When you look at the top teams in the ACC, what do you see?
Upperclassmen.
Duke has solid seniors and juniors, Maryland has a senior starting backcourt and several other reliable upper classmen, Virginia Tech relies on a junior class, Wake has three seniors starting, and Clemson starts two seniors and two juniors.
Experience, in other words, is non-negotiable.
So is health, and when it comes to that, UNC can't catch a break. They get one Wear back and they lose the other. One more milestone at risk: if UNC fails to win two more games this season - a real possibility - they won't crack 2,000 until next year, and likely not before Kansas does. So instead of passing Kentucky for #1 in all-time wins, they could fall to #3.
While Wake has three seniors, two freshmen have been key factors, and they appear to have hit the proverbial freshman wall.
Former UNC coach Matt Doherty isn't exactly ripping it up at SMU. The Mustangs are 12-14 and in eighth place in the C-USA. And the pressure may be getting to Mad Matt, just as it did in Chapel Hill.
On the bright side, he publicly defended UNC ("At least I went to a real school and not Memphis Tech!"), which is a step given his bitterness over how he was treated there. But he also got into a shouting match with Josh Pastner. Any of this sound vaguely familiar?
We're just surprised he couldn't work in a dig at Elliot Williams or perhaps Tiger cheerleaders.
One game on Thursday, with struggling Virginia visiting struggling Miami. It's a good chance for them to break their slump - if they get back to their strong-willed defense, that is.
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