After dispatching Notre Dame yesterday, the Tar Heels are back in action later today, as they take on Wake Forest, in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament. Carolina blew past the Fighting Irish, 76-56 yesterday afternoon, to pick up their 21st win of the season. Jae’Lyn Withers led Carolina with 21 points, as they shot 48% from the field, and 46% from behind the arc, on 13 makes.
Wake won the only regular season matchup between the two schools earlier this season, but these are two different teams now, from that first matchup back in Winston-Salem. As always, Wake faded down the stretch, and just like Carolina, is in dire need of a big week in Charlotte if they want to go to the NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, UNC has won 7 of 8 and has transformed itself into one of the best offensive teams, not just in the ACC, but in all of college basketball. The emergence of Withers has opened the floor up for Carolina’s guards and is making it easier for Lubin, and Jalen Washington to get post position on the inside.
Carolina arrived at the ACC Tournament needing likely two wins, if not three for them to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Late last night though, ESPN bracketologist moved Carolina into his projected tournament field, as the last team in the field of 68. Now that doesn’t guarantee anything, but they continue to trend toward being a tournament team, and could very lock themselves up with a win today.
After a disappointing loss to Duke in the regular season finale, it was fair to question mindset entering the tournament, but it’s fair to say that this team is still confident, and is enjoying playing with each other, and if that carries over into today’s game, there’s no reason to believe that they’ll keep on playing deep into this tournament, and maybe the NCAA Tournament.
Continue Hot Shooting: Carolina shot 48% from the field and hit 13 threes on Wednesday against Notre Dame. They need that shooting to carry over against one of the best defensive teams in the conference.
Control the Glass: The Demon Deacons finished with +8 margin on the glass in the first, but Carolina is playing bigger now. Defensive rebounding is going to be especially important here after giving up 10 offensive rebounds in the first matchup. Creating those second chance opportunities would also take some pressure off of the team to shoot the way that they did on Wednesday.
Match the Defensive Intensity: As we mentioned, the Demon Deacons are one of the best defensive teams in the conference, meaning things won’t be easy on the offensive end of the floor. To counter that, the Tar Heels will need to match that with one of their best defensive efforts of the season.
UNC ACC Tournament History:
Carolina is 109-52 in the ACC Tournament, and they are 5-1 as the #5 seed. In Charlotte, Carolina is 169-28, including being 19-3 in the Spectrum Center, where Carolina is 1-1 this season.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 35th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 119.6 (19th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 100.6 (65th)
Wake Forest - 71st overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 109.1 (139th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.8 (38th)
NET:
North Carolina - 36th.
Wake Forest - 68th.
TV Info:
Today’s game will tip approximately around 2:30 PM on ESPN.
The Four Corners Podcast:
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