Preview Against NC State: #9 UNC Gathers the Wolfpack for Round 2

(Photo Courtesy Grant Halverson/GettyImages) 

Chapel Hill - Five days later, after the Dean Smith Center scoring record was broken by senior guard RJ Davis, the #9 North Carolina Tar Heels get ready to host NC State (17-11, 9-8 conference) tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN for another go-round of the Triangle matchup. 

UNC looks to continue their winning mojo after a 75-71 nailbitter against Miami, seeing their 10-point lead with 3 minutes left to go in regulation shrink to two. The Wolfpack suffered a road loss to the Florida State Seminoles in their last outing, 90-83. 

Coach Davis' team found themselves grinding it out until the very end despite having a lead of 14 points and the Hurricanes missing two of their starters, Nigel Pack and Wooga Poplar. 

Up until the very end, it was anyone's game, but courtesy of Jae'Lyn Withers, a huge rebound off a missed free throw by Seth Trimble was the game-defining play. Withers then sank his two attempts at the charity stripe, ultimately giving North Carolina the two-point possession advantage and winning the game. 

The team shot 44% FG, including 35% from the three-point line, making 57% at the free throw line. The Tar Heels also added 10 steals while scoring 13 points off turnovers. 

RJ Davis' 42 points was the only player to enter the double-digit column, as the next highest scorer was Harrison Ingram with eight. The rest of the team combined for 33 points, shooting 13-39 (33%). 

In NC State's last clash, senior Casey Morsell amounted to 19 points, four rebounds, and six assists while also scoring on eight of his 15 attempts from the field, making two of three from downtown. 

Off the bench, junior Jayden Taylor boosted the Wolfpack with 24 points, five rebounds, and two assists. DJ Horne, Mohamed Diarra, and Ben Middlebrooks each had 15, 13, and 12 points, respectively. 

Alongside the box score stats, the Wolfpack had 14 points off turnovers, 15 second chance points, and 36 bench points. 

Last month, on January 10th, then-ranked #7 UNC was victorious, routing a 67-54 final. 

RJ Davis had 16 points, four rebounds, and an assist. His freshman backcourt mate, Elliot Cadeau, had 11 points in addition to his six assists, including an incredible pass around DJ Burns for an Armando Bacot throwdown. 

This game marked number five of UNC's 10-game winning streak, as Carolina kept on surging throughout the month of January. 

The all-time record between UNC and NC State currently stands at 43-10 in favor of North Carolina. 

Projected Starting Lineups 

Elliot Cadeau (FR)

RJ Davis (SR)

Cormac Ryan (SR)

Harrison Ingram (JR)

Armando Bacot (SR)

Casey Morsell (SR)

DJ Horne (SR)

Michael O'Connell (SR)

Mohamed Diarra (JR)

DJ Burns Jr (SR)

Key Matchup 

Just like in the last outing, the battle to be observe while watching takes place in the paint between the two giants Armando Bacot and DJ Burns Jr. 

Burns ended up outscoring Bacot, 11-9 shooting 50% from the field. Although, be on the look for number five in Carolina blue to up the ante during his final home contest against NC State. 

The Projected Winner by the Numbers 

UNC is listed at 89.7%, according to the matchup predictor on ESPN Analytics.