Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball Game #3 Preview: UC Riverside

By Nick Delahanty

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 12: (L-R) Armando Bacot #5, RJ Davis #4, Cormac Ryan #3 and Paxson Wojcik #8 of the North Carolina Tar Heels huddle during the game against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 12, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 90-68. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 12: (L-R) Armando Bacot #5, RJ Davis #4, Cormac Ryan #3 and Paxson Wojcik #8 of the North Carolina Tar Heels huddle during the game against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 12, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 90-68. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The UNC basketball program prepares for the final game of a three-game home stretch before hitting the road to the Bahamas.

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program will cap off a three-game homestand on Friday night as they host UC Riverside for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

North Carolina has won each of its first two games, defeating Radford and Lehigh, while UC Riverside comes in with a 1-2 record, having lost two road contests to Utah and Portland over the last week.

This will be the last test for Hubert Davis’ team before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, as the Tar Heels schedule is set to get much tougher over the next couple of weeks. Before that trip, North Carolina could use another game to work on some things, as the hope is that they’ll string together a strong team performance before hitting the road for a busy Thanksgiving week.

Key to Victory for North Carolina

Don’t let UC Riverside get going from beyond the arc.

As we all know, opposing teams LOVE to come into the Dean Smith Center and shoot the lights out of the gym, but this is a game where the Tar Heels need to hone in defensively and make sure that doesn’t happen.

The Highlanders have not shot the ball well early on this season, as they average 32.5 percent from the floor with a 29.6 percent mark from three-point range.

The Tar Heels should put an emphasis on making life difficult for the Highlanders offensively, as struggles shooting the basketball will make it tough for them to stay in this game.

Something to Watch For

The Tar Heels “Big Three” of Armando Bacot, RJ Davis, and Harrison Ingram have done their part in scoring the basketball.

Other than that, the rest of the team hasn’t necessarily been consistent on that end.

Will the aforementioned trio once again carry the scoring load, or will some of the other Tar Heels get more involved in scoring the basketball?

Cormac Ryan is a guy who needs to shoot the ball better, as he’s coming off a six-point outing in the win over Lehigh. In order to free up space for Bacot in the paint, North Carolina has to shoot the ball effectively from deep, as guys like Ryan and Paxson Wojcik need to make their shot attempts.

Last Meeting

This marks the first-ever meeting between the UNC basketball program and the UC Riverside Highlanders.

Projected Starters

No. 3 Cormac Ryan (Gr. 6-5, 195) 9.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg
No. 4 RJ Davis (Sr. 6-0, 180) 17.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
No. 5 Armando Bacot (Gr., 6-11, 240) 23.5 ppg, 16.5 rpg, 1.0 apg
No. 8 Paxson Wojcik (Gr. 6-5, 195) 3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
No. 55 Harrison Ingram (Jr. 6-7, 235) 13.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 apg

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