UNC Basketball: 5 Things Tar Heels Must Prove in Conference Play

North Carolina is off to a 2-0 start to the ACC season, and while it hasn't always been pretty, the team is getting the job done. The challenge now is to keep winning in an attempt to bring home a conference title.

The Tar Heels are obviously loaded with talent throughout the roster, showcasing an offensive juggernaut that can match up with any team in the nation. At their best they have the ability to cruise through the ACC and win the NCAA tournament.

Despite the positives, there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the program as we head into the meat of the schedule. The wins over Clemson and Georgia Tech were far from dominant, leaving doubts about what will happen against tougher opponents.

Even as preseason favorites, UNC hasn't yet shown it can be trusted as a top contender. What is left are a few specific areas where the squad has to prove itself in the coming weeks.

Consistent Shooting

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It seems North Carolina can't decide if it is a good outside-shooting team or not. At times Marcus Paige leads a deadly attack from beyond the arc and at others the players can't hit a shot if their lives depended on it.

For the season, UNC has hit 34 percent of shots from three-point range. This is slightly below average at 179th in the nation, although not much of a concern for a team that is so effective scoring in the paint.

The problem is when the shots really don't fall. The Tar Heels made just two of 12 shots from deep against Georgia Tech and it helped the Yellow Jackets stay competitive for a lot longer than they should have. In the four wins prior the squad combined to shoot just 18-of-62 (29 percent).

Paige, Joel Berry and Nate Britt all can make shots from the perimeter while Theo Pinson has been successful to this point, but the inconsistency has been a major issue. Against better opponents North Carolina might not be able to get away with it.

Better Defensive Effort

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Brice Johnson did a great job summing up North Carolina's defense this season with this quote discussing the team's ability to pull away against Georgia Tech, per GoHeels.com:

"

We just decided to get some stops and win. That was the biggest thing. We wanted to just stop, I mean we were scoring and doing what we needed to do. We just needed a couple of stops to get a win. And that’s what we did. We had to grind it out. It wasn’t one of the easiest games. You know every game is not easy. We just have to grind it out, and that’s what we did. 

"

North Carolina was lackadaisical at times but buckled down in the closing moments with excellent defense to shut down the Yellow Jackets and move to 2-0 in the ACC. While the play in this stretch was impressive, it's also infuriating that this doesn't happen for all 40 minutes.

All year long there have been long stretches of lazy play defensively and it has led to tons of easy baskets from opponents. The biggest problem has been on the perimeter, where teams are hitting 38.5 percent of three-point baskets. According to Sports Reference, this ranks 325th in the country.

The Tar Heels have to play with more intensity on the defensive end in every game if they want to keep up their recent winning streak.

Stop Individual Talents

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Along the same line as the questionable defense, one of the underrated problems for the Tar Heels this season is letting one player put up big numbers.

Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 25 for Georgia Tech while continually getting himself to the free-throw line. Adam Smith also scored 20 points in the loss, a feat replicated by Marcus Gilbert, Wes Washpun, Kamau Stokes, Tre Demps, Melo Trimble, Javan Felix, Isaac Hamilton and Ronshad Shabazz against UNC this season.

There are obviously some talented players in that list, but in other cases North Carolina is allowing career games to average opponents. This is going to hurt even more when top scorers Grayson Allen, Damion Lee, Cat Barber and others in the ACC come to town.

Although the Tar Heels don't have a true defensive stopper like J.P. Tokoto last season, they have to find a way to prevent big-time games from key players.

Keep Focus on Road

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It is still too small of a sample size for it to be a concern, but it certainly qualifies as something North Carolina has to prove. The squad is yet to show it can win on the road and this won't go away until it gets that first victory.

So far this year the Tar Heels have losses to Northern Iowa and Texas in their only chances on the road. The first was without Marcus Paige but the second featured poor defense, rebounding and general toughness. North Carolina wasn't terrible in either game, although it's clear there was a drop-off in play.

All of a sudden there is pressure to get a win in a hostile environment.

A chance to get this out of the way is coming up with a tough battle against Florida State on Monday. The young team has been a bit inconsistent, but the Seminoles have big-time scorers in freshmen Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley, as well as enough size to give UNC real problems in the post.

Another loss could create a lot more questions.

Continued Balance

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One of the most impressive parts of the recent win over Georgia Tech was the balance on display by the entire team. Six different players finished in double figures, including Joel James for the first time all season. 

This isn't something new in the ACC season. So far this year, North Carolina has had nine different players score at least 10 points in a game. Five players average over 12 points per game while Isaiah Hicks is close to double digits at 9.7. This is incredible scoring depth at the college level.

The only reason for doubt is the fact the squad hasn't been at full strength for much of the year. Thanks to injuries to Paige and Kennedy Meeks, UNC has played just three games with its projected starting lineup. While the team has shown great resolve to navigate these issues, we also don't know what will happen when all of the top players are battling for shots.

If North Carolina continues to display this type of balance against tougher opponents, however, this group will be difficult to stop.

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