The rivalry will be renewed Wednesday night at PNC Arena as the NC State men’s basketball team takes on the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels for the second time this season.
The Wolfpack (14-13, 4-10 ACC) is coming off a hard-fought victory over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday, 77-74. After a devastating loss to Duke at home a week ago, the Tar Heels (22-5, 11-3 ACC) rebounded with a 96-71 drubbing of the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes on Sunday.
The Wolfpack is seeking revenge as the first meeting between the two ended in a 67-55 Tar Heel victory. Although the game was tied at halftime, junior Kennedy Meeks erupted for 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and thus led his team to victory.
While the Tar Heels started out ACC play with eight-straight wins, they have since split six conference games with losses coming against No. 15 Duke, No. 23 Notre Dame and No.11 Louisville. The team continues to be led by senior Brice Johnson, who averages a double-double with 16.9 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Johnson is tied for 12th in the country with 16 double-doubles in 27 games. He is considered an ACC Player of the Year candidate, alongside NC State’s Cat Barber, Duke’s Grayson Allen, Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon and Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson.
While Johnson has been in the spotlight, the biggest thing to note is the absence of Marcus Paige. During the first meeting, the left-hander shot just 1 for 9 from the field and only recorded three points. Over his last two games, Paige is averaging just seven points per game while shooting 4 for 18 from the field.
While the Tar Heels run a high-powered offense in which they average 84 points per game — ranking eighth in the NCAA — their defense sometimes seems non-existent. It ranks 140th in the NCAA and allows 70.3 points per game. Barber and sharp-shooting freshman Maverick Rowan will look to attack this shaky Tar Heel defense.
Rowan is fresh off a 20-point outing against the Tigers on Saturday in which he hit several clutch shots down the stretch to secure the victory for the Wolfpack. The four-star recruit came in purely as shooter but has struggled to find the range this season, shooting only 34 percent from beyond the arc. He looks to ride his hot hand into the highly anticipated matchup Wednesday night.
The big men of NC State will have an opportunity to contain Johnson and Meeks and own the paint. Junior BeeJay Anya finished the game against the Tigers with eight points, six rebounds, three blocks and a couple of monstrous, put-back dunks. Sophomore Abdul-Malik Abu finished the game with 17 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks.
With the end of the season looming, every game appears to be a must-win for the Pack. It will have three games left: at Syracuse, home against Boston College and on the road at Notre Dame.
The Wolfpack has an opportunity to finish the season off strong and earn quality victories over high-level opponents before it heads to Washington, D.C., for the annual ACC Tournament.
