Preview Against Miami: #9 North Carolina Meet the Hurricanes at the Dean Smith Center

 

(Photo Courtesy Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina) 

Chapel Hill - The now-ranked #9 North Carolina Tar Heels have a date taking place at the Dean Smith Center with the Miami Hurricanes tonight at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN as Coach Davis' and his squad look to continue their search for the mojo they possessed during the month of January, featuring a win streak of 10 games. On the other hand, while sitting at the bottom of the ACC standings, Coach Larrañaga and his roster are in much need of a win by any means possible, riding a six-game losing streak heading into tonight's matchup. 

 

UNC entered the John Paul Jones Arena with a losing streak that began in February of 2013, as despite the many talented rosters both former Coach Roy Williams and Coach Davis have had, they were unable to come out of there with a win. But all that changed this past weekend. The Tar Heels broke their losing ways with a 54-44 win against the Wahoos that included an 18-point outburst by graduate student and Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan. Ryan made six of his 11 attempts from deep, five of which all came during the first half. A crucial individual performance as both RJ Davis and Armando Bacot dealt with trouble, not being able to get into their usual rhythm on the offensive end of the hardwood. Davis completed the game, making only one shot. Hard to believe considering the amount of success he has been having, Bacot unfortunately had issues with foul trouble, getting whistled on two different occasions within the first 20 minutes of the ACC clash. Despite the lack of offensive variety, the Heels were still able to lock it down on the defensive end, holding UVa to under 50 points. 

 

The Miami Hurricanes get set to erase their 80-76 home loss to Georgia Tech from this past Saturday, with the hope of marking another etch in the win column. Kyshawn George tallied scoring records with 16 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Through his 30 minutes of game action, he made five of his 10 field goal attempts, four of which were from the three-point line. At the other end of the floor, George picked up four steals and a block, making his defensive presence felt against the Yellow Jackets. Bensley Joseph, who replaced Nigel Pack due to a lower-body injury, notched 16 points as well, along with three rebounds and three assists. This contest against the first-year head coach, Damon Stoudamire, is the fourth straight that the Hurricanes played without Pack, making tonight at the Smith Center number five. Missed opportunities at the free throw line ended up costing the Hurricanes as they fell short on five of their 10 tries, inevitably falling by four points.

Projected Starting Lineups 

Elliot Cadeau (FR)

RJ Davis (SR)

Cormac Ryan (SR)

Harrison Ingram (JR)

Armando Bacot (SR)

Bensley Joseph (SO)

Wooga Poplar (JR)

Matthew Cleveland (JR) 

Kyshawn George (FR)

Norchad Omier (JR)

Key Matchup 

Unlike last time's key matchup between UNC and Miami, this game's one-on-one battle to be on the lookout for lives on the inside with Armando Bacot and Norchad Omier. During the last time out, Bacot's timely block on Omier off the underneath out of bounds possession with 32.3 seconds left of regulation time was the difference maker as the game stood at 73-71 afterwards. Tonight, the two will have the chance to square off once more before the 2023–2024 regular season comes to a close. 

The Projected Winner by the Numbers 

UNC is listed at 91.6%, according to the matchup predictor on ESPN Analytics.