The Top 10 Stories In a Fairy Tale Season: Looking Ahead to UNC's Schedule

In any potential dream season, there is the inevitable threat of an occasional nightmare.  UNC's schedule presents a little bit of everything including a few games that, win or lose, should provide a treat to any college basketball fan.

The story lines in a possible storybook season have yet to unfold, but already the injury status of UNC's (and possibly, the NCAA's) best player (Tyler Hansbrough), the Tar Heels' best defender (Marcus Ginyard) and backup point guard (Bobby Frasor) have provided a more dramatic backdrop for the early games. 

Nothing but a repeat of 2005's National Championship will be considered a successful season in Chapel Hill—and the pressure won't really begin in earnest until March.

So to keep you busy until March Madness rolls around, here are North Carolina's 10 most intriguing matchups in the regular season:

[note:  late entry Penn replaces Kentucky at #10 after the Wildcats' embarrassing 111-103 defeat vs. VMI on Friday night]

10.  Pennsylvania at UNC, November 15th

No, I don't expect Penn to really challenge UNC—at least not for more than 10 minutes.  This is not just simply the excitement of the Prologue, it is a chance to get a glimpse of UNC's depth and an early test for a highly touted recruiting class.  With Hansbrough, Ginyard, and most likely Frasor sitting the game out, fans will get a lengthy look at the players who will be providing crucial minutes in February and March.

Of note, the Quakers have won the Ivy League in seven of the last nine seasons and considered last year's 8-6 record and third-place finish a colossal disappointment.  They are very young and return talented players sidelined last year by injuries, such as G Darren Smith and G/F Tyler Bernardini.

9.  Boston College at UNC, January 4th

It's the ACC opener for the Tar Heels and probably the first reasonable competition they will see since the December 3rd game at Michigan State.  How healthy will they be in six weeks?  What rust will they show after a rather light non-conference slate?  By this point in the season, they will have likely faced only two ranked teams: whoever they play for the Maui Invitational Title and the aforementioned Spartans.

8.  UNC at N.C. State, January 31st

The Wolfpack have no trouble getting up for this rivalry game, but their team has been a virtual Jekyll and Hyde for the last two seasons.  If N.C. State is talking about coach Sidney Lowe's red jacket and whether Javier Gonzalez or Farnold Degand should be playing point guard, they are probably in for a long night.  If, on the other hand, N.C. State discovers the ever-elusive "team chemistry", and Brandon Costner returns to his freshman form, UNC better bring their "A" game or they could be leaving Raleigh with a "L".

7.  Maryland at UNC, February 3rd

After the emotional visit to Raleigh, UNC returns home for a rematch of one of their two conference losses from last year.  UNC was outplayed in the Dean Dome last year, although Ty Lawson wasn't present to contend with the Terrapins.  That's taking nothing away from what Maryland pulled off; UNC was outplayed on that night and many of their weaknesses were exposed.  Gary Williams is always a tenacious (if sweaty) foe, and I guarantee UNC coach Roy Williams has this game circled on his desktop Coca-Cola calendar.

6.  Clemson at UNC, January 21st

The UNC-Clemson rivalry is unique for a couple of reasons.  Clemson has not beaten UNC in the state of North Carolina in...ever, and this game last year went to double overtime before UNC could dispatch of an unusually feisty Tigers squad.  Clemson is expected to be improved over last year and are certainly a potential Sweet Sixteen team, as they have consistently improved under coach Oliver Purnell. 

K.C. Rivers is a potential superstar; he can score, rebound, and shoot the three and has matured into an impressive floor leader.  Dean Smith never cared much for Rick Barnes in the 1990s and the rivalry hasn't cooled down much since.  This is one of the best teams Clemson has brought to Chapel Hill in a long time, and they want to end The Streak as intensely as UNC wants to preserve their home-state dominance.

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