The North Carolina Tar Heels are looking poised to make a serious run this season after displaying a balanced attack to start the year. The No. 5 Tar Heels Look strong as they compete in early season tournaments thanks to the return of Marcus Paige who spent most of last season struggling. Now, North Carolina prepares to take on Butler in the Battle 4 Atlantis first-round matchup.
Paige is currently dominating for the Tar Heels, scoring 12.0 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting after finishing fourth in the ACC last season with 17.5 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting. He finished the year shooting 43.8 from beyond the arc. This year the Tar Heels are beating teams by a margin of 26.0 points. In the team's win over Davidson, Paige put up 13 points while five other players had at least nine points in the game creating a balanced scoring attack while the defense is holding opponents to just 63.7 points per game
Paige is not the only getting his name in the boxscore. Sophomore Kennedy Meeks is averaging 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while being 15 of 20 in his last two games. Paige still leads the way from beyond the arc going 7 for 14 overall.
Butler is hoping to change their history against ranked opponents. They currently are 3-3 in their last six games against teams in the top five. So far this season they are shooting 56.0 percent from the floor while going 22 for 45 from long range. The Bulldogs are benefitting from their own freshman star, Kelan Martin who put up 23 points in 18 minutes against Loyola MD.
If Butler is going to beat North Carolina, they have to defeat the Tar Heels' strong history in neutral site games. North Carolina has won eight of their last 10 on a neutral court. The winner of this game will go on to face the winner of the UCLA vs. Oklahoma matchup.
