ACC Tournament 2005: North Carolina

Team record: 26-3, 14-2 conference
Coach: Roy Williams

The Tar Heels have dominated the ACC and most of the country for the entire season finishing with a record of 26-3. The team has matured in their second year under coaching great Roy Williams and is a favorite to advance far in the ACC and NCAA tournament.

Strengths:
North Carolina only had one non-conference loss, which was their first game of the season against Santa Clara. Since then, they have only lost to two strong ACC squads, Duke and Wake Forest by single digits. Their two games with Duke have been nail-biters and have gone down to the last shot. The Tar Heels lost the first game by a point but made a late rally in the second game closing with an 11-0 run to win by two. Splitting the season series with these powerhouse squads shows North Carolina's readiness and competence for the tougher competition bound to come.

Carolina was led by 6' 9" junior Sean May in rebounding and scoring. May's stats have only improved over his three seasons at North Carolina and this season averages a double double, posting nearly 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Playing without their second leading scorer junior Rashad McCants for the last four games of the season and winning them all confirms the depth and skill of the North Carolina squad. Their coach Williams has had relative success with tournaments in the past and should be able to coach the Tar Heels to their first ACC championship in a while.

Weaknesses:
The team does not have any glaring weaknesses. They had a hard schedule and only lost three games. Williams would not be too happy with the amount of too close for comfort games North Carolina has had but after winning most of them, he cannot complain.

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