In preparation for the Maui Invitational, UNC basketball set to take on Hawaii

North Carolina fans will need to stay up late Friday night as the UNC basketball program begins its week-long stretch in Hawaii.

The matchup between the Tar Heels and the Rainbow Warriors will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools. North Carolina is 5-0 all-time against Hawaii, with four of those games taking place in Honolulu. The Tar Heels won the most recent matchup in 2016, 83-68.

With Dayton waiting in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday, the Tar Heels will look to begin their Hawaiian travels on the right foot.

2024-2025 Season

North Carolina Tar Heels

Overall Record: 2-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 0-1
Neutral Site Record: 0-0

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Overall Record: 4-0
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 4-0
Away Record: 0-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-0

Key Players

North Carolina

RJ Davis (Gr. Guard) - 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists
Seth Trimble (Jr. Guard) - 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Elliot Cadeau (So. Guard) - 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists

Hawaii

Tanner Christensen (Gr. Center) - 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Tom Beattie (So. Guard) - 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Gytis Nemeikša (Sr. Forward) - 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Keys to Victory for North Carolina

North Carolina will need to shoot the ball better from behind the arc on Friday.

The Tar Heels struggled to get hot against American, missing their first ten shots from three. Overall, the Tar Heels currently rank 13th in the ACC in three-point percentage.

Hawaii's strength, on the other hand, is defending the three. It ranks first in the Big West in opponent three-point percentage, holding opposing teams to just 31%.

Without the apparent size advantage that UNC had against American, the Tar Heels will need to stretch the floor and hit shots from long range. If they don't, UNC may find itself in a second-half battle with the Rainbow Warriors.

Something to Watch For

How will the time difference affect North Carolina?

The Tar Heels flew to Hawaii on Wednesday, but the five-hour time difference could play a role in Friday night's (Saturday morning's) contest. Most, if not all, of the Tar Heels have most likely never played a game past midnight on the east coast.

While fatigue shouldn't play a role the entire game, expect UNC to come out sluggish in the first half and allow Hawaii to stay in the game.

Projected Starters

No. 3 Elliot Cadeau (So. 6'1)
No. 4 RJ Davis (Gr. 6'0)
No. 7 Seth Trimble (Jr. 6'3)
No. 13 Jalen Washington (Jr. 6'10)
No. 24 Jae'Lyn Withers (Gr. 6'9)