I Can't Take My Eyes Off This Remake Of A Sports Illustrated Cover Featuring North Carolina Basketball

The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and with that, the preseason AP Top 25 rankings were released yesterday. North Carolina went to the National Championship Game last season and returns the bulk of their core in 2022-23. And with that, the Tar Heels are the number one team in college basketball entering this new campaign.

With this release, Sports Illustrated decided to remake a cover of their magazine with this year's squad, which is identical to a 1981 version:

If you're a North Carolina fan, the fact that SI is running this cover back is actually really good news for you. Why? The numbers never lie:

1980-81 season: UNC loses in National Championship Game

1981-82 season: UNC voted as preseason No. 1 team, wins National Championship Game

2021-22 season: UNC loses in National Championship Game

2022-23 season: UNC voted as preseason No. 1 team, ????????????????????????????

As a reminder, this is mostly the same North Carolina team that beat Duke twice at the end of last season. Missed that game? Here are the highlights:

20 days, folks! 20 freaking days.