Tar Heels feeling right at home: How to watch, stream UNC vs Wake Forest on Wednesday
North Carolina returns to the Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday for the first time in nearly a month, again coming off a loss and looking to right its path.
The Tar Heels (9-5, 1-2 ACC) take on Wake Forest (10-4, 2-1) a game after having their four-game winning streak snapped by a 76-74 loss at Pitt. That game followed a similar pattern for Carolina in that they held a lead late but were unable to close out the game — just like in losses to Iowa State and Alabama.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said the Pitt game seemed to nullify some of the Heels’ progress, but that Wednesday presents a chance to start a new streak.
“We took a step back,” Davis said. “But even though you take a step back, then that allows you to be in a position to take steps forward. And that’s my expectation for our team is to take steps forward so that this doesn’t happen again.”
Whether or not that loss was a step back or merely a road stumble, UNC forward Pete Nance said, depends on how they respond.
“A lot of that comes just with the mentality towards how we’re going to go into the next game,” Nance said. “And I think (the Pitt loss) is a game that we’ve got to try to forget about and move on quickly because we know what kind of team we can be.”
The Heels are 6-0 inside the Smith Center and face a Demon Deacons squad that, after winning at Wisconsin, has lost its last two road games by 20 at Clemson and by 24 at Rutgers.
UNC has to make sure guard Caleb Love is back involved in the offense. Love scored a season-low seven points in the loss to Pitt — and that’s only because of a 3-pointer with six seconds left. It was only the second time this season that Love, who averages 17.5 points per game, did not reach double figures scoring. His nine field goal attempts were also a season low.
It wasn’t just his shot attempts. Love also did not get to the foul line for the first time this season, which snapped a streak of 27 consecutive games with at least one free-throw attempt going back to last season.
That can’t be the norm for Carolina to win big.
“We definitely need Caleb very aggressive on the offensive end taking the right shots,” Davis said. “He’s just a important piece for our success.”
Tipoff time + TV channel for Wednesday’s game
The game will start at 9 p.m. Wednesday and will air on the ACC Network.
How to stream UNC vs Wake Forest game online
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If your preferred method of watching games involves streaming, there are options for that, too.
ACC Network is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services. Or click here to view on the ESPN app.
Game day details: UNC vs Wake Forest
Teams: UNC Tar Heels vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 4
Time: 9 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Series history: The Tar Heels lead the 163-68. Wake won the last meeting 98-76 Jan. 22, 2022 in Winston-Salem.