After handily defeating Virginia Tech Saturday, the NC State men’s basketball team looks to further bolster its NCAA Tournament resume with a win over No.15 UNC-Chapel Hill at the Dean Dome tonight.
The W olfpack (16-11, 7-7 ACC) heads into the matchup with the Tar Heels (19-8, 9-5 ACC) following its first back-to-back win since December. The Pack hopes its newfound confidence and momentum are enough to beat the Tar Heels this time around.
The Wolfpack lost narrowly to the Tar Heels 81-79 in a nail-biter Jan. 14 in PNC Arena. The contest ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Pack as a game tying tip-in attempt from freshman Cody Martin just missed at the buzzer.
“We’ve studied that film, and we gave up way too many offensive rebounds to them,” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said at the weekly ACC coaches teleconference. “We had some good looks, and we didn’t make them. We could have defended them better at times.”
Like NC State, Carolina heads into Tuesday night’s matchup coming off of an impressive victory. After losing four of its last five games, the Tar Heels bounced back by shooting better than 60 percent from the field en route to an 89-60 victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
UNC is one of the top offensive teams in the nation, ranking 14th in points scored at 79.5 per game, and is led by junior point guard Marcus Paige, who is averaging 13.6 points and 4.4 assists this season.
Paige has consistently proved to be a thorn in the Pack’s side. In January’s meeting, the ACC’s Preseason Player of the Year recorded 23 points while shooting 5-for-5 from three-point range and dishing nine assists.
“[UNC is] very talented and everything starts with Paige,” Gottfried said. “We have to do a great job on him.”
Expect a pivotal matchup in the backcourt as NC State sophomore point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber will draw the assignment of playing against Paige.
In the previous game against UNC, Barber struggled, scoring only five points while turning the ball over four times, but the sophomore has elevated his play recently, averaging a scorching 18.6 points, 4.2 assists and only one turnover in his last five games.
In addition to his scoring and playmaking ability, Barber could be just as important on the defensive end, as his speed and ability stay in defensive position will be important when guarding the Heels’ primary perimeter scorer.
As Paige is UNC’s only significant threat from deep, North Carolina relies on points generated from second-chance opportunities, which develop from high-powered offensive rebounding.
The Tar Heels are statistically the second-best rebounding team in college basketball, grabbing 42.4 boards a game, thanks in large part to a talented yet inconsistent front court led by junior forward Brice Johnson and sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks, who average 7.9 and 7.5 rebounds per game, respectively.
Because Carolina scores so many second-chance points, it will be crucial for the Pack to limit the number of offensive rebounds Carolina pulls down.
One way State may attempt to match the rebounding of Carolina is by relying more on sophomore forward Lennard Freeman.
Freeman is the Wolfpack’s best rebounder, averaging 5.6 boards a game. Look for Freeman to step up and be a contributor both on the boards and defensively against a talented and big UNC frontcourt, but the Wolfpack needs all of its bigs to contribute and play well in order to beat the Tar Heels.
This rivalry game is important for both teams. NC State could certainly use another win against a top 25 team to help build its NCAA Tournament resume and solidify a spot in the Big Dance. UNC looks to get back on the right track after losing four of its last six games.
Much like the first meeting between these two teams, expect this one to go down to the wire.
