UNC Basketball: 5 Reasons Why the Tar Heels Are Still the Team to Beat

North Carolina was college basketball's pre-season No. 1 team.

The Tar Heels were beaten in Vegas over Thanksgiving by a surprisingly good UNLV Rebels team.

They also lost a close one in Lexington to Kentucky.

And at the mid-point of the season, even though Roy's Boys are currently ranked No. 3, they should still be considered the team to beat.

Here's 5 reasons why UNC still should be cutting down the nets in NOLA.

They Take Care of the Ball

North Carolina takes care of the ball better than any other team in the country.

The Tar Heels have the best assists-to-turnover ratio (1.56) in the country.

It helps when you have someone like Kendall Marshall running the show.

The 6'4" sophomore is the No. 2 assist-man in the country (9.9 apg), and he personally has a 3.9 A/TO.

They Get to the Line

North Carolina is the No. 2 team in the country in free throw attempts.

The Tar Heels have already been to the line 457 times this season.

Even players like James Michael McAdoo, who comes off the bench, get fouled and get some freebies.

McAdoo only plays 15 minutes per game, but he has already shot 51 free throws this season.

This is one of the places that UNC can make some improvement though.

The Tar Heels get to the line, but they need to do a better job of making other teams pay. They are only shooting 64.6 percent, which is dead-last in the ACC.

They Score Lots of Points

North Carolina is the top scoring team in the country (86.9 points per game).

While it may not remain in that spot throughout the entire season, what's really important is that there is a full collection of players who can score the ball when needed.

It's hard to beat the Tar Heels' front-line trio of Harrison Barnes (16.9 ppg), John Henson (14.7 ppg) and Tyler Zeller (14.4 ppg) when it comes to putting the ball in the hole.

What is interesting about UNC scoring this many points per game is the fact that it does not play at frenetic or frenzied pace.

The Tar Heels push the ball, they run the floor, but they normally play under control and make good decisions about shot selection.

They Hit the Offensive Boards

The Heels are the No. 4 offensive rebounding team in the country.

They grab 15.9 O-boards per game, which means they get a whole lot of high-percentage second looks in every game.

Though Tyler Zeller isn't the most flashy player on the court, he has an uncanny knack for knowing where missed shots are going and he gets there to fight for the ball.

They Clean the Defensive Glass

UNC is the best defensive rebounding team in the country (30.8 drpg).

The Tar Heels limit their opponents' second chance opportunities better than anyone else.

John Henson gets good position and effectively uses his length to pull down 7.4 defensive boards per game.

There will be a few ACC games and some NCAA tournament contests that may be won because North Carolina kept someone from putting in a last-second, buzzer-beater put-back.