North Carolina Basketball: 5 Reasons the Tar Heels Will Still Win the ACC

After a dramatic loss to No. 1 Kentucky, the Tar Heels have fallen to 6-2 on the year. Despite this loss and the upset loss to UNLV earlier in the season, North Carolina still has a good chance to win the ACC. 

Fans may be disappointed to see their team, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason, with two losses so early in the season, but Tar Heels will be losing very few games in the rest of this season. 

While North Carolina may be sinking in the national rankings, they are still set to do some damage in the NCAA and the ACC. 

Here's why the Tar Heels can still win the ACC over Duke. 

1. North Carolina Leads the Stats

Despite dropping two games in the beginning of the season, North Carolina leads the ACC substantially in the stat categories—84 PPG, 42.3 RPG, 19.1 APG, .493 FGP.

The Tar Heels lead the ACC by a large margin in points, rebounds and assists. They are also ranked in the Top 25 in the NCAA is those categories, topping out at No. 7 in the nation in average rebounds. 

For some perspective, cross-conference rival No. 4 Duke is averaging 77.4 points and 32.8 rebounds per game. 

These may be just stats, but they sure speak volumes about North Carolina's play and their potential to win the ACC. 

2. The Tar Heels Can Beat Duke

Although Duke (7-1) is ranked higher than North Carolina (6-2), the Tar Heels have a very good chance to take the rivalry series against Duke this year. 

The first North Carolina vs. Duke game is at Chapel Hill in February, which will serve as an advantage to the Tar Heels to play their toughest ACC opponent first at home. 

Duke has an outstanding team, but has exposed their weaknesses in close games to Belmont, Michigan State and in their loss to Ohio State in which they were beat by 22 points. 

The Tar Heels have a more versatile team than Duke and will have a good shot to beat them this year. 

3. John Henson Is the Best Player in the ACC

Contrary to what most would believe, Harrison Barnes is not the best player in the ACC or on North Carolina—John Henson is. He is the best all-around player in the ACC and one of the best in the NCAA, and the stats don't lie: 14.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 3.3 BPG, 1.6 TPG.

Harrison Barnes leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.7 points per game, but Henson is by far a better all-around player on both sides of the ball. 

When comparing other players in the ACC in terms of their ability to be proficient on both sides of the basketball, Henson is unchallenged. 

4. Kendall Marshall Is an Amazing Facilitator

Sophomore guard Kendall Marshall may not seem like he's offensively productive with a mere 4.7 points per game, but he is the grease to the North Carolina offense. 

Marshall averages an astounding 10.3 assists per game and has twice dished out 15 assists in one game. 

Having an unselfish player like Marshall who can get the wheels of the offense turning is a huge advantage for North Carolina in the ACC. 

For a little perspective, Duke is currently averaging 11.6 assists per game—as a team. Marshall's ability to get the ball into the hands of North Carolina's scorers is priceless. 

5. Momentum Going into Conference Play

Although the Tar Heels stand at 6-2 after a disappointing loss to Kentucky, they should have a good deal of momentum carrying them into conference play. 

North Carolina's next seven non-conference games are against very mediocre opponents, the best of which is a very young and inexperienced Texas squad. 

While upsets do happen, the Tar Heels should sweep through their next seven opponents and boost their record to 13-2 before conference play. 

The Tar Heels will tip-off at home against Boston College (2-6) for their first ACC conference game, which should get them rolling off to a good start in conference play. Their biggest ACC contender, Duke, will start conference play against a 7-1 Virginia team that just upset No. 15 Michigan. 

North Carolina and Duke will be battling neck-and-neck for the ACC title. The Tar Heels have some clear-cut advantages that, if capitalized upon, will earn them a conference title in 2012.