Pack men’s basketball hosts North Carolina in ACC opener

After recently wrapping up its nonconference slate, the NC State men’s basketball team will host the North Carolina Tar Heels Tuesday night in the conference opener for both teams.

The Wolfpack (4-1) will play its third game within the span of a week after missing two weeks due to multiple games being called off. Last Thursday, the Pack fell on the road to Saint Louis 80-69, then returned home to beat Campbell 69-50 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels (5-2) played two games during NC State’s two-week break and are most recently coming off a 75-63 victory over Kentucky at the CBS Sports Classic in Cleveland. While the Pack has not played a single game against a Power Five team, the Heels have had four games against Power Five teams and have a 2-2 record in that slate.

UNC is led by its frontcourt tandem of Preseason ACC Player of the Year Garrison Brooks, who leads the team in scoring, and Armando Bacot, who leads the team in rebounding. Brooks dominated the Pack in both meetings between the two teams last year, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the first game and scoring 30 points in the second. He and Bacot will be a handful down low for redshirt sophomore forward Manny Bates, who led the ACC in blocked shots last season and currently leads the ACC in blocked shots this season.

NC State will also have to contend with UNC’s talented freshman backcourt duo of RJ Davis and Caleb Love, both of whom are averaging double figures in points and are the top two on the team in assists. They will be matched up against the NC State backcourt led by redshirt senior guard Devon Daniels, the Pack’s leading scorer.

The battle of the boards will be a focal point of the game as the Tar Heels are currently eighth in the country in rebounds per game, and the Pack was recently out-rebounded 53-26 in the loss to Saint Louis. Key to this aspect of the game is whether or not redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk will be able to play for NC State. Funderburk has missed the last two games but would provide a big help to Bates against UNC’s big men.

If the Pack learned anything from its two games against the Heels last season, it’s that the Heels always play their best game against the Pack. Despite having one of the worst seasons in school history last year, UNC still managed to sweep the season series against NC State, making the Pack the only team that UNC beat twice.

Like all of the other games so far this season, this game will be played without spectators and will be only the Pack’s second game in PNC Arena. Obviously, the Pack will miss the usual energy and excitement it gets when the Heels come to town, but playing without fans may end up benefiting the Pack because it might not feel the usual pressure when fans are in attendance, which is especially prevalent in the UNC game.

As mentioned earlier, the Pack has not played a single game against a Power Five opponent, although Saint Louis is one of the best mid-major schools in the country, so NC State comes into the game ranked No. 169 in the country in strength of schedule. The Heels on the other hand are No. 28 in the country in strength of schedule. This means the Heels have been more battle-tested so far and know more about themselves at this point of the season, while the Pack has really only played one tough game and is still trying to get an entire team on the floor.

Simply put, it will be tough for NC State to beat UNC for the first time in seven tries, but if the Pack has anything going for it, it’s that playing against its biggest rival should give the team plenty of motivation. The game tips off on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.