UNC Basketball vs Davidson: Game info, preview, prediction and more

After a much needed break, the Tar Heels resume play on Saturday against the Davidson Wildcats in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels resume action this Saturday against the Davidson Wildcats after a couple of days off for Christmas break.

Returning back to the Dean Dome will be a welcomed site for the Heels, as all of their losses have come away from home, following their defeat in Chicago at the hands of Kentucky.

With just two games remaining in Carolina’s non-conference schedule, Davidson and Harvard, both would be good wins before the gauntlet of conference play begins. Both teams are currently at the top of their respective conferences.

After the Kentucky loss, Roy Williams said he needs his players and team to “buy in more” to the name on the front of the jersey and play more as a team, doing the little things needed to win come March.

After a couple of inconsistent performances before the Holiday, it will be interesting to see how sharp the Tar Heels are against a perennially scrappy Davidson squad.

Meanwhile, the break couldn’t be better for the Wildcats, as leading scorer Kellan Grady has missed the last three games due to a “bad knee”, according to head coach Bob McKillup.

The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season. In the four games prior to his injury, Grady was on a tear, averaging 25 points on 60.2 percent shooting from the field.

The 2018 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year was named to the Naismith Award watch list ahead of the season after a freshman campaign in which he averaged 18 points and connected on 73 three pointers.

Accompanying Grady in the back court is junior Jon Axel Gudmundsson, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Iceland.

Gudmundsson is a great hybrid guard who will stuff the stat sheet. Averaging 18.1 points per game this year, he also grabs 5.8 rebounds a game while dishing out 4.6 assists and adding 1.3 steals per contest.

After last year, Gudmundsson went down as one of only five players in the the last 25 years to finish the regular season averaging at least 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.

Second on the team in scoring and rebounding, while leading the team in assists, Gudmundsson will be a tough matchup for the Tar Heels’ back court with his versatile skill set.

Leading the Wildcats’ front court is big man Luke Brajkovic. Continuing the international trend, the Austria native is averaging 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds on the year, anchoring the paint for Davidson.

With Grady out of the lineup for the last three games, it has given way for Brajkovic to take on a larger role. Having just five games with double-digit shot attempts, he has had three of those such games come in their last three outings, averaging 14 points in Grady’s absence.

Having double-doubles in each of his last two games, Brajkovic will be up against his toughest test yet against the UNC front court.

Key to the game for Davidson

The most important key for the Wildcats is the health of Kellan Grady. The Wildcats are 1-2 in their three games when Grady has been sidelined due to injury, and desperately need him to be healthy in their matchup on Saturday.

Assuming he plays, then it all comes down to finding a third scorer.

Yes, Luke Brajkovic is averaging double figures and playing with a lot of confidence, but he is still a freshman. He’s inexperienced when it comes to playing against Power 5 opponents, as they have only played two this season.

Against Purdue and Wichita State, two of their tougher opponents this season, Brajkovic averaged just 22.5 minutes, two points, five rebounds and went 2-for-10 from the field. Though he did have a bounce back game against Wake Forest recently, Grady wasn’t on the court for the Wildcats, giving way for Brajkovic to have a larger role.

With the large amount of threes they shoot, Davidson needs to have an inside post presence to keep the defense honest.

Key to the game for UNC

It may sound like a broken record, but the Tar Heels will need to defend the three once again against Davidson.

With 48 percent of Davidson’s shot attempts coming from behind the arc, they will live or die on the three. Only shooting 34 percent from downtown, there are three players who lead the Wildcats with over 38 percent form deep.

In their last three matchups against the Tar Heels, the Wildcats have a combined 30 made threes, including 14-of-33 last season from deep.

The majority of the threes have come from the back court of Grady and Gudmundsson. The two combined for 37 points and seven made threes in last year’s game.

What you need to know

What? Davidson (9-3) vs. UNC (8-3)
When? Saturday, December 29 – 12:00 pm EST
Where? Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV? ESPN2
Radio? Tar Heels Sports Network
All-Time series? North Carolina leads series, 66-11.
Prediction? UNC 85, Davidson 70