UNC Men’s Basketball vs. Tennessee: Game preview, info, prediction and more
If you thought the Battle 4 Atlantis was difficult, wait till you see who UNC plays next.
Carolina’s men’s basketball team, coming off an 87-72 victory over Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 24., now turns its attention to another SEC program in Tennessee.
UNC (5-1), ranked 17th in the latest AP Poll, is hosting the Volunteers on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:15 p.m. This game will be part of the ACC-SEC Challenge, a fun tournament won by the conference with most matchup victories, that replaces the ACC-Big 10 and Big 12-SEC Challenges.
Carolina returns home for the first time since Friday, Nov. 17, when it dominated UC-Riverside in a 77-52 result. The Heels went 2-1 in the Battle 4 Atlantis, but were just an overtime period away from the championship game.
Tennessee, which made a Trip to the Sweet 16 last year, is sitting 4-2 after a 1-2 showing in the Maui Invitational. The Volunteers made headlines by beating Michigan State, ranked fourth at the time, in East Lansing during both teams’ season-opener.
This will be the Tar Heels’ last game before opening ACC play, which begins on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the Dean Dome against Florida State. Tennessee is off the rest of the week, then returns home to host George Mason on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
UNC holds the all-time series record at 10-2, but the Volunteers won the most recent matchup, an 89-72 result on Nov. 21, 2021.
Key to victory for UNC
I feel like I say this a lot, but it helped UNC a ton in the win against Arkansas: shoot well from deep.
Carolina shot a decent, 6-of-14 (42.9%) mark from deep on Friday, with reserve point guard Seth Trimble a perfect 2-for-2. Arkansas, on the other hand, shot just 5-for-17.
Tennessee is another tough opponent with a solid defense, so making 3-pointers is going to be difficult. It’s definitely a reachable goal for the Tar Heels, though.
Something to watch
Foul trouble doomed UNC on Thanksgiving Day, with Harrison Ingram, Jae’Lyn Withers and Elliot Cadeau all fouling out in the overtime loss against Villanova.
Luckily for the Tar Heels, their bench runs a bit deeper this year. This still didn’t matter though – as Ingram and Withers play several minutes at forward, with Cadeau providing valuable minutes from the point guard spot.
If UNC can’t stay out of the penalty on Wednesday night, Tennessee’s 1-2 punch of Jonas Aidoo and Santiago Vescovi could break the game open.
What you need to know
WHAT? UNC (5-1) vs. Tennessee (4-2)
WHEN? Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:15 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV? ESPNU (Watch and stream the game live on ESPN)
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? Tennessee beat UNC, 89-72, on Nov. 21, 2021
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 10-2
PREDICTION? UNC 72, Tennessee 70
