Heading into the first of two bye weeks of the 2019 season, the North Carolina Tar Heels are positioned better than objective observers could have hoped. At 3-3 (2-1 in conference play), Carolina is a legitimate threat to start the postseason where the regular season started — in Charlotte against an opponent from the awkwardly-shaped state on our Southern border.
With a surprising early win against Miami, and a less-surprising-yet-rare win in Atlanta, the Tar Heels are 2-0 against ACC Coastal Division foes. In an eight-game sample, division wins are doubly important as they create two games of separation when accounting for head-to-head tiebreakers.