Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Breaking down the field of the Las Vegas Invitational

By Alec Lasley

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 12: Nassir Little #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Lukas Kisunas #32 of the Stanford Cardinal during the second half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 90-72 (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 12: Nassir Little #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Lukas Kisunas #32 of the Stanford Cardinal during the second half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 90-72 (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: UCLA Bruins mascot Joe Bruin poses on the court before the team’s semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Wildcats won 78-67 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: UCLA Bruins mascot Joe Bruin poses on the court before the team’s semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Wildcats won 78-67 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 17 UCLA (Record: 4-0)

A matchup that Tar Heels’ fans see every couple years at the CBS Sports Classic was last played in the 2015-16 season when the Tar Heels took down the no. 22 ranked Bruins 89-76. With both teams looking entirely different now, it should be another fun matchup possibility that will test the Tar Heels.

Youth vs experience is the storyline for this matchup.

For the Bruins, they come into this possible matchup as one of the youngest teams in the country. With the injury to junior forward Alex Olesinski, that leaves only one upperclassman in Prince Ali, who is part of the normal rotation for Steve Alford.

They are led by a duo of sophomores in Kris Wilkes (17.5 ppg 5.5 rpg) and Jaylen Hands (13.8 ppg 4.3 apg), as well as freshman big man Moses Brown (17.3 ppg 12.0 rpg).

The matchup to look for is with the big bodies down low. Not only does UCLA have Brown who already has a Bruins’ freshman record starting the season off with three straight double-doubles, they also have talented hybrid big man Jalen Hill, coming off a 20 rebound performance – most since Kevin Love in 2008, and Cody Riley who missed the first three games of the season due to an injury.

All listed at 6-foot-10 or above, their length will look to disrupt that of Carolina’s big men.

Not only is Moses Brown a force on the offensive end, but he also averages 3.3 blocks per game which includes an eight-block performance against St Francis (PA).

Because of UCLA’s versatility in the frontcourt, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Carolina freshman forward Nassir Little see more action at the power forward position.

After their game on Monday, Coach Roy Williams said that they had just started to introduce Little to the “4” spot.

At 6-foot-7, Little’s athleticism and his active game creates many mismatches on offense without losing much on the defensive end.

Averaging 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game while shooting 36.4 percent from the three-point line, Little also averages close to one block and steal a game as well.

Though we have already seen Little’s athletic game in flashes, look for it to be the main headline if he is matched up with the frontcourt of the Bruins.

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