About a week and a half ago, the UNC basketball program suffered a loss to Pittsburgh, a game in which the Tar Heels felt they should've won.
Now, can North Carolina get some redemption when they host Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill?
After an ugly showing against rival Duke, the UNC basketball program hosts Jeff Capel and the Panthers in another game the Tar Heels desperately need to win.
The path to getting this season somewhat back on track begins on Saturday afternoon. It's up to this team to make it happen.
2024-2025 Season
North Carolina Tar Heels
Overall Record: 13-10
Conference Record: 6-5
Home Record: 8-2
Away Record 3-5
Neutral Site Record: 2-3
Pittsburgh Panthers
Overall Record: 14-8
Conference Record: 5-6
Home Record: 10-3
Away Record: 3-4
Neutral Site Record: 1-1
Key Players
North Carolina
RJ Davis (Gr. Guard) - 17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists
Ian Jackson (Fr. Guard) - 14.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Seth Trimble - (Jr. Guard) - 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Pittsburgh
Jaland Lowe (So. Guard) - 17.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists
Ishmael Leggett (Sr. Guard) - 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Cameron Corhen (Jr. Forward) - 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists
Keys to Victory for North Carolina
Protect the basketball.
This team has made it a bad habit of making questionable decisions that ultimately lead to turnovers. Those turnovers have more often than not have resulted in points for the opposing teams.
With the margin of error so thin, the Tar Heels can not afford to make costly mistakes, especially with regard to handling the basketball.
Something to Watch For
Since December 21, the UNC basketball program has a 7-1 record in games that Ian Jackson scores 18 or more points.
In that same span, the Tar Heels are 0-4 in games he fails to meet that mark, all of which were single-digit scoring outputs from the five-star freshman.
North Carolina needs to find a way to get Jackson going, especially given back-to-back performances in which he struggled to put the ball in the basket. The question remains: how can Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels provide more space for Jackson to work with, potentially more opportunities to use his skillset to his advantage?
Projected Starters
No. 3 Elliot Cadeau (So. 6'1)
No. 4 RJ Davis (Gr. 6'0)
No. 11 Ian Jackson (Fr. 6'4)
No. 7 Seth Trimble (Jr. 6'3)
No. 22 Ven-Allen Lubin (Jr. 6'8)