NC State Wolfpack basketball is 6-4 overall (2-3 ACC) and continues conference play against North Carolina in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN.

The Tar Heels are 9-5 overall (4-3 ACC) under head coach Roy Williams in his 18th season with the program. Carolina beat Wake Forest 80-73 on Wednesday in its last contest.

The Pack will be playing its first game since Jan. 13, a 105-73 road defeat to Florida State.

NC State won the first meeting between the rival schools this season. The Wolfpack defeated UNC 79-76 on Dec. 22 in Raleigh.

Here is the scouting report on North Carolina:

North Carolina is 9-5 so far this season but has won four of its past five games following two road losses to NC State and Georgia Tech at the end of 2020.

The Tar Heels are currently eighth in the ACC with a 4-3 conference record and remain undefeated at home this season. Carolina's best conference win to date was an 81-75 victory over Syracuse in Chapel Hill on Jan. 12.

UNC returned three starters from last season but also has started an all-freshman backcourt in most of its first 14 contests.

The Tar Heels are currently No. 52 in the NET rankings.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has UNC ranked No. 27 (NC State is No. 39), and KenPom.com has the Heels ranked No. 36 (NC State is No. 63).

North Carolina is ranked No. 66 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Advantage: North Carolina

The Tar Heels have continued to struggle shooting the basketball since the first meeting in PNC Arena in December.

North Carolina has shot 42.2 percent from the field and 30.7 percent on three-point attempts, which rank 265th and 273rd, respectively, among Division I teams.

UNC has been more efficient from the perimeter in conference play. The Tar Heels have shot 34.1 percent from behind the three-point line in seven conference contests, good for eighth in the ACC.

However, North Carolina is shooting just 43.9 percent on two-point attempts against league competition, which is the worst average in the ACC.

Carolina ranks in the top 40 nationally in both free throw makes and free throw attempts per game. However, the Heels' 69.0 percent free-throw average ranks 209th among Division I teams.

Advantage: NC State

Everything North Carolina lacks in shooting ability, it makes up for in rebounding. Because the Tar Heels are so competitive on the offensive glass, they can afford to miss shots. Chances are they'll get another opportunity.

UNC averages 15.9 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks second nationally, and 15.7 offensive boards per contest in league play, which leads the ACC. Carolina grabs an offensive rebound on 40.9 percent of its misses, which ranks third among Division I teams.

The Heels come down with 43.4 total rebounds per game, good for third nationally, and average 11.2 rebounds per game more than their opponents.

Advantage: North Carolina

With its frontcourt depth and youth in the guard rotation, North Carolina continues to be more effective in protecting than paint the defending the perimeter.

Carolina's opponents are averaging 46.9 percent on two-point shots but 35.8 percent on three-point attempts.

UNC has struggled to defend the three-point line even more in conference play. Its ACC opponents are averaging 38.4 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks 11th in the league.

The Tar Heels are also better at shot-blocking than they are creating turnovers. UNC ranks 37th nationally with a 12.6 block percentage but 138th among Division I teams with a 19.8 defensive turnover percentage.

Advantage: NC State

North Carolina has strong depth in the frontcourt but is rather thin in the guard rotation.

Eight Tar Heel players have averaged over 15 minutes per game, but five of them average more than 25 minutes per contest.

UNC has gained some additional depth in the past two contests with the return of sophomore guard Anthony Harris, who is averaging eight minutes per game since returning to the rotation last Saturday at Florida State after missing over a year due to injury.

Three of Carolina's four most-played players are in the backcourt, including two freshmen Caleb Love (27.3 mpg) and RJ Davis (25.2 mpg), as well as junior Leaky Black (29.4 mpg).

Advantage: North Carolina

North Carolina senior forward Garrison Brooks was named the preseason ACC Player of the Year and performed exceptionally well against the Wolfpack last season.

In two contests against NC State in 2019-20, Brooks averaged 27.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.

"He was really, really good last year," NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said of Brooks the day before the first meeting in December. "Certainly, we can't allow him to be that good. He's tremendous. You talk about a preseason guy, he's an older guy, he's a senior. Last year as a junior, that's where you want the guys to progress to be really good players. We just simply have to do a better job of limiting his shots, and his second and third opportunities that he's gotten against us.”

Brooks was held in check against the Wolfpack in Raleigh in December, however. The senior big man scored just 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting. The performance sparked a three-game slump in which the preseason conference player of the year failed to score more than nine points in a single contest.

Brooks has started to heat up recently, though. The 6-10, 240-pounder has scored in double figures in each of UNC's past three contests and will be looking for revenge Saturday for his poor performance in PNC Arena.

15 Points per game is redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen's scoring average in NC State's last two contests. The Nebraska transfer has led the Wolfpack in scoring in the last two games, both of which were Allen's first and second double-figure scoring totals this season. Allen has shot 80 percent from the perimeter in the two-game stretch, making 8-of-10 attempts from behind the arc.

55.8 Is NC State senior guard Braxton Beverly's career three-point shooting percentage against North Carolina. In seven contests against the Tar Heels, Beverly is 19-of-34 from beyond the arc.

3 Of NC State's last five wins over the Tar Heels have been in Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack last defeated UNC in the Smith Center in 2018, a 95-91 win in overtime that marked head coach Kevin Keatts' first win over North Carolina.

NC State

G — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 175, Fr., 7.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 rpg)

G — 5 Thomas Allen (6-1, 180, R-Jr., 7.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, 5th-Sr., 15.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.3 apg)

F — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Jr., 11.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)

F — 0 DJ Funderburk (6-10, 225, 5th-Sr., 12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 Orpg)

North Carolina

G – 2 Caleb Love (6-4, 195, Fr., 10.2 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 rpg)

G – 24 Kerwin Walton (6-5, 205, Fr. 6.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.9 apg)

G – 1 Leaky Black (6-8, 195, Jr., 7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.4 spg)

G – 5 Armando Bacot (6-10, 240, So., 11.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.6 bpg)

F – 15 Garrison Brooks (6-10, 240, Sr., 10.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 apg)

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