UNC Basketball vs. UCLA: Game preview, info, prediction and more
By Zack Pearson
Can the UNC Basketball program end their losing streak? Next up is a date with UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas
The North Carolina Tar Heels return to action on Saturday, hoping to end their four-game losing streak and get things back on track. It’s been tough sledding for the Tar Heels this season as they are 6-5 overall.
Following losses to Ohio State and Virginia, UNC received the news that they would be without star point guard Cole Anthony for their game against Wofford and then eventually 4-6 weeks after he underwent a procedure on his knee. Since the injury to Anthony, UNC dropped their game to Wofford and at Gonzaga.
They will be without Wofford until the end of January but the schedule does get a little easier moving forward. They will take on UCLA (7-4) in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas this Saturday as they really hope to get a win streak going.
The Tar Heels enter this game struggling on offense.
They are averaging 69.5 points per game (182nd), have an offensive efficiency of 0.954 (219th), are shooting 40% from the field (278th) and shooting 29.5% from the three-point line (286th). But they are also tops in the country averaging 45.3 rebounds per game. It’s simple. UNC is really struggling to score and shoot the ball, which is hurting them big time.
If UNC can find a way to shoot better and get some key players to start knocking down shots consistency, they could turn things around. What better time then Saturday vs. UCLA?
The Bruins enter Saturday’s game allowing 68.3 points per game (140th) and have a defensive efficiency of 0.990 which is 204th in the country. They have struggled on the defensive end but they are facing a bad offense in UNC.
UCLA also has some playmakers that can score in guard Chris Smith who is averaging 11.3 points per game as well as forward Cody Riley who is averaging 11.1 points per game. Freshman Tyger Campbell will run point guard, averaging 7.6 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game for the Bruins.
It will be interesting to see if head coach Roy Williams starts freshman Jeremiah Francis to match up with Campbell or K.J. Smith like the previous two games.
What to Watch for
Watching Wednesday’s game vs. Gonzaga, there was actually some things that gave us optimism for this team. Yeah, they lost to a really good Zags team on the road but they came out with an edge. It was a big game in a tough environment and the Tar Heels came out and kept it close in the first half.
If UNC comes out with that energy for Saturday’s game vs. Ohio State, they might be able to jump on the Bruins early. But they really have to hit their shots to do so.
Let’s see if UNC can shoot better and come out with a win in this one.
Player to Watch
I really liked what I saw from point guard Jeremiah Francis in the loss to Gonzaga. He played 23 minutes coming off the bench and scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He looked comfortable running the offense and had 3 assists and 2 steals.
Eventually, and possibly on Saturday, Francis will be the team’s starting point guard until Anthony returns. Francis could be a key in Saturday’s game as well as we expect him to get in early if he doesn’t start. With Francis running the offense, UNC has a shot to score some points and look efficient. Hopefully Francis continues to develop.
What you need to know
What? North Carolina (6-5) vs. UCLA (7-4)
When? Saturday, December 21, 3:00 p.m. ET
Where? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
TV? CBS
Radio? Tar Heels Sports Network
All-time series? UNC leads 9-3
Last meeting? UNC beat UCLA 89-76 on December 19th, 2015
Prediction? UNC 68, UCLA 67