North Carolina College State Champions

Author: Dawson Haywood

Collegiate basketball in North Carolina is filled with a rich history. In this state on the East Coast, we host arguably the most exhilarating basketball rivalry across the sport. North Carolina vs. Duke. The state is home to seventeen division one programs and twenty-eight NBA players. It is no secret that coming to North Carolina to play basketball in high school will give you exposure to some of the best high school talent the United States has to offer. Since we finally had a full season of basketball this year we are going to crown our “North Carolina College Hoops State Champion”.

1. North Carolina
Though Carolina did not have their greatest season they went 5-1 against in-state teams. They finished above Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest in the ACC this year which is the reason they are obviously above these teams. Duke was not able to beat UNC at all this year which is rare but UNC fans are always accepting to beating Duke twice in a year

2. Duke
Between Carolina and Duke, we could argue that they have won the state title every year with the exception of the few years Wake Forest or NC State was good. Duke was left out of the tournament this year which, as a UNC fan, sucks because it is always fun to go further than them in the tournament and brag about it for an entire year. Could Duke have made the tournament had Coach K not pulled them out? I’m sure they could because they are Duke and the tournament is not the same without them. 

3. NC State 
The Tobacco Road Trio takes the top three positions in this year’s rankings. NC State had a less than average year but because of a few significant wins and the difficulty of being in the ACC we will put NC State at #3. 

4. UNC Greensboro
UNCG is the only team on this list to win their respective conference. Since it is not the ACC it is hard to dictate whether or not they should be ranked above NC State when their toughest games each year are against Wofford, who don’t get me wrong is a good team but it’s the Southern Conference. 
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5. Davidson
Davidson finished 3rd in the Atlantic 10 which is home to a few notable programs that have a history of making a dent in the tournament. Guard Kellan Grady recently transferred from Davidson to Kentucky and was a large reason for Davidson’s success this year.

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