NC State and North Carolina split the season series a year ago, and the Wolfpack are big-game hunting once again this winter.
Both the Wolfpack and Tar Heels are 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the ACC, with UNC ranked No. 7 in the country. NC State will get the chance for a much-needed NCAA Tournament resume building victory.
North Carolina and NC State will play at 8 p.m. tonight on ESPN.Nort
Overview
North Carolina has tried to surround senior center Armando Bacot with three-point shooters this season.
Senior guard RJ Davis has emerged as a star this season, playing both guard spots. Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram and Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan have been solid at the stretch four and wing respectively. Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau graduated early and is now starting.
Rankings
North Carolina is No. 10 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 66.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Tar Heels ranked No. 13 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 56.
KenPom.com has North Carolina at No.10, and NCSU checks in at No. 63 this season.
Shooting
North Carolina is averaging 83.6 points per game and shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 36.2 percent on three-pointers and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Ingram is shooting 42.6 percent from three-point land and Davis is at 39.6 percent this season. Ryan is a career 34.5 percent three-point shooter, but at 28.6 percent this season.
Rebounding
The Tar Heels are averaging 39.7 rebounds per game and have a plus-4.9 rebounding margin. UNC has 164 offensive rebounds.
Bacot has been a premier rebounder for a number of years and is averaging 11.1 boards a game and has 46 offensive rebounds. Ingram is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game.
Defense
UNC is allowing 70.8 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three-point land.
Bacot has 27 blocks this season and Ingram leads the squad with 21 steals. Backup post players Jalen Washington and Jae’Lyn Withers have a combined 21 blocks.
Depth
The aforementioned Washington and Withers have been joined off the bench with sophomore guard Seth Trimble and Brown transfer Paxson Wojcik.
Trimble has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, and is averaging 5.9 points per game and he’s 7 of 12 on three-pointers. Washington has come off the bench to average 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.8 minutes a contest.
Withers, a Louisville transfer, is averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.
Star Watch
Senior guard RJ Davis has been a double-digit scorer since his sophomore year, but has taken his game to a different level this season.
Part of it could be due to the arrival of pass-first point guard Elliot Cadeau and departure of guard Caleb Love to Arizona. Davis has scored at least 20 points in nine games, including 30 points in a 87-72 win over Arkansas on Nov. 24.
Davis is averaging a gaudy 20.6 points and 3.6 assists per game, and he’s shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 39.6 percent on three-pointers. He’s also made 58 of 61 free throws for 95.1 percent.
Davis has played against NC State six times over the last three years. The Wolfpack held him to 2 of 13 shooting for seven points in the 77-69 win Feb. 19, 2023. He’s averaging 12.8 points per game and has shot 24 of 57 from the field in six games against NC State.
Davis was ranked No. 52 overall coming out of White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac in the class of 2020.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 14.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg)
SG — 1 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Jr., 13.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg)
G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
PF — 11 Dennis Parker (6-6, 205, Fr., 7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.6 apg)
C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 12.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.8 apg)
North Carolina
PG — 2 Elliot Cadeau (6-1, 180, Fr., 6.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.4 apg)
SG — 4 RJ Davis (6-0, 180, Sr., 20.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.3 spg)
G — 3 Cormac Ryan (6-5, 195, Sr., 11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 spg)
F — 55 Harrison Ingram (6-7, 235, Jr., 13.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg)
C — 5 Armando Bacot (6-11, 240, Sr., 14.9 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.9 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
5 UNC is among five teams in the country that are ranked top 16 in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. UNC is ranked No. 11 on offense and No. 16 on defense, joining Arizona, Auburn, Houston and Purdue.
32: NC State is plus-32 turnover margin over the last four games, and a 72-20 advantage in points off turnovers.
50: Years since NC State and UNC have played each other with both teams 3-0 or better in the ACC, and just the third time ever.
Game Within The Game: UNC's Armando Bacot vs. NC State's D.J. Burns
The 6-11, 240-pound Armando Bacot has been around forever and that will put him with records that could be unreachable in the post-COVID era.
Bacot has 2,017 career points, 1,491 rebound sand 187 rebounds in 146 games. He’s averaging 14.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game this season, which is near what he’s been doing the last three years. He’s shooting 52.9 percent from the field and a career-best 78.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Bacot has had some monster games over the years against NC State, after rough indoctrination to the rivalry in 2019-20. Bacot has gone 48-of-86 shooting for 132 points plus 91 rebounds in eight games against the Wolfpack. He’s had five double-doubles.
Bacot was a standout with Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal before transferring to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Rivals.com ranked him No. 27 overall in the class of 2019.
Bacot played with NC State senior wing Casey Morsell on Team Takeover traveling team, winning the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C. He also played for Team Loaded VA with former Kentucky star center Oscar Tshiebwe.
NC State senior center D.J. Burns has been battling Bacot probably since middle school. The listed 6-9, 275-pound Burns is averaging 12.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and shooting 53.0 percent from the field. Burns went for a combined 36 points and six rebounds in the two games against UNC last year.
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