Tar Heels looking to bounce back vs. Wake Forest

by Sharon Thorsland

North Carolina returns from a week-long break to take on ACC rival Wake Forest on Saturday. After cruising to a 13-1 start to the season, the #17 Tar Heels hit a road block at SMU last week, losing by double digits in Dallas after the Mustangs shot over 71% in the second half. Now they’ll try to rebound versus the Demon Deacons, who are off to a slow start at 10-6 on the season. Tip-off is set for 6:30 in the Dean Dome.

Wake Forest lost a bunch of key players from last season’s 21-11 team, including guard Hunter Sallis, who’s now in the NBA. They returned just 18.8 points per game from last year’s squad, but added a bunch of guys from the transfer portal. None of them have been game changers, but Purdue transfer guard Myles Colvin is the Deac’s second leading scorer at 13.2 points a game. As a team Wake is averaging under 82 points per game, led by sophomore guard Juke Harris. He’s averaging nearly 20 points per game; that’s 5th in the ACC. Senior forward Tre’Von Spillers is also averaging in double digits and grabs six rebounds a game. A big problem for the Deacs is their lack of size – former Valparaiso big man Cooper Schweiger is their tallest player at 6’10, and he’s only managing 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds a game. So the Deacs should have their hands full with 6’10 freshman Caleb Wilson and 7’0 center Henri Veesaar.

No doubt UNC will be ready for this game. After their subpar performance at SMU, they’ll be looking to bounce back against an ACC rival that they are certainly not overlooking. The Deacs have proven they can hang with anybody, taking Michigan to overtime and only losing to Texas Tech by a point. But history is on the side of the Tar Heels, who are 26-5 at home against Wake, and have won nine straight against the Demon Deacons in the Dean Dome. Wake’s last win in Chapel Hill was back in January of 2010. Look for UNC to extend that streak on Saturday – go Tar Heels!