UNC Basketball Preview: #4 North Carolina at Home against the Cardinals


(Photo Courtesy Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina) 

Chapel Hill - #4 North Carolina continues their home stand with a date against the Louisville Cardinals (6-10, 1-4 conference) who look to extend their win streak to 7. The game is tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. on ACCN. 
 
The Heels won commandingly against the Syracuse Orange in their last outing, 103-67. RJ Davis was the head of the staff with 22 points, two rebounds, two assists, and five steals while shooting 58% FG and 67% 3PT through just 27 minutes of playing time. Armando Bacot continued his work on the inside, sinking 75% FG and going 100% from the foul line. Harrison Ingram, Jalen Washington, and Jae'Lyn Withers entered double figures as well, displaying their game in a variety of ways. As a whole, the Tar Heels made 48% FG, 27% 3PT , and 82% FT. One stat worth mentioning is that 11 different players scored for UNC through the two halves, incredible. 
 
In the last outing for Louisville, they took a loss against NC State at home, 89-83. Mike James, the sophomore out of Orlando, Florida, dropped 20 points and five rebounds while shooting 50% FG, 50% 3PT, and 70% FT. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, the junior from Clarksville, Tennessee, added a double-double that consisted of 13 points and 10 rebounds for the game. In addition, the pair of freshman Curtis Williams and Ty-Laur Johnson each scored 15 and 14 points off the bench, respectively. Going into tomorrow's contest, the Cardinals are averaging 74 PTS, 36 REB, and 12 AST per game. 
 
UNC's defense seems to be their focal point in the last few matchups despite having huge offensive firepower on the end of the court. That's going to be key to stopping Louisville's offense amongst their top five scorers through the full 40 minutes. 

UNC is listed at 98.3% for the matchup predictor, according to ESPN Analytics. 


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