UNC looking to stay Undefeated at Dean Dome

Written by Sharon Thorsland

It’s a quick turnaround for North Carolina, as the 16th ranked Tar Heels take on #21 Louisville tonight at the Dean Dome. The Heels are coming off a win over Syracuse on Saturday that improved them to 21-6 and 9-5 in the ACC, while the Cardinals (20-7, 9-5) blew out Georgia Tech for their 6th win in the last seven games. Tip-off is set for 7:00 on WBT.

The Cardinals are the highest scoring team in the ACC, averaging nearly 87 points a game. They’re led by a pair of outstanding guards in Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell. The duo averages over 18 points per game each and can light you up from behind the arc. The Cardinals make the most 3’s in the ACC and are fourth in the country at 11.8 per game. Brown has been on fire over the past four games, averaging over 30 points a contest and shooting a staggering 58% from three. Slowing him down will be the focus for the Tar Heels, who have struggled to defend 3-point shooters all season long.

Defensively the Cardinals have been more inconsistent, but when they’re on, they’re on – in games where they hold teams to 75 points or less, they’re undefeated at 15-0. Star freshman Caleb Wilson is still sidelined, but fellow big man Henri Veesaar made his return against the Orange and made a huge impact for UNC, leading the Heels with 19 points in just 26 minutes. The offense will need to run through him, and the UNC backcourt can’t pull a disappearing act like it did against NC State. The Heels looked better in the win over Syracuse and need to build on that.

UNC is 6-1 against Louisville at the Smith Center and has won five of the last six games in the series. That one loss came last season when the Cardinals outscored the Tar Heels 13-1 over the final five minutes of the game. Hubert Davis has no doubt reminded them of that loss. Plus, this is a huge opportunity for another Quad 1 win. Not to mention the face that the Tar Heels are 4-1 against Top 25 teams while Louisville is 2-5 with three of those losses on the road. UNC needs this one and must find a way to get it done, even without Wilson. I say they stay undefeated at home and win a close one. Go Tar Heels!