Carolina returns to action on Tuesday, December 22, when it opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at NC State. Tipoff is 7 p.m. on the ACC Network. UNC is 5-2 after a 75-63 win over Kentucky in Cleveland in the CBS Sports Classic. Armando Bacot led four Tar Heels in double figures with 14 points as Carolina rallied from a 38-34 halftime deficit to out-score the Wildcats, 41-25, in the second half. NC State is 4-1 after a 69-50 win over Campbell. NC State had a two-point halftime lead, but opened the second half on a 26-8 run. Jericole Hellems led the Pack with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Carolina and NC State are playing for the first time in November or December since 11/30/1979, a 97-84 Tar Heel victory in Greensboro in the Big Four Tournament.
About Carolina:
- Carolina is in the middle of a three-game swing away from home (Kentucky in Cleveland, at NC State and at Georgia Tech on Dec. 30). UNC is scheduled to play at home just twice in the first nine games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Tar Heels played six consecutive neutral site or away games in November-December that season.
- Garrison Brooks leads Carolina in scoring at 11.7 points per game. Armando Bacot is next at 11.4 and freshmen guards Caleb Love and RJ Davis are third and fourth at 11.1 and 10.0 points, respectively.
- The last time a Tar Heel led the team in scoring with less than 12 points a game was 1946-47, when Jim Hamilton averaged 11.4 points.
- Carolina has started a freshman point guard to begin each of the last three seasons (Coby White in 2018-19, Cole Anthony in 2019-20 and Caleb Love in 2020-21).
- Four Tar Heels are averaging at least seven rebounds per game – Armando Bacot (8.7), Garrison Brooks (7.4), Leaky Black (7.3) and Day’Ron Sharpe (7.3).
- Carolina is sixth in the country in offensive rebound percentage.
- The Tar Heels are 245th in committing turnovers.
About NC State:
- NC State has only had nine players available in the past two games. In the first three games of the season, when NC State had its full allotment of players, the Pack played at least 11 players in the first half of all three games.
- NC State leads the nation in turnover margin at +11.0 per game. The Pack has won the turnover battle in all five games this season. The Pack ranks fourth in the NCAA in forcing turnovers, averaging to force its opponents into 22.2 per game this season.
- After becoming the first freshman to lead the ACC in blocks in over a decade last season, sophomore Manny Bates registered his 100th career block in just his 34th career game Saturday in the win over Campbell.
- In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 56-22 (72.0%) when it has the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent. With Keatts as head coach,
- Devon Daniels leads the Wolfpack in scoring with 16.2 points per game. Jericole Hellems averages 13.4 points per game, including shooting 46.2% from three-point range. Manny Bates leads the team in rebounds with 6.8 per game and Braxton Beverly lead in assists with 3.4 per game.
UNC vs NC State:
- Tuesday’s game is the 239th all-time meeting between the two programs, but just the ninth time the two teams have played in the month of December. In the 1950s, the programs played four times as part of the Dixie Classic held at Reynolds Coliseum. In the 1970s, they met four times at Greensboro Coliseum as part of the Big Four Tournament. The last December meeting between the two programs was Dec. 3, 1977 and the Tar Heels won, 87-82. NC State has a 5-3 advantage over UNC in games played in December.
- Coming in at #17 in the Associated Press poll, the Tar Heels are the first ranked team NC State has played this season. In his first three seasons, Kevin Keatts has guided the Pack to seven wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Poll with five of those wins coming at PNC Arena.
- In the last four meetings combined, North Carolina has made 31 more free throws than NC State has attempted. The Tar Heels are 92-of-119 from the foul line in the last four meetings while the Pack is 41-of-61.
- Roy Williams is 37-4 as a head coach against NC State, including a 5-0 record at Kansas and a 32-4 mark at Carolina.
- In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 56-22 (72.0%) when it has the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent. With Keatts as head coach, NC State has had fewer turnovers than UNC in every meeting and overall is +33 in turnover margin against the Tar Heels, but UNC has won five of the six games.
- UNC is 67-46 against NC State in Raleigh, including 17-4 in PNC Arena (UNC is 21-4 overall in PNC Arena, including two NCAA Tournament wins in both 2008 and 2016).
- Including wins in their last three games at Reynolds Coliseum (1997-99), the Tar Heels have won 20 of the last 24 games against NC State in Raleigh.
- Last year’s 75-65 win in Raleigh was the 15th win for Roy Williams at NC State in 17 seasons (the Wolfpack has beaten the Tar Heels 14 times in Chapel Hill in 67 seasons
since the ACC began play in 1953-54). The win was the seventh win in a row for UNC at NC State, the Tar Heels’ longest win streak at NCSU.
The Last Meeting:
- Carolina swept the series in 2019-20. On 1/27/20, Garrison Brooks tied his career high en route to 25 points and 11 rebounds and Armando Bacot added 11 and 11 in UNC’s 75-65 road win.
- Senior guard Brandon Robinson had 11 points and was a game-high plus-20, making 4 of 4 from the line in the final minute.
- Leaky Black scored 11 points, his second career double-figure scoring game.
- Andrew Platek scored eight points, one off his ACC career scoring high.
- In the last three meetings between the teams, UNC and NC State have had the exact same number of points in the paint. Both teams had 50 paint points on 2/5/19 and in last year’s series, both games ended with each team finishing with 40 points in the paint.
- In the last four meetings combined, North Carolina has made 31 more free throws than NC State has attempted. The Tar Heels are 92-of-119 from the foul line in the last four meetings while the Pack is 41-of-61.
- In six career games against the Tar Heels, senior guard Braxton Beverly is 17-of-29 (58.6%) from three-point range.
How to Watch:
Time: 7:00pm
TV: ACC Network (Wes Durham, Jordan Cornette)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Properties (Jones Angell, Eric Montross, Adam Lucas, Dave Nathan)
Stream: Watch ESPN