UNC Basketball prepares for tough upcoming stretch

Saturday’s contest against NC State begins a very tough stretch of ACC games for Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program. 

Winners of four of their last five contests, the UNC basketball program is set to embark on a very crucial eight-game stretch.

That stretch begins at the Dean Smith Center, where the Tar Heels will host in-state rival NC State. Before we take a closer look at the Wolfpack, let’s take a brief moment to look at the upcoming slate.

The Tar Heels’ next eight opponents, NC State, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Miami, and NC State (again), currently occupy six of the top eight spots in the ACC standings. Heading into Saturday, these squads have a combined 44-19 record in league play and will be a challenge for Hubert Davis’ team.

NC State not only comes in with a 15-4 record but has won four straight and seven of its last eight games. Recently, they’ve knocked off Duke (who was ranked at the time) as well as Miami.

North Carolina has also been playing good basketball as of late, winning eight of their last 10 contests. The Tar Heels are still unbeaten at home, as they’ve won their first 9 contests at the Dean Smith Center this season.

What do the Tar Heels need to do to keep that streak going?

Key to Victory for North Carolina

Similar to the Tar Heels, the Wolfpack score the basketball at a high level and has two very good guards that occupy their backcourt.

Terquavion Smith has been one of the best players in the entire ACC, as he’s currently averaging just over 19 points per game. Ole Miss transfer Jarkel Joiner has been great as well, averaging 16.2 points per contest while shooting 44% percent from the floor.

This game could easily be dictated by guard play, as the likes of Caleb Love and RJ Davis must step up to the occasion. The Tar Heels guards must outplay the Wolfpack duo on both ends of the floor, as these matchups could ultimately be the deciding factor in this important game.

Something to Watch For

1 and 17.

What do those numbers mean? Well, they are numbers that represent how close Armando Bacot is to UNC basketball history.

After tying Billy Cunningham for the program record, Bacot is just one double-double away from taking sole possession of it. He is also just 17 rebounds shy of surpassing UNC basketball legend Tyler Hansbrough as the program’s all-time leading rebounder.

As stated in his Friday press conference, Bacot is looking to break both records in front of the home crowd on Saturday afternoon. With his motivation even higher than usual (which is hard to believe given how motivated he plays on a regular basis) we could be in line for a monster performance from the senior big man.

Last Meeting

On February 26, 2022, the UNC basketball program defeated NC State by a score of 84-74.

The Tar Heels were up by as much as 25 en route to their season series sweep over the Wolfpack. Bacot had a monster performance, recording 28 points,18 rebounds, and five blocks to lead North Carolina.

Projected Starters

No. 4 R.J. Davis (Jr., 6-0, 175) – 16.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.3 apg
No. 2 Caleb Love (Jr., 6-4, 200) – 16.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
No. 1 Leaky Black (Gr., 6-9 205) – 7.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 apg
No. 32 Pete Nance (Gr. 6-11, 230) – 10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.6 apg
No. 5 Armando Bacot (Sr., 6-11, 235) – 17.6 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg