Bubble Watch: 5 Reasons Why North Carolina Won’t Make the Big Dance

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Bubble Watch: 5 Reasons Why North Carolina Won't Make the Big Dance

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USA TODAY Sports- Melina Vastola

The North Carolina Tar Heels have fallen on tough times, and it is not possible to ignore it anymore. They got a silver lining in a dark cloud season recently when head coach Roy Williams recorded his 300th win as the maestro in Chapel Hill. His tenure has certainly been one of mostly winning, and so do not blame the coach for the team's performance in recent years.

The recruiting cupboards have been kind of bare lately, which is one of the main reasons for the Tar Heels regression and that has mainly been due to bad luck. Their recent miss on Andrew Wiggins stung far more than most simply because the forward was such a perfect fit for what he would have walked into. He seemed more interested in being closer to his brother Nick Wiggins though, and it is hard to blame the former Gatorade high school athlete of the year for that.

Slideshows will be coming more often in the next month from this scribe, so be sure to stop by again sometime if that is what you are into. Apologies to be the bearer of bad news, but in the following slides you will find five saddening reasons that the Tar Heels will miss the Big Dance this year.

Dave Daniels is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.
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5. Lack of Big Man Depth

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USA TODAY Sports- Brian Spurlock

Kennedy Meeks finally had a solid game recently, but they needed this type of production from the beginning of the year. They sorely needed his low post production after all of the early season drama, and Meeks appeared to be as meek as a lamb when he was needed the most.

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4. Marcus Paige Is a Year Away

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USA TODAY Sports- Ellen Ozier

You can see that Marcus Paige has talent, and he has been one of the lone bright spots on the Heels this year; however, the point guard is still a year or two away from being able to lead a team on a tournament run. Paige makes me remember the way that Raymond Felton did not fully settle into his role with the Heels until the title run, and maybe we will see the same type of development down the line. This just does not feel like the year.

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3. James Michael McAdoo Is Not Ready To Be a Primetime Player

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USA TODAY Sports- Bob Donnan

Sometimes the evidence is just too glaring to ignore. Not sure when the forward will go in the draft, but he certainly would go a lot lower next summer than he would have gone two summers ago. It is funny because I love the argument for players staying in school, but also cannot ignore the fact that many players have cost themselves a hefty paycheck. Not sure what impact McAdoo will have at the next level, because it seems that Paige has taken the role of go-to scorer.

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2. Truly Horrendous Field Goal Percentage

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USA TODAY Sports- Matt Cashore

They are currently shooting .458 from the field, which is pretty horrible but they still seem to find a way to win more games than they lose. As of this writing, they have won seven in a row but look for them to lose Thursday's game after a stupendous effort from Jabari Parker.

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1. An Early ACC Tournament Exit Will Doom Them

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USA TODAY Sports- Brian Spurlock

This honestly looks like a squad that will make an early exit in the ACC conference playoff format, and if they do then it will be tough for the selection committee to pick the Heels. It cannot be overstated how crucial every game is near the end of the season, and the biggest obstacle comes on Thursday night at the Smith Center.

Dave Daniels is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.

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  • Nolan

    This is honestly the biggest piece of garbage I have read in a long time. Have you watched UNC even once this year? They are making the NCAA tournament and are about to be in the top 25. Big man depth is the best thing they have and Brice Johnson just had the best few games of his career. There are other reasons that they may struggle like 3P%, FT%, perimeter depth or pick and roll defense, but the reasons you said are either small or totally bogus. I usually understand different opinions, but this writer has no idea what he is talking about

  • Chris

    Nolan pretty much summed up my thoughts on this piece. The only thing I have to add is how truly horrendous reason number two is. Shooting .458 from the field is not “pretty horrible”. In fact, as of my writing this a .458 field goal percentage is good for fourth in the ACC. The number one ranked team in the country Florida is currently shooting .458 from the field. The fact that you have no concept of a simple statistic like field goal percentage is the only thing that’s truly horrendous.