The honeymoon is over for North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis. Following a rookie season that ended in the national championship game, the Tar Heels finished in the middle of the ACC pack. Of great concern to gamblers is how North Carolina drowned its backers in red ink. North Carolina has been a weak defensive program for the past several seasons. But last year, they fell to an abysmal College basketball betting level. Thus, the Tar Heels must outscore the opposition to win games. And that poor defense often leaves the backdoor open against the oddsmakers.
2023-24 North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Preview
| National Championship Odds: | +2500 |
|---|---|
| Betting Online Odds at SBG: | Click Here |
2023-24 North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Outlook
The Tar Heels will look to erase the offshore betting sins of last year. Indeed, 2022-23 was a wildly disappointing season that saw them plummet from #1 in the preseason AP poll to missing the NCAA Tournament.
Last year, Carolina’s NCAABB betting hopes were built upon the team’s improbable run through the 2022 March Madness. Specifically, it was a run that included beating Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And then eliminating the Blue Devils and ending Krzyzewski’s career in the Final Four. Finally, UNC finished just short to the Kansas Jayhawks in the national championship game.
At the onset of 2023-24, the Tar Heels features familiar faces, such as Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. However, many new ones that Carolina fans hope will help them get back to the top of the mountain. Head coach Hubert Davis has fully embraced the transfer portal. To show, he added five new players after losing seven to other schools. Including Caleb Love, D’Marco Dunn, and Puff Johnson.
Also, North Carolina is without Leaky Black and Pete Nance. Both of whom exhausted their eligibility. Still, a couple of exciting freshmen have arrived to fill the void: Elliot Cadeau and Zayden High. On the whole, the ACC is looking to rebound from a down year. Only five conference members reached the NCAA Tournament. Of those, Miami was by far the best, reaching the Final Four as a 5-seed before bowing out to eventual champion UConn. However, the rest of the conference went home before the second weekend. Virginia and NC State were both ousted in the first round. And then Duke and Pitt only reached the Round of 32.
UNC will once again play a demanding out-of-conference schedule. And the new faces will need to acclimate quickly.
Hubert Davis’ first season as North Carolina’s head coach had plenty of moments where things seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. Rock bottom was reached in a home loss to an 11-21 Pittsburgh team on February 16. Following that debacle, many UNC fans mentally prepared to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Then came the first major twist.
A renaissance started by a win over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and proceeded to run Marquette off the court with a 32-point win in the round of 64. Following that, UNC knocked off the defending champions and No. 1 seed Baylor. Next came Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight wins over UCLA and Cinderella in St. Peter’s.