The North Carolina Tar Heels are just moments away from their matchup against Stanford. This is the first game of a two-game road trip for the Heels, and after they finish up with tonight’s action they will travel to Berkeley to take on Cal. This game is an important one, as UNC is coming off a nerve-wrecking win against Wake Forest, and before that was a loss to SMU in Texas. They haven’t really been able to flex their ability to be dominant so far in ACC play, so a convincing win against Stanford would
be a welcomed event.
The storyline in this game will be what happens in the second half with Caleb Wilson. There was a lot of awkward conversations with Wilson, other players on the team, and Hubert Davis following the win over the Demon Deacons. Wilson’s usage has been pretty low in the final 20 minutes of each of UNC’s losses, which is a huge red flag considering the fact that he is the most talented player on the floor. Davis has to find a way to get the ball into Wilson’s hands, whether it’s through pick-and-roll action, off-ball screen action, or perhaps getting Wilson the ball outside of the paint in general. He’s more than capable of making a play for himself, or if nothing else, he usually can make a play for his teammates. So we’ll see how things go tonight in that department.
The other storyline will be how things go for Kyan Evans and Luka Bogavac. Both players have struggled a bit for a few games now, and how that gets corrected is anybody’s guess. Bogavac specifically has taken a few steps back offensively, which isn’t good considering the fact that his offense was able to offset his defensive deficiencies. Will they be able to step up against the Cardinal, or will we see Jonathan Powell and Jaydon Young take more of their minutes away? We will find out soon enough.
As always, we will be back after the game with post-game analysis and takes. Until then, Go Heels!
