The Tarheels have cracked the top 25 after a disappointing November and December. There is a ton of talent on this team, but early season expectations were far too high. The pre-season hype around Harrison Barnes was a microcosm of UNC's problem early in the year. This team is young, and it looks like they've worked through the chemistry problems that plagued them before the new year.
Carolina is not all the way there, as they haven't demonstrated the killer transition game that Roy Williams' teams have mastered over the years. Typically, UNC gets a third of their points on the secondary break, and I didn't even see that type of efficiency against an NC State team that has shown itself to be poor at transition defense all year.
The good news for Carolina fans is that Harrison Barnes is playing better. He can shoot from beyond the arc and has shown that he can go to the hole with authority and finish. My guess is that they will be playing their best basketball of the year in March and could make some noise. They need to overcome their weaknesses, though...their lack of beef down low and their 3 point shooting. If they could shoot a little better from beyond the arc this could solve both their problems.
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