Carolina begins the 2023 portion of the schedule by hosting Wake Forest on Wednesday, January 3, at 9 p.m. The Tar Heels are 9-5 overall, 1-2 in the ACC after a 76-74 loss at Pittsburgh on December 30. The Demon Deacons (10-4, 2-1) are coming off a 77-75 win over Virginia Tech at home to close out 2022. The win snapped a Hokies four-game winning streak against the Deacs in Winston-Salem.Â
About UNC
- UNC went 29-12 in the calendar year 2022. The loss at Pittsburgh snapped a four-game winning streak by the Tar Heels.
- The Tar Heels dropped out of the Associated Press poll this week. UNC had climbed back into the poll at No. 25 on December 26 after being unranked in the previous three polls.
- The Tar Heels lead the ACC in scoring (81.5 ppg) and rebounding (40.2), but are last in the league in points allowed (74.6).
- Carolina is 11th in the ACC in three-pointers per game (6.4), 13th in three-point percentage defense (.338) and 14th in three-point shooting (.308). The Tar Heels make 7.2 threes at a 33.5% clip in the wins, but only 5.0 threes at 25.5% in the five losses.
- Carolina has scored nearly nine fewer points per game in its five losses than the nine wins and allowed an average of 10.2 more points in the losses.
- The Tar Heels are shooting 48% from the floor in the wins and 41.7% in their losses.
- Carolina has a rebounding edge of 7.9 in the wins and has been out-rebounded by 1.4 per game in its losses.
- Armando Bacot (first), Caleb Love (tied for fourth) and RJ Davis (ninth) rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring.
- Bacot leads the ACC in scoring, rebounding, offensive boards and double-doubles. He ranks third in the country in offensive rebounding (4.7 per game), fourth in rebounds per game (11.2) and double-doubles (8) and seventh in free throw attempts (105).
- Carolina’s schedule is ranked the eighth-most difficult in the nation (per KenPom) among all teams and the second-most difficult among Power 5 conference teams behind only Alabama.
About Wake Forest
- With the 77-75 win over Virginia Tech, Wake Forest has now started 8-0 at home for the second season in a row and just the second time since 2013-14 when the Deacs went 12-0.
- Wake Forest is in the top six in the conference in multiple statistical categories -Third: Defensive Rebound Percentage (.752), Fourth: Free Throw Percentage (.756); 3-Point FG Percentage (.356); 3-Point FG Made (119 total, 8.50 pg), Fifth: Defensive Rebounds per game (26.57), Sixth: Scoring Offense (75.64); Rebounding Defense (33.64).
- Tyree Appleby leads the ACC in league play with 6.67 assists per game. He is second in the ACC overall in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game and leads the Demon Deacons in both categories. He is fourth in the ACC and 59th nationally with a free throw percentage of 86.8. He has gone 79-91 this season. As one of the most fouled players, Appleby’s 91 attempts ranks second the ACC and 27th nationally.
- Cameron Hildreth is among the top 10 rebounders in the league during ACC play, coming in at 9th with an average of 7.64 boards per ACC game. He is shooting 88.9 percent from the free throw line during league play and is one of just five ACC players to record 10 assists in a game so far this season.
- Wake Forest is the only ACC school and one of just two schools in the country to have two players measuring 6’ or shorter averaging 9.5 points or more for the season in graduate guards Tyree Appleby (18.4 ppg) and Daivien Williamson (9.5 ppg). Appleby’s 18.4 points per game leads all major conference players 6’ or shorter. His 50.3 field-goal percentage is second in the country for players 6’ or shorter.
UNC vs Wake Forest
- Carolina is 163-68 all-time vs. Wake Forest, including 8-2 in the last 10 games.
- The Tar Heels are 79-18 against the Deacs in Chapel Hill, including 24-5 in the Smith Center.
- Wake Forest beat the Tar Heels, 98-76, in Winston-Salem on 1/22/2022, in the only matchup last season.
- The Tar Heels have won the last seven games against Wake Forest in Chapel Hill. Carolina defeated the Demon Deacons, 80-73 in front of a limited number of fans (due to the pandemic) on 1/20/2021 in the most recent game between the teams in Chapel Hill.
- Freshman Caleb Love scored 20 points, his first career 20-point game. Armando Bacot had 18 points, RJ Davis added 13 and Leaky Black had eight assists.
- Wake Forest made 13 threes and got 27 points from both Isaiah Muciius and Daivien Williamson.
How to Watch
Time: 9:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ACCN (Cory Alexander, Randolph Childress)
Stream:WatchESPN
Radio:Â Tar Heel Sports Properties (Jones Angell, Eric Montross, Adam Lucas)
