After an impressive road win over Tennessee and subsequently reaching its highest ranking of the 2017-18 college basketball season, North Carolina lost three of its next five games.
The first of those three losses came at home against Wofford, a small school and member of the Southern Conference that has fewer NCAA Tournament appearances in its 20-year history than the Tar Heels have Final Fours during the Roy Williams era.
After a convincing win over Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic, North Carolina appeared to be back on track. But an unimpressive home win over Wake Forest to open up ACC play had Tar Heels fans questioning the team’s mettle.