Game Facts
No. 12 North Carolina (11-3, 1-0 ACC) at No. 15 NC State (13-1, 1-0 ACC)
Game time: Tuesday, Jan. 8, 9 p.m. — PNC Arena in Raleigh
Television: ESPN
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Jr., 12.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.2 apg)
SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 195, R-Jr., 11.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.5 spg)
G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Soph., 8.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.8 apg) or 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 200, R-Soph., 10.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg)
F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 14.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.5 spg)
C — 33 Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, R-Jr., 6.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 bpg)
North Carolina
PG — 2 Coby White (6-5, 185, Fr., 14.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.9 apg)
SG — 24 Kenny Williams (6-4, 185, Sr., 8.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.2 apg)
SF — 13 Cameron Johnson (6-9, 210, Sr., 16.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.4 spg)
PF — 32 Luke Maye (6-8, 240, Sr., 14.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
C — 15 Garrison Brooks (6-9, 230, Soph., 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Notes
North Carolina
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Nickname: Tar Heels
2017-18 record: 26-11 overall, 11-7 ACC
2017 postseason: Lost 86-65 to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Head coach: Roy Williams 31st season overall (853-230) and 16th season at UNC (434-129).
North Carolina overview: The Tar Heels have played four ranked opponents thus far, going 2-2, including a 103-90 win over then No. 4-ranked Gonzaga on Dec. 15.
UNC returns senior post player Luke Maye, senior combo forward Cameron Johnson and senior shooting guard Kenny Williams from last year’s starting lineup.
KenPom.com ranks North Carolina at No. 6 in the country, and NC State is No. 18.
Backcourt: UNC freshman point guard Coby White of Goldsboro, N.C., went from sleeper prospect to eventually being ranked No. 26 overall in the country in the class of 2018 by Rivals.com.
White has beat out junior Seventh Woods and shares the backcourt with Williams. White has been better with his assist numbers of late, averaging 4.9 per game over the last seven contests. However, he has 51 assists and 35 turnovers.
White is shooting 37.0 percent from three-point land, aided by a 7 of 10 outing for 33 points in the 92-89 loss vs. Texas on Nov. 22. He opened ACC play with 22 points in a 85-60 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday. White has reached double figures in nine contests.
Williams has slumped a bit his senior year. He averaged 11.4 points and shot 40.2 percent on three-pointers last year, but has fallen to 8.1 points and 24.6 percent from beyond the arc this season. He has improved his assists from 2.4 a game last year to 4.2 this season.
Williams had just two points and four fouls in 16 minutes played against the Panthers, but had been playing better ball of late. He had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in the 80-72 loss vs. Kentucky on Dec. 22.
Williams has reached double figures in eight games this season, including a season-high 15 points (plus six assists) in the 94-78 victory vs. UCLA on Nov. 23.
The aforementioned Woods has come off the bench to average 4.2 points and 3.4 assists in 15.1 minutes per game. The 6-2, 185-pounder, who missed the majority of last year with an injury, sparked the Tar Heels with 14 points in 17 minutes in the 103-90 win over Gonzaga.
Junior wing Brandon Robinson is averaging 3.6 points in 9.8 minutes per game, and is shooting 6 of 14 on three-pointers. Sophomore shooting guard Andrew Platek has 18 points in 56 minutes played this season.
Frontcourt: Maye’s numbers might be down a tad this season, but he’ll have the utmost respect from NC State’s defense after what he achieved last year.
Maye had 31 points and 12 rebounds in the 95-91 overtime loss at UNC, and then came back with 33 points and 17 boards in the win at NC State. Maye finished his breakout junior year averaging 16.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Maye slides down to power forward when sophomore center Garrison Brooks is in the game. The former Mississippi State signee is shooting 55.1 percent from the field and he opened the season with 20 points in a 78-67 win over Wofford on Nov. 6. He’s cracked double figures in four contests this season.
Johnson has improved across the board, shooting 52.3 percent from the field and a stellar 48.6 percent on three-pointers. He has gone from 12.4 points per game last year to 16.3 this season, and he has scored in double figures in every game but the Michigan loss.
Johnson has scored 20-plus points in four games, including a season high 25 points when he went 6 of 8 on three-pointers in the Gonzaga win. He has hit at least three three-pointers in five contests this season.
Freshmen Nassir Little and Rechon “Leaky” Black can play multiple positions and are similar sized. Rivals.com ranked Little the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2018, and Black was at No. 81.
Little coming off the bench has created some consternation, but he is averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game, and shooting 51.4 percent from the field. The athletic and slashing 6-6, 220-pound wing had a season-high 21 points and seven boards in the 116-67 win over Elon on Nov. 9. He has reached double figures in eight contests.
The 6-7, 185-pound Black, who is from Concord, N.C., is averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per contest. He’s shooting 51.4 percent from the field and has made 4 of 8 on three-pointers. Black had eight points, six rebounds and five assists in the blowout win over Elon.
Reserve sophomore center Sterling Manley has missed the last two games due to injury. He is averaging 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes a contest.
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