels try to win the event for the first time in almost 20 years.
Duke winning it all is less certain due to injuries
Prior to the UNC/Duke game in Cameron Indoor, it was announced that Patrick Ngongba was questionable to play. He ended up not playing at all, and to make matters worse, Caleb Foster ended up getting hurt during the first half of the game. It was announced this week that Foster will miss an undetermined amount of time due to a broken right foot. Jon Scheyer is trying to not say his season is over, but it is hard to imagine that Foster will recover before the season is over. It’s a pretty big blow for the Blue Devils, but it could be an opportunity for everyone else, including the Heels.
I know what you’re thinking: Duke beat the brakes off of UNC in Cameron without those two players. While that is true, it’s also worth noting that the Heels were really close to taking the lead in the second half, but turnovers and poor rebounding ultimately sank them. There is a world where UNC could beat Duke should both teams make it that far, but it would require one of their better Caleb Wilson-less games of the season. It’s also worth noting that the Blue Devils didn’t exactly play their best game in Cameron themselves, they just did a lot better in the dirty work department.
It is still far from an easy task, but if UNC can make the right corrections going into a third bout with Duke, they could potentially find themselves playing on Saturday night.
Getting back to the line
There are a number of Duke trolls that will tell you that it was some abnormal event that UNC was able to get to the free throw line so often in the first meeting between the two teams in the Dean Dome. The truth is that the Heels have been really good at getting to the line all season long, and it is part of what has made them successful. Whether or not they make their free throws has been another story, but they have still been really good at making it difficult for teams to guard them without fouling.
The truth of the matter is that a lot of those free throws attempts will be sitting on the bench with a cast on his shooting hand. Caleb Wilson got to the line 181 times this season, and next in line is Seth Trimble with 121. He and Henri Veesaar are the two remaining Tar Heels who have been able to make things difficult in the paint. They will have to re-discover their aggressiveness after struggling to get to the line against the Blue Devils. Aggressiveness doesn’t have to lead to drawing fouls, but getting to the line while getting points in the paint will help boost their chances of making it to the final game of the tournament.
Can the back court make an impact?
The postseason is a time where having a strong back court makes the difference between making a deep run and going home early. This situation for the Tar Heels has been up and down for really the entire season, but the ups have been pretty good. Seth Trimble, Derek Dixon, Luka Bogavac, and Jonathan Powell have all had really good moments, but they’ve also had some pretty iffy moments. There is also Kyan Evans, but his minutes have gotten nuked since January.
Of the names mentioned, Trimble has been the most consistent, so then the question is: who is willing to step up alongside the senior guard? Dixon and Bogavac are the most capable players, but they each have unique strengths compared to one another. For Dixon, his biggest contribution is being a floor general that can hit shots in clutch moments and play solid defense. For Bogavac, he is best when he catches fire shooting, and when he gets hot his defensive intensity increases as well.
In an ideal world, both of these guys will play their best basketball in the ACC Tournament and Carolina will suddenly be really tough to stop. Is that what we will see though? Time will tell, but something tells me the roller coaster will not end until the 2025-26 season is over.
