UNC Basketball at NC State: Game preview, info, prediction and more
It all goes down in Raleigh tomorrow night.
UNC and N.C. State, both tied atop the ACC basketball standings with Wake Forest at 11-3 (3-0 in conference play), will clash at 8 p.m.
Carolina is ranked seventh and has played a daunting non-conference schedule, winning games against strong programs like Tennessee, Oklahoma and Clemson. The Wolfpack are definitely turning heads, sitting ahead of teams like Duke and Miami, but their greatest win might be UVA.
Given the fact N.C. State is actually playing well this year, don’t be surprised to see PNC Arena packed in red.
If UNC has anything to say about about the Wolfpack faithful, it’ll look to utilize its up-tempo style and take the crowd out of it. It’s not just R.J. Davis or Armando Bacot scoring this year, but the Tar Heels also carry Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan, plus a mix of talented transfers and freshmen. They’re playing their best basketball to start a season in several years, leading many to believe they’re a Final Four-caliber team.
Something has to give Wednesday night. Will Carolina steal a win in front of a raucous Wolfpack crowd, or will N.C. State show it’s a legitimate ACC contender?
Let’s look at a couple things to be watching for in Wednesday’s matchup:
Key to victory
Every time I watch a UNC-State basketball game, I always feel like the Wolfpack shoot lights-out from 3-point range.
They’ve had the shooters – Cat Barber, Scott Wood, Terquavion Smith, to name a few.
This year, the Wolfpack have seven players shooting at least 30 percent from deep, including starters DJ Horne (42.9%) and Jayden Taylor (35.9%).
Carolina locked down Clemson over the weekend, limiting them to a 1-of-18 mark from deep. Joe Girard, the Syracuse transfer arguably the Tigers’ best perimeter shooter, missed all four of his attempts.
If the Tar Heels want to beat N.C. State for eighth time in ten games, they’ll have to lock down the perimeter.
Something to watch
Both the Tar Heels and Wolfpack have great shooters, but all the focus should be in the paint Wednesday night.
What Carolina brings in Armando Bacot, one of the greatest big men in school history, N.C. State counters with D.J. Burns.
We already know Bacot is a tall, athletic big man who has a wide arsenal of post moves. If Bacot can muscle his way around a defender, he’s pretty much automatic at the rim.
Burns is a 6’9″ walking bucket – built like a bull, but with the ability to shoot from anywhere. The former Big South Freshman and Player of the Year at Winthrop, Burns (12.6 points, 4-7 rebounds per game) is a major reason why the Wolfpack look dangerous in the ACC.
We know this will be a physical battle, but will either big man be hurt by foul trouble?
What you need to know
WHAT? UNC (11-3, 3-0 ACC) at N.C. State (11-3, 3-0 ACC)
WHEN? Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET
WHERE? PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.
TV? ESPN (Watch and stream the game live on WatchESPN)
RADIO? Sirius XM (Channel 194 or 387)
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? N.C. State won 77-69 on 2/19/23 in Raleigh
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads, 118-59
PREDICTION? UNC 72, N.C. State 68
