UNC Basketball: 5 Takeaways from the Start of ACC Play

The ACC season is just getting started, but North Carolina has already shown quite a bit in four games.

With a 4-0 start to conference play, the Tar Heels are out to an early lead in the race for the regular-season title. They had solid performances to beat the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets before winning their first two road games of the year over the Florida State Seminoles and Syracuse Orange. As the team continues to finally get healthy, North Carolina has a good chance of keeping up its strong play.

Besides wins and losses, however, a deeper look at the performances over the last two weeks tells us a lot about North Carolina as a whole. With a relatively easy upcoming stretch, this could be a chance to build on the positives while fixing some of the negatives surrounding the team.

Although the conference season features a small sample size to this point, here is a look at what we have learned so far in ACC play.

Brice Johnson Can Be a Force

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Brice Johnson is finally reaching the level of play many have expected of him since starting his career at North Carolina, and at times he's exceeding it.

The forward has been a more consistent threat this season with averages of 16.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with double-digit points in 16 of 17 games. Although he did have one dud in ACC play (three points against Clemson), he also exploded for 39 points and 23 rebounds against Florida State in one of the best individual performances you will see all year.

Johnson's breakout started when junior forward Kennedy Meeks went down with a knee injury, but he still put up big numbers when the junior returned Saturday. Johnson added a surprising eight assists to his 16 points in the win over Syracuse.

In recent weeks, the senior has been more aggressive on both ends of the court and is playing at a high level in all phases of the game. The Tar Heels will certainly be in good shape if he continues performing like an All-American the rest of the season.

Depth Has Been Impressive

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There was obviously a lot of talent on this team over the past two seasons, but it was also reliant on senior point guard Marcus Paige to carry the squad offensively in many games. That has not been the case this year, with an incredible six different players averaging double-digit points.

The Tar Heels have seen a variety of players step up over the past four games. When Paige had just three points against Syracuse, Isaiah Hicks and Justin Jackson picked up a lot of the scoring. Against Georgia Tech, it was Joel Berry who was making the big shots down the stretch.

Of course, the stars can still take over with a combined 69 points between Paige and Brice Johnson against Florida State.

It's almost impossible to defend a team when this many different players can carry the offense. Opponents will be forced to pick their poison with little chance of keeping UNC in check.

Outside Shooting Is a Problem

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North Carolina has been incredibly efficient offensively this year, but if there is one issue on that end of the court, it's weak outside shooting that has gotten even worse in ACC play.

In the last four games, the Tar Heels have hit just 27.6 percent from three-point range. Marcus Paige is still doing his job (8-of-23 in this stretch), but sophomore forward Justin Jackson and junior guard Nate Britt are a combined 1-of-15. A lack of a secondary outside shooter was a major problem last season, and it appears to be creeping back this time around as well.

On the plus side, UNC has done a good job getting into the paint and scoring easy baskets this season. Some games have even resembled a layup line with this team's ability to attack the rim. The problem is that there are better defenses on the horizon.

As the ACC season progresses, North Carolina will need to shoot better from the outside, if only to keep opponents honest defensively. Otherwise, its one-dimensional attack will be much easier to defend.

Defense Still Needs Work

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Even with a 4-0 start, not everything has been great. The defense remains an especially big question mark after allowing 77.5 points per game in conference play.

While its pace has a lot to do with the high totals, North Carolina has also allowed all four ACC opponents to score more than one point per possession, according to KenPom.com. This is generally a good measuring stick of efficiency on both ends of the court, but this group has been below average over the past couple of weeks.

The Tar Heels have had great defensive stretches during ACC play, including big late stops against Syracuse and Georgia Tech. The key is to keep the intensity for all 40 minutes in order to truly blow teams away.

Defense might not seem as important for North Carolina based on the way it can score, but if this team truly wants to contend for a national championship, it will need to pick it up on that end of the court.

There Won't Be Many Easy Games

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If the first four games showed us anything, it's that the entire conference season will be a challenge. Sure, North Carolina was able to pull out a win each time with three victories by double-digit margins, but each one was a grind.

The scary part is that none of the Tar Heels' first four opponents are really even contenders in the ACC. According to KenPom.com, the ACC has seven top-30 teams and UNC hasn't faced any of them. Most of those battles will instead take place in February and March.

Considering Virginia already has two losses, it's obvious there are no sure things in this league.

North Carolina is in great shape through the first couple of weeks, but it better stay alert because tougher days will come.

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