North Carolina Tar Heels College Basketball Odds to Win in 2012

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

by WagerWeb Sportsbook

Tyler Hansbrough - North Carolina Tar Heels College Basketball Odds to Win in 2012

Three years ago, North Carolina Tar Heels entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the national title, and behind Tyler Hansbrough the Heels delivered on all that promise. Let there be no doubt heading into the 2011-12 season: The national championship is North Carolina’s to lose.

Wager Web Sportsbook odds to win national title: +350 (favorite)

Despite being in what some thought would be a transition year, the Heels found themselves heading into ACC play and took off, winning the regular-season championship. UNC would fall to rival Duke in the conference tournament final but went all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Kentucky. Everyone of substance is back from last year’s club, which should scare the rest of the country as it is, plus another loaded freshman class arrives.

Roy Williams begins his ninth season as the Tar Heels’ head coach welcoming back all five starters and three key reserves from last year’s team that finished 29-8 overall, captured the ACC regular season title with a 14-2 mark in league play and advanced to the East Region final. North Carolina finished No. 7 in the final AP poll and No. 8 in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Tyler Zeller earned second-team All-ACC honors after averaging 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds as junior in 2011; shot .547 from the floor and .763 from the free throw line; Zeller scored 10-or-more points 32 times a year ago after totaling only 13 double-figure scoring games in his first two years at UNC.

Harrison Barnes averaged 15.7 points, and 5.8 rebounds and became the ninth Tar Heel to be named ACC Rookie of the Year; a second-team All-ACC selection and a first-team Freshman All-American, Barnes made the go-ahead or game-winning baskets in seven different contests and averaged a team-high 15.9 points per game in ACC play.

John Henson averaged 11.7 points and was second in the ACC in rebounding (10.1); named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-ACC, Henson led the conference with 118 blocked shots as a sophomore; had 18 double-doubles in 2011. … A third-team All-ACC selection, point guard Kendall Marshall averaged 6.2 points per game and led the ACC in assists per game (6.2); a first-team All-ACC Freshman and a Freshman All-America by The Sporting News, Marshall was second in the ACC in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.50:1); UNC was 17-3 with Marshall in the starting lineup.

Dexter Strickland started 36 games in 2011, averaging 7.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists; shot .556 (15-of-27) from the floor and averaged 10.3 points per game in the Tar Heels’ four NCAA Tournament games … Leslie McDonald came off the bench in 36 games a year ago finishing fifth on the team in scoring (7.0); shot a team-high .381 (51-of-134) from three-point range. … Reggie Bullock played in 27 games before suffering a knee injury against Maryland (F27); averaged 6.1 points with seven games of 10-or-more points.

Season opener: Nov. 11 vs. Michigan State in Carrier Classic

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dexter strickland - harrison barnes - john henson - kendall marshall - leslie mcdonald - north carolina tar heels - reggie bullock - roy williams - tyler hansbrough - tyler zeller

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