The North Carolina men’s basketball team will be licking their wounds a little bit heading into this weekend. Last time we saw them, the Tar Heels allowed 58 second half points on route to their second loss
of the season, albeit to a SMU team that appears pretty decent.
In the meantime, they’ve had a full week off, where they’ve ideally gotten their heads back on straight and gotten down to work. Or at least hopefully they have, because on Saturday that week will be up and it’ll be time for them to face off against Wake Forest.
Tomorrow night, Carolina will welcome the Demon Deacons to the Smith Center. The Deacs come into this clash with a 10-6 record, having lost against Miami on Wednesday night. While they have a couple decent wins on the books and there’s still plenty of season left, Wake isn’t really on the NCAA Tournament radar or anything at the moment, with just one bracketologist putting them in the field according to the Bracket Matrix composite. They may very likely see this game as an opportunity to get those hopes started on a good track.
Offensively, the Demon Deacons are led by sophomore and former top 100 recruit Juke Harris. On the season, Harris is averaging over 19 points per game, which includes a 26-point effort against Texas Tech and 28 against West Virginia. While he hasn’t always been the most efficient from three-point range, he takes over six attempts per game, meaning him catching fire could be very dangerous, considering he’s been very solid everywhere else.
After Harris, Wake has a pair of other double digit scorers in Myles Colvin and Tre’Von Spillers. Senior guard Nate Calmese was averaging 9.1 going into the Miami game, but he caught fire from three against the Hurricanes and could be another to keep a close eye on Saturday.
One thing Wake definitely doesn’t have is a lot of size. They only have one played listed at 6-9 or taller, and that’s Cooper Schwieger, who is exactly 6-9. That should help UNC on the boards, as the Deacs are barely above even on total rebound percentage and have allowed opposing teams to grab 31.1% of offensive rebound opportunities.
Another place that could be helpful for the Tar Heels is in at the rim scoring opportunities. Wake are allowing opponents to shoot 54.5% from two. While not every single attempt would have been a layup/dunk, that’s still a high percentage. The Deacs have been pretty good at limiting opportunities inside and opposing teams are averaging just 30.2 2PA per game against them, but Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar, and company could do damage if UNC can feed them. Wake’s defense rates pretty well by most advanced stats out there, but UNC has the raw talent to do well against them, they just need to actually play to that talent.
Wake is by no means a bad team, and they absolutely could make the Tar Heels pay if UNC is sloppy on Saturday. However, Carolina should go in as favorites, and hopefully they’ve learned some lessons from their most recent game.
