Falling Head Over Heels

When discussing legacy, excellence, and domination in NCAA basketball, a few schools come to mind. One of which is the team from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels bring meaning to the color Carolina Blue and have a tradition of greatness which includes 5 national championships, a record 18 final fours, 41 tournament appearances (2^nd all time), and the most all time NCAA tournament wins. It is no doubt that the University of North Carolina has a fine academic program but the 32% admittance rate isn’t because of its fine business school, nor its historically average football program, when you think UNC, one thing comes to mind. BASKETBALL.

Coming off a season where the Tar Heels won the National Championship, and heading into the 2009-2010 season pre-ranked fourth in the Nation, not even world renowned psychic Jeffery Palmer could’ve seen this coming for the Heels. UNC now appears to be NIT bound with a 13-10 record, 2-6 in the ACC. The only way Roy Williams’s squad will see the NCAA tournament in person is by winning the ACC conference tournament at the end of the season. However after watching the Heels get dismantled in Maryland this weekend, if they want to see the big dance in person, they better start purchasing tickets now.

This season has been a tale of two teams for the Tar Heels. North Carolina played well in 2009, losing only three games (Kentucky, Texas, Syracuse), all to teams now ranked in the top ten in the country. Having a young team, these losses were just considered learning experiences and no one was concerned about the 11-3 Tar Heels. However as 2010 came along, the Heels added new meaning to the term “crash and burn”, it appeared as if the program down in Chapel Hill set a new year’s resolution to lose basketball games. It began the 2010 campaign with a disgraceful loss to the College of Charleston, no offense to the Cougars. After beating Virginia Tech in the ACC opener it appeared as if the Tar Heels just overlooked C of C and were now back on track, however the ACC had other ideas. North Carolina has now lost 6 out of its last 7 in conference and its 2 conference wins have them tied with Miami and NC State as the seller dwellers of the ACC.

It goes without saying that their Archrival Blue Devils are loving every second of the Carolina collapse. Nothing brightens up a Duke Students day more than having to scroll down in the ACC standings just to find North Carolina. If Carolina continues its woes on the court, this week’s showdown with Duke could get very ugly, very quick. I would say that the home court advantage would give the Tar Heels a chance in the game, but then I’d be lying. North Carolina is only 1-3 at home in the ACC, including two embarrassing losses of double digit points. (Wake Forest, Virginia)

At this point, nothing short of a miracle could turn around North Carolina’s season. Chapel Hill still hopes for a magic run from the Heels to lift them into the NCAA tournament and with Roy Williams coaching the team it is not completely out of the question; however there have been no signs of that in the last couple games so my advice for the Carolina faithful is to start getting ready for next season.