North Carolina is 0-9 this season in Quadrant I games for the Net Basketball Rankings.

The Tar Heels, who are 16-10 overall and 8-7 in the ACC, is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, and have a No. 45 NET Basketball Ranking. UNC is 7-1 in Quad 2 contests.

North Carolina plays at NC State at 1 p.m. Sunday at PNC Arena on ESPN. The Tar Heels won the first matchup 80-69 on Jan. 21 in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina returned four starters from last year’s squad that reached the NCAA title game.

Northwestern power forward transfer Pete Nance joined the crew, but the chemistry has been off this season. Senior center Armando Bacot has been a force in the middle, and junior point guard R.J. Davis has done a good job of playing off of him.

Junior shooting guard Caleb Love has good scoring numbers at 17.0 points per game, but is shooting just 38.7 percent from the field. Senior small forward Rechon “Leaky” Black is a quality defender at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds.

Rankings

North Carolina is No. 45 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 38.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Tar Heels ranked No. 40 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 35.

KenPom.com has North Carolina at No. 36, and NCSU is at No. 43.

RealtimeRPI.com has North Carolina ranked No. 31 in the country, and NC State is No. 35.

Shooting

UNC is averaging 78.2 points per game, and are shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 30.6 percent on three-pointers and 73.6 percent at the free-throw line.

Of the regulars, Davis leads the way at 34.3 percent from the arc. He is 46-of-134 from three-point land, and Love has a team-high 58 three-pointers made.

Rebounding

The Tar Heels are averaging 39.3 rebounds per game, and are plus-4.6 for rebounding margin.

Bacot leads the way with an impressive 11.0 rebounds per game, and he has 107 offensive rebounds. Black is second with 6.2 boards a contest.

Defense

UNC are allowing 72.5 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 33.8 percent on three-pointers.

Bacot has a team-high 27 blocks, with Nance right behind with 23, and Black has 40 steals.

Depth

North Carolina has been stingy with the bench this season, but junior forward Puff Johnson was the lone player to play more than four minutes against Miami. He has battled minor injuries this season.

Post player Jalen Washington, and his freshmen classmates on the perimeter Tyler Nickel and Seth Trimble are options, with Trimble having played in all 26 contests Sophomore wing D’Marco Dunn has also played in 21 games.

North Carolina senior center Armando Bacot has combined for 69 points, 49 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in his last three games against NC State. The Wolfpack won’t miss him when he graduates.

Bacot has 1,734 career points and has a school-leading 1,276 rebounds and 65 double-doubles for points and rebounds in 125 games. He topped Tyler Hansbrough for career rebounds and Billy Cunningham for double-doubles, and he’s sixth all-time in the ACC for both marks.

The listed 6-11, 235-pound Bacot is averaging 17.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, and he’s shooting 57 percent from the field and 65.9 percent from the free-throw line. He has scored 28 points in two different games — Ohio State on Dec. 17 and College of Charleston on Nov. 11.

Bacot has seen his field-goal attempts be inconsistent at times this season. He went 5 of 6 in the loss vs. Miami, and has had nine games this season where he got at least 13 field-goal attempts. Bacot also has gone 10 of 17 from the free-throw line the last four games.

The Richmond, Va., native finished up at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Rivals.com ranked him the No. 27 overall player in the class of 2019.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, R-Sr., 16.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Sops., 18.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 spg)

PF — 23 Greg Gantt (6-8, 215, R-Jr., 1.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 spg) or 5 Jack Clark (6-8, 200, R-Jr., 9.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 spg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Jr., 12.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)

North Carolina

PG — 4 R.J. Davis (6-0, 175, Jr., 16.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg)

SG — 2 Caleb Love (6-4, 200, Jr., 17.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.0 spg)

SF — 1 Rechon Black (6-9, 205, Sr., 7.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.5 spg)

PF — 32 Pete Nance (6-11, 230, Sr., 9.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 bpg)

C — 5 Armando Bacot (6-11, 235, Sr., 17.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 bpg)

10 Wins when senior center Armando Bacot gets a double-double, with a 47-18 record.

22 All-time wins for UNC in 27 games played at PNC Arena, with two of the wins coming in the NCAA Tournament.

39 Free-throw attempts North Carolina had in the first meeting against NC State, making 36. NC State went 12-of-12.

Junior point guard R.J. Davis had a big first game against NC State with 26 points and going 14-of-14 at the free-throw line in the Tar Heels win.

Davis is third on UNC at 16.1 points per game, plus 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 34.3 percent on three-pointers.

The 6-0, 175-pounder went through a mini-slump after playing NC State, but bounced back to have 23 points in the 80-72 loss against Miami (Fla.) on Monday. He’s 8 of 36 from three-point land in the six games since playing the Wolfpack, and 4 of 10 came against Clemson on Feb. 11.

Davis has scored at least 20 points in six games, with a season-high 28 points and five three-pointers against Wake Forest on Jan. 4. He’s reached double figures in all but three games this season.

The White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac High product was ranked No. 52 overall in the country in the class of 2020. He picked UNC over Georgetown, Marquette and Pittsburgh.

NC State senior point guard Jarkel Joiner had 18 points and three assists in his first-ever meeting against the Tar Heels. He went 6 of 18 from the field and 0 of 6 on three-pointers. The 6-1, 180-pound Joiner is averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season.

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