Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Junior wing Pat Connaughton and the Irish were picked by the league's media to finish fifth in their inaugural campaign in the ACC. photo by joe raymond season after averaging 3.9 points per game as a freshman. 3. North Carolina Tar Heels (25-11, 12-6 ACC, in 2012-13) This season marks a reversal as far as head coach Roy Williams' lineups go. After riding a deep backcourt to the NCAA Tournament (a run that ended with a loss to No. 1 seed Kansas in the round of 32), the Tar Heels opt for size this season, with six players standing 6-8 or taller. Junior guard P.J. Hairston returns after an offseason suspension and will be a vital component of the backcourt after scoring 14.6 points in 23.6 minutes per game last year. 4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25-10, 11-7 Big East, in 2012-13) You know the story here. Head coach Mike Brey has provided con- sistent results in the regular season in South Bend, but has struggled in postseason play. Brey said the focus is on making the NCAA Tournament in the program's first year in the ACC, but the Irish will feel a substantial amount of pressure to finally win in March if they qualify for the Big Dance. 5. Virginia Cavaliers (23-12, 11-7 ACC, in 2012-13) Virginia has a lot of buzz heading into this season after a solid 11‑7 mark in conference play a year ago and the return of star guard Joe Harris. One of the consistent factors that has plagued head coach Tony Bennett's tenure is the number of transfers (10) that have left during his five years at the helm. This year, every key contributor from last year returns except for guards Paul Jesperson (transfer) and