UNC Basketball vs College of Charleston: Preview, prediction and more
UNC basketball faces off with College of Charleston in its first game of the 2020-21 college hoops season.
Yes, North Carolina fans, it’s finally here.
The 2020-21 college basketball season has arrived against all odds, and your beloved Tar Heels play today. They open up their non-conference schedule with a home game against the College of Charleston Cougars prior to a Maui Invitational matchup against UNLV, and potential bouts with Alabama, Stanford, Indiana and Texas on the horizon.
Key losses from last year’s team include one-and-done point guard Cole Anthony, and starting shooting guard Brandon Robinson. Graduate transfers Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce, who played with the program for just one season, are now gone, too. Additionally, former reserve point guard Jeremiah Francis and would-be senior big man Brandon Huffman transferred to other programs in search of more playing time.
What the Tar Heels are left with is one of the nation’s top front court players in senior power forward Garrison Brooks, and rising sophomore center Armando Bacot. Add to that the lengthy and versatile Leaky Black, and college basketball’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class, and the Tar Heels appear to be in pretty good shape. Freshman guards Caleb Love and R.J. Davis will help pace the Tar Heels by playing through their star-studded front court, which welcomes in a pair of freshman big men in Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler, in hopes of a return to national prominence.
Key to victory for UNC
The Tar Heels will look to pound the ball inside early and often. With Brooks and Bacot in the low post, and Sharpe and Kessler first off the bench, lack of stamina shouldn’t be an issue for the UNC front court this season. Neither should ball-handling or perimeter shooting, at least not to the degree that is was last season when the Tar Heels constantly struggled to create offense or knock down shots from beyond the three-point line.
Something to watch for
I can’t wait to watch the North Carolina freshmen take the floor for the first time, and neither can you. The anticipation has been building for months, and now we get to see just how good Love, Davis, Sharpe and Kessler are. And don’t forget about Puff Johnson and Kerwin Walton, as it wouldn’t be surprising to see the less-talked-about but terrific shooting reserve wings get some playing time, too.
Starting lineup
Roy Williams has stated that he’s not sure what the starting lineup will be when the Tar Heels take the floor on Wednesday night, but I’m sticking with the same lineup that I said at the end of last season.
G – Caleb Love
G – R.J. Davis
G/F – Leaky Black
F – Garrison Brooks
F/C – Armando Bacot
What you need to know
WHAT? College of Charleston Cougars (0-0) at No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0)
WHEN? Wednesday, November 25 at 6 p.m. EST
WHERE? Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV? ACC Network
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
LINE? UNC -17
LAST MEETING? UNC won 74-69 (2010-11)
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 4-3
PREDICTION? UNC 81, Charleston 65
Next. Garrison Brooks 2020-21 Player Preview. dark
Check back with Keeping It Heel for complete coverage of the game, and all the latest on the UNC basketball program