UNC Basketball: 3 Essential Things That Must Happen for Tar Heels to Win Title

When you combine talent and experience, no team in the country rivals North Carolina. If the Tar Heels are going to win their third National Championship since 2005, the following must happen. If it does, another title will go back to Chapel Hill. If it doesn't, they'll be watching another team claim a victory that should have belonged to them. 

Backcourt: Don't Lose It

The strength of this team is undeniably the big men: Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller. That doesn't need to change when the tournament rolls around. 

What the guards of this team can't do is commit turnovers, leading to easy baskets for the other team. That is the easiest way to be on the wrong end of an early-round upset, as it would minimize the advantage that the Tar Heels have in talent over anyone other than Kentucky. 

No, in any tournament game they play, UNC will do well to get about 15-20 points out of the starting guards, so long as the team keeps the ball secure. 

With that kind of performance from Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock, UNC will cruise over just about any opponent that will be thrown at them. 

Veterans: Play Like It

If you watched the loss to Duke (more on that later), you'll remember that the Tar Heels' veterans didn't play From tipping a ball into his own basket, to missing free throws and lastly not putting his hands in Austin Rivers' face, senior Tyler Zeller played like a freshman, and a raw one at that. 

Since then, Carolina has played very well. They haven't dropped a game, which shows an incredible amount of resiliency and of course, talent. 

That needs to continue in the tournament. You're going to face good teams, and there will be times when it seems like nothing you do works. That is when a team needs to rely on its veterans to weather the storm. Those veterans have to answer the call.

Take a look at the top five scorers on the Tar Heels.

Harrison Barnes	Sophomore
Tyler Zeller	Senior
John Henson	Junior
Reggie Bullock	Sophomore
Kendall Marshall	Sophomore

That is about as experienced a group as a big-name, classic one-and-done program like North Carolina can ever hope for in this era of basketball. That has to be an asset. 

Whole Team: Remember Both Duke Games

Yes, both games. Let's go in chronological order to see just what needs to be remembered. 

Feb. 8: Duke 85, UNC 84

What to Take: Even with a safe lead, the Tar Heels are not unbeatable. When you get to the tournament, the teams you are playing are all going to be good, especially after the first weekend. 

North Carolina is better, but when they get out in front, the goal is to stay there. If the lead is 10, make it 20. If it's 20, make it 30, and so on. 

They just need to remember the disaster that was this game and not let the same mistake happen again. If they keep the aggression up, they'll never give the opponent even a glimmer of hope.

March 3: UNC 88, Duke 70

What to Take: The Tar Heels need to remember that aggression that they came out with. They were in unfriendly territory, knowing that the only people in the building pulling for them were the ones in the locker room. 

That didn't matter, as they fed off of each other, dominated the early going and cruised to a win. We clearly saw a chip on UNC's shoulder last weekend, and that can never leave. They need to come out hard and make early statements, telling the other team that it has no chance. 

That is what happened against Duke, and it has to happen again in the Big Dance, every time. If they come out with that anger and intensity, there are only two or three teams in the country of even staying within 10 points of the Tar Heels.

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