Carolina and NC State play for the 241st time overall and 36th time in the Smith Center when the Tar Heels host the Wolfpack on Saturday, January 29, at 2 p.m. (ACC Network). The Tar Heels are 14-6 overall, 6-3 in the ACC. NC State is 10-11, 3-7.
Both teams played on Wednesday with UNC defeating Boston College, 58-47, in one of the lowest scoring games in Smith Center history. NC State lost at Notre Dame, 75-63. The Tar Heels are 11-0 at the Smith Center this season and 21-1 over the last two seasons. NC State is 2-3 on the road this year, all in ACC play. The teams split a pair of games last season, each winning on their respective home floors.
Carolina is honoring Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams at halftime and the 1982 NCAA championship winning team during a second-half timeout.
About UNC
- Carolina has climbed to 61st in the country in KenPom’s defensive efficiency, the fourth highest in the ACC. UNC is allowing 97.3 points per 100 possessions. Duke (22nd), Wake Forest (38th) and Florida State (47th) are the only ACC schools higher in defensive efficiency this season.
- The Tar Heels are allowing only 60.9 points per game at the Smith Center this season and have outscored the opposition by an average of 15.7 points per game.
- Brown scored 87 in the Smith Center on November 12. Since that game the most points by an opponent at home were the 68 by Virginia Tech on January 24. Boston College’s 47 on Wednesday were the fewest allowed by Carolina in any game this season.
- The 60.9 points are on pace to be the fewest scored by the opponents at home in the shot clock era.
- Through 17 games this season the Tar Heels were shooting 48.2% from the floor and were ranked second in the ACC and 23rd in the country. Over the past four games UNC has shot 33.3% from the floor, its lowest percentage over a four-game stretch since 1955-56. It’s the first time UNC shot under 40% in four straight games since doing that in five consecutive in 2002-03. Carolina is now shooting 44.9% for the season, eighth in the ACC and 141st in the country.
- The Tar Heels are 28th nationally in KenPom’s offensive efficiency, scoring 112.6 points per 100 possessions. That is third in the ACC behind Duke (14th) and Miami (18th).
- Carolina is 36th in the country in three-point percentage (.370), 43rd in free throws (.761) and 189th in two-point percentage (.492).
- Five Tar Heels have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Armando Bacot has scored 20 or more seven times, Caleb Love has six 22-point games, and RJ Davis, Dawson Garcia and Brady Manek each have three 20-point games.
- Five Tar Heels have played 34 or more minutes in each of the last two games against Virginia Tech and Boston College. Prior to Monday’s win over the Hokies UNC had not played a regulation-length game in which five players played at least 34 minutes since a 60-45 win for the top-ranked Tar Heels at Virginia on 2/11/1998.
- Armando Bacot leads Carolina in scoring (16.3), rebounding, field goal percentage (.578) and blocks (29). He also led UNC in those categories last season. No Tar Heel has ever led in those four categories in consecutive seasons. Bacot needs 10 points to become the 79th player to score 1,000 points as a Tar Heel.
About NC State
- NC State has won seven of its last 10 ACC road games. The Pack won its final five road games last season and have gone 2-3 this season in conference road games.
- NC State attempted 12 free throws on Wednesday night at Notre Dame. That’s the most free throw attempts for the Pack in the last five games. For most of the season, NC State ranked in the top-10 in free throw attempts, but the Pack has attempted just 43 free throws in the last five games. In last Saturday’s win over Virginia, Dereon Seabron (5-6 FTs) was the only NC State player to attempt a free throw. NC State attempted 77 more free throws than its opponents in non-conference play, but in ACC play, the Pack’s opponents have attempted 39 more free throws than the Pack.
- NC State leads the ACC in all games with an average of 12.3 offensive rebounds per game and averages 11.2 offensive rebounds per game in ACC only games. Ebenezer Dowuona has grabbed 19 offensive rebounds (average of 4.8 per game) in the Pack’s last four games.
- NC State’s trio of Dereon Seabron, Jericole Hellems and Terquavion Smith are the second-highest scoring trio in the ACC. The three players combine to average 47.9 points per game this season and NC State is the only team in the ACC to have three players rank in the top-20 in the conference in scoring. The trio is responsible for 64.1 percent of NC State’s points this season.
- Dereon Seabron has now scored in double figures in every game this season. Seabron has led NC State in scoring 10 times, in rebounding 19 times and in assists 14 times this season. He is the only player in the ACC to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
- Over the last five games, senior forward Jericole Hellems is shooting 53.8% (28-of-52) from the field, including 48.3% (14-of-29) from three-point range. The Saint Louis, Mo., native went over 1,100 career points in Wednesday’s game at Notre Dame.
- Freshman guard Terquavion Smith has shot at least nine three-pointers in seven of the Pack’s last 10 games. He only attempted nine or more three-pointers in one of the Pack’s first 11 games this season. In conference games, Smith leads the ACC in three-pointers made per game at 3.30 and is averaging a league-high 8.5 three-point attempts per game in conference play.
- Junior guard Casey Morsell scored in double figures for the third consecutive game with 10 points at Notre Dame. He added a career-high eight rebounds. In the last three games, Morsell is shooting 66.7% (12-of-18) from the field, including 77.8% (7-of-9) from three-point range.
- Sophomore guard Cam Hayes finished with 10 points at Notre Dame, breaking a streak of nine consecutive games in single digits for the Greensboro native. Hayes scored in double figures in nine of the Pack’s first 11 games and was averaging 12 points per game after a 16-point performance on Dec. 17 vs. Richmond. Hayes only averaged 2.8 points per game in the Pack’s next nine games after Dec. 17 before his 10 point performance against the Fighting Irish.
UNC vs NC State
- The Tar Heels lead the series, 161-79, winning 33 of the last 38 and 50 of the last 62 games against the Wolfpack.
- UNC is 79-23 vs. the Pack in Chapel Hill, including 28-7 at the Smith Center.
- The Tar Heels have won three in a row and 16 of 18 at home against NC State.
- Carolina beat NC State, 86-76, on 1/23/2021 in the most recent game between the schools in the Smith Center. The Tar Heels shot 54.8% from the floor and four freshmen scored in double figures (for the first time since 2007). Armando Bacot led UNC with 17 points.
How to Watch
Time: 2:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ACCN (Mike Monaco, Randolph Childress)
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Properties (Jones Angell, Eric Montross, Adam Lucas)
Per Release