The pressure exists annually at North Carolina, but it's heightened even more ahead of a 2025-26 campaign. After hiring Will Wade and landing prized transfer Darrion Williams in the portal, rival NC State is raring to go. Louisville looks like big, bad Louisville again. Virginia is going to be much improved after hiring Ryan Odom. Duke is, well, Duke. Where's UNC's place in this ACC?

The runout this winter could set the stage for uncomfortable decisions next spring. The resources, tradition and expectations are here, but Hubert Davis-coached teams are notoriously unpredictable. When preseason predictors are out on the Tar Heels, they have superseded those doubters. When preseason predictors dub UNC as the preseason No. 1 team, it misses the NCAA Tournament.

After a four-year

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