College Basketball Power 10: Louisville Cardinals Get Statement Win
By Jeremy Karll
9. North Carolina (11-2)
After only leading 35-30 with 18:57 left in the game against Northern Iowa, North Carolina went on an 18-2 run to put Northern Iowa away and improve to 11-2. The Tar Heels outscored Northern Iowa an astounding 52-16 in the second half.
Kennedy Meeks had a bounce-back game as he led the Tar Heels with 18 points and eight rebounds. Also, North Carolina’s struggling defense got a confidence booster by holding a struggling Northern Iowa offense to 42 points.
They still rank just 90th in points allowed per game, but their struggles on offense have been the root of their problems in recent weeks. North Carolina has only topped 90 points twice in the past seven games compared to five times in their first six games.
They still rank 12th in points per game and four players are averaging at least 12 points per contest, but the Tar Heels will only go as far as their offense takes them.
They look like a completely different team than the one who beat Wisconsin while playing at their pace. Right now, North Carolina barely beat Tennessee in the 70s a couple of weeks ago and lost to Kentucky in a high-scoring game.
North Carolina is lacking confidence right now and are extremely susceptible to being upset. A 33-point win over Northern Iowa should give them some confidence, but they need to play well against a good team to regain it all.
North Carolina plays Monmouth before traveling to Georgia Tech to start ACC play this week.