UNC looks to snap losing skid vs. BC
by Sharon Thorsland
It’s been a rough week for North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming off back to back one-point losses to Stanford and Wake Forest, and can’t seem to generate any offense or defense down the stretch. The good news is they welcome Boston College to the Smith Center on Saturday. The Eagles are in the midst of a five-game losing skid and are just 1-7 in ACC play and 9-10 overall. This is just the kind of get-right game UNC (12-8, 5-3) needs right now. Tip-off is set for 2:15 on WBT.
The Eagles have an excellent guard in Donald Hand, Jr., who leads the team with 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Forwards Chad Venning and Elijah Strong both average over 10 points a contest. The problem is that no other Eagle is averaging in double figures. Guard Joshua Beadle is a deep threat, hitting 50% of his 3-point attempts. Fred Payne and Joshua Beadle are both deep threats, hitting nearly 42% and 5of his 3-point attempts.
One thing to watch – the Eagles can go big with Venning and Jayden Hastings on the floor at the same time, they’re both 6’9 and will challenge the Tar Heels, who don’t have a lot of height besides Jalen Washington. The junior has been hot and cold this season, and when he plays well the Tar Heels usually win.
Defensively the Eagles are one of the worst teams in the country, they’re allowing opponents to shoot nearly 46% from the floor and over 36% from behind the arc. They’ll have their hands full with UNC guards Ian Jackson and RJ Davis, who has averaged over 16 points a game in his previous five outings against Boston College.
This is one of those games that UNC should win, they’ve won 17 of their past 18 games against Boston College. And it’s really a must-win game when it comes to NCAA Tournament projections, which are not on UNC’s side right now. Nothing has come easy for the Tar Heels recently, but I think they get it done against the Eagles and get back in the win column. Go Tar Heels!
., who leads the team with 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Forwards Chad Venning and Elijah Strong both average over 10 points a contest. The problem is that no other Eagle is averaging in double figures. Guard Joshua Beadle is a deep threat, hitting 50% of his 3-point attempts. Fred Payne and Joshua Beadle are both deep threats, hitting nearly 42% and 5of his 3-point attempts.
One thing to watch – the Eagles can go big with Venning and Jayden Hastings on the floor at the same time, they’re both 6’9 and will challenge the Tar Heels, who don’t have a lot of height besides Jalen Washington. The junior has been hot and cold this season, and when he plays well the Tar Heels usually win.
Defensively the Eagles are one of the worst teams in the country, they’re allowing opponents to shoot nearly 46% from the floor and over 36% from behind the arc. They’ll have their hands full with UNC guards Ian Jackson and RJ Davis, who has averaged over 16 points a game in his previous five outings against Boston College.
This is one of those games that UNC should win, they’ve won 17 of their past 18 games against Boston College. And it’s really a must-win game when it comes to NCAA Tournament projections, which are not on UNC’s side right now. Nothing has come easy for the Tar Heels recently, but I think they get it done against the Eagles and get back in the win column. Go Tar Heels!
