Daily Word: Concern over North Carolina?

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Every weekday, a panel of our college hoops experts discusses the biggest issues, trends and themes in and around college basketball.

1. OK, Kentucky has beat up on everybody. But how big are the concerns about North Carolina?

Andy Katz: North Carolina desperately needs to find consistency and not rely on Marcus Paige. The talent is in place, but some of the other options tend to float in and out of the offense. The Tar Heels still have the potential to be a top-five ACC team. But they must rebound, improve their transition defense and diversify their offense.

Eamonn Brennan: Moderate. The Tar Heels are clearly a talented team with a bunch of depth, and major flaws on both sides of the ball -- for example, UNC grabs more offensive rebounds than any team save Kentucky, but can't be bothered to block out on its own end of the floor. Saturday's game against Ohio State will be the real revelation, not just in terms of projection but in the cold calculus of NCAA seeding: If the Tar Heels lose to the Buckeyes, they'll begin the ACC calendar without a marquee nonleague win.

Myron Medcalf: I think there should plenty of concern about North Carolina. The Tar Heels entered the year amid Final Four talk. But their shooting woes and early struggles, plus a slate filled with contenders in ACC play, mean that things could continue to get worse in Chapel Hill.

2. What surprised you most over the weekend?

Katz: Iowa. The Hawkeyes had a shot to beat Iowa State without Bryce Dejean-Jones and fell flat. Iowa hasn't been able to build on the road win at North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. There is still hope for the Hawkeyes in a muddling middle of the Big Ten. But they need to be much more consistent -- fast.

Brennan: UConn center Amida Brimah going nuts. OK, sure, it was just Coppin State, but even so: Brimah didn't miss a single field goal (13-of-13, to be precise) and was 14-of-16 on free throws en route to a Walton-esque 40-point, 12-rebound masterpiece Sunday night. Hands down, the performance of the season thus far.

Medcalf: Probably Saint Mary's snapping Creighton's 24-game home winning streak. A lot of good teams have fallen there, including Oklahoma earlier this season. Big win for the Gaels, who might end the year as the No. 2 team in the WCC.

3. Which game will tell you the most this week?

Katz: I'm going to go back to North Carolina. The Tar Heels play Ohio State in Chicago on Saturday. This is a golden opportunity for UNC to reassert itself on the national stage. The Buckeyes haven't stood out, either, but will likely be in play in the top five in the Big Ten.

Brennan: UConn at Duke. The Huskies broke their three-game losing streak Sunday night, which came at the hands of West Virginia (understandable), Texas (very understandable) and Yale (unfathomable). On Thursday, they get Duke in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and while the Blue Devils are the obvious favorites, Kevin Ollie's team does match up fairly well in its mix of a guard-heavy rotation and a dominant interior defender (and now, apparently, scorer) in Brimah. If UConn is better than its last few weeks, this is a great opportunity to show it.

Medcalf: I'll say Butler at Indiana. The Bulldogs need to get back into a rhythm after losing at Tennessee over the weekend. The Hoosiers have a chance to earn a solid win and build momentum as Big Ten play approaches.

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