Heel Tough Blog: East Carolina Preview
- Joshua Marlow
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
It’s a quick turnaround for Carolina Basketball, after winning on Saturday against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic, the Heels return home for the final non-conference game of the season, as they host ECU tonight at the Dean Dome. The win on Saturday improved Carolina’s record to 11-1 on the season, their first 11-1 start since the 2008-09 national championship season. While Carolina was led once again by Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, they were boosted by the return of Seth Trimble, who added 17 points in his return from injury.
ECU enters tonight’s game with a 5-7 record, and they’ve yet to win a road game so far this season. ECU was the fourth team in the Fort Myers Tip-Off back at Thanksgiving, so they also played both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure, losing 89-56 and 67-58, respectively. They are led by Jordan Riley, who averages 21.7 points per game, but he’s only one of two ECU players who average double figures in scoring. With that in mind, scoring the basketball isn’t a strength of this ECU team; they average just 4.8 three-point makes per game, and they shoot 26% from the outside, both are 360th or worse in the country.
After a long two months, non-conference play finally comes to an end tonight, after 13 straight games in non-league play, and the final buy game of the year. UNC has built a quality resume, despite playing numerous Quad 4 games. With the win over Ohio State, Carolina is now 3-1 in Quad 1 and is positioned to compete for a high NCAA Tournament seed, once ACC play begins.
It’s the final game before the Christmas holiday, with 8 days in between tonight’s ECU contest and next week’s ACC opener against Florida State. It’s Ugly Sweater Night at the Dean Dome, and hopefully that helps build a festive environment for the final non-conference game against a buy opponent. For a team that has displayed a level of maturity that fans and media can appreciate, tonight is the final hurdle for this team to climb before league play begins. Here’s what to watch during tonight’s game:
Contain Jordan Riley: We’ve all seen players on bad teams come into the Smith Center and have career games, and that doesn’t need to be the case in this game. Riley, you would imagine, will be fired up to play in such a historic venue and will look to have a night he can look back on when his playing days are over. While he’s not the same caliber of player as Bruce Thornton, he deserves the same attention that UNC gave him on the Ohio State scouting report. There’s only one other ECU player that averages double figures in scoring, so if UNC is able to limit his impact, it’s hard to envision a way for the Pirates to be competitive tonight.
Dominate the Interior: As you would imagine, ECU doesn’t have the size and the depth to withstand UNC’s frontcourt for 40 minutes. The Pirates average just over 35 rebounds per game, so UNC should dominate the game in that category, along with points in the paint, whether through initial offense or second-chance points. UNC has struggled at times protecting the paint, but that shouldn’t be the case tonight, given the size and length advantage UNC has.
Get Out Healthy: With this being the final game before the start of ACC play, and the final game of non-conference play, it’s important that UNC exits the game as healthy as they enter it. The Ohio State game was the only third game that UNC has had it’s entire roster available for the game, and UNC is 3-0 when they are at full strength, with two Quad 1 wins, over Kansas and Ohio State. If Carolina takes care of business as they should, starters should play no more than 25 minutes, limiting the chance of something happening on the court that could cause harm to a starter or an important reserve.
Series History:
Carolina is 4-0 all-time against ECU, including being 2-0 in Chapel Hill. The last contest came back in 2014, a 108-64 UNC victory. Per GoHeels, UNC has won 51 straight against in-state, non-conference opponents.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 22nd overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 118.8 (43rd) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.2 (23rd)
East Carolina - 269th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 99.2 (329th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 107.8 (157th)
NET Ranking:
North Carolina - 19th.
East Carolina - 289th.
TV Info:
Tonight’s game will air at 8 PM on the ACC Network.
The Four Corners Podcast: