No. 7 UNC faces Wolfpack in Raleigh. They both have the same goal: stay atop the ACC
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis never scored in the first half at Reynolds Coliseum — a most difficult place to play — when he suited up for the Tar Heels. Though N.C. State men’s basketball has a new home at PNC Arena, the Heels expect a similarly tough environment when they face the Pack this week.
UNC heads to Raleigh on Wednesday for its first matchup against N.C. State this season, with both teams sharing an 11-3 overall record and 3-0 start in ACC play.
“We want to continue the way we’ve been playing; playing physical, rebounding the basketball,” said Notre Dame grad transfer Cormac Ryan. “We want to win this game, and for a lot of reasons, if none other than to just move to 4-0 in this league and stay undefeated.
“I’ve had a lot of history in this league. Playing N.C. State at Notre Dame I’ve heard is different than playing at Carolina, so I’m expecting a great atmosphere and a fun game.”
Davis views all opponents as rivals — not just N.C. State and Duke — and doesn’t necessarily get more excited or push the team harder for those matchups.
He understands, however, the significance of in-state games.
“It means a lot,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of history of ACC basketball here in Carolina.”
Both coaches look forward to the game and complimented each other’s team. N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said Carolina features a well-rounded roster, led by veteran players in RJ Davis and Armando Bacot.
“It’s hard to believe that RJ Davis is playing his best basketball because he’s played well every year, but he is,” Keatts said on Monday. “He’s playing really good basketball, and Armando has kind of gotten going.”
RJ Davis is averaging 20.6 points per game and 3.4 rebounds through the Heels’ first 14 games.
Bacot, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, is averaging 14.8 points and 11.1 rebounds. The graduate student scored 30 points and pulled down 26 rebounds last week alone.
Coach Davis praised the Wolfpack’s ability to create pressure, force turnovers and take opponents out of their offensive system. He also noted graduate students DJ Horne and DJ Burns.
Horne leads the Wolfpack in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game, and makes nearly 43% of his 3-point attempts. He is the team’s best long-range shooter of the players who have attempted at least 10 3s.
Burns is a “gifted” passer and shooter, coach Davis added. The big averages 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and ranks No. 2 on the team in assists (39).
“It’s very hard for me to think of a big that skilled that can make difficult shots consistently,” coach Davis said. “His passing is off the chart, so he just opens up everything for his team and he gets fouls, gets to the free throw line, gets them into the penalty. My hope is that we do have more than just Armando having a chance to be able to compete against him tomorrow.”
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 164-80 and have won eight of the last 10 matchups. N.C. State, however, picked up a 77-69 win last season at PNC Arena.
This is the first time since Jan. 22, 1974, where both teams are 3-0 or better in conference when facing each other. It is the third time in series history.
Tickets are sold out, but fans can watch the game at 8 p.m. on ESPN or other streaming services.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
