Keeping It Heel
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UNC vs Michigan: Preview, broadcast information and prediction

By Bryson Gordon

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels cheers on from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Portland Pilots during the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational presented by State Farm at the Moda Center on November 23, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. North Carolina won the game 102-78. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels cheers on from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Portland Pilots during the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational presented by State Farm at the Moda Center on November 23, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. North Carolina won the game 102-78. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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The Tar Heels will look to bounce back following an embarrassing loss to Michigan State.

There is no other way to put it. The Tar Heels laid an egg on Sunday night against Michigan State.

The Tar Heels scored a near-low for points under Roy Williams, with 45, but the shooting percentage was even worse. Carolina shot 25% from the field, including missing a hand full of wide open layups. The 25% was the worst in school history.

But they will need to put that in the back of their minds for Wednesday’s big game. They have Michigan coming to town, a tournament team last year, who is certainly capable of competing with the Heels.

Coached by John Beilein, the Wolverines come into the tilt against the Heels with a 6-1 record.

Their best win is against VCU, which came in Maui last week. They took out the Rams 68-60. Their only loss comes to LSU, which they lost 77-75 in Maui.

The rest of their games have been against typical early season opponents, but the Wolverines have still handled their business in those games.

Michigan should be a tournament team again this year, so this will be a good chance for the Heels to get a win over another NCAA tournament team.

One Michigan player to watch…

Moritz Wagner was an interesting prospect to NBA scouts last year, but he decided to come back to school. He is Michigan’s best player in the sense that he can do the most for the Wolverines.

Wagner is a 6-11 junior forward from Germany, but he has a polished outside game, something that has become normal for foreign players.

Wagner is shooting 37% from three this season, and 55% from the field. He is the second leading scorer on the team, just behind Charles Matthews.

The German big man is also a solid rebounder, something that could give the Heels some issues.

As we saw against Michigan State, the Spartans big men gave the Tar Heels all they wanted on Sunday.

Wagner will likely match up with Luke Maye, which should be a treat to watch. The two are very similar players, except Wagner is a little bit taller.

If the Tar Heel frontcourt can neutralize Wagner, it should make Wednesday night a little bit easier for the Heels.

One UNC player to watch…

Joel Berry has been a little bit inconsistent so far this season.

You might be able to chalk it up to rust, but despite coming off of injury, the points production has been there.

The Heels just cannot find a way to get him to score efficiently.

The senior guard is shooting a dreadful 33% from the field, yet he still is averaging 15 points per game.

But his three-point stats are not anything to write home about either. He is shooting 34% from deep, down 4% from last year.

In order for this Tar Heel team to reach its max potential, they need their leader to be scoring a lot and scoring efficiently.

If Berry can get back on the right track, and fill it up for the Heels, that could be all he needs to start being more efficient.

Difference maker…

The difference for the Heels will be whether or not they can get any production from their frontcourt.

We all knew there was going to be a learning curve for the Heels, but it did not come until the game against Michigan State. The Spartans truly dominated the young Tar Heel bigs, rendering them useless.

Michigan has a nice frontcourt themselves, which could cause more issues for the Heels. Wagner, and Duncan Robinson will start for the Wolverines, and Michigan has John Teske, a center off the bench as well.

The Tar Heels will need their bigs to come to play, and with this one being at home, there are no excuses.

The frontcourt play from both teams will decide this game. If Michigan dominates it like Michigan State did, the Heels could be staring back-to-back losses in the face.

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What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina 5-1 (0-0 ACC) vs Michigan 6-1 (0-0 Big 10)
WHEN? Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, NC
TV? ESPN
RADIO? Tar Heel Sports Network
LINE? 
SERIES HISTORY: North Carolina leads series 3-2
PREDICTION? UNC 82, Michigan 70

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