Even though the Tar Heels spent a lot of time in the Smith Center at the first part of the season, the combination of the calendar turning to 2026, the game last weekend in Dallas, and the week off makes
it feel like it’s been forever since they have played a home game. In reality, they were just in the Smith Center eleven days ago as they opened the ACC season with a win over Florida State.
Last week’s game against SMU was frustrating for a few reasons—not the least of which is that SMU’s hot shooting predictably cooled off against Clemson and they were unable to follow up their big win. The concern, of course, is whether this is a once-in-a-lifetime performance by a team or a worrying sign of how teams will attack Carolina from here on out. They’ve had a week to dissect the tape and figure out how they will handle it, so we’ll see what Hubert Davis and the coaching staff was able to come up with.
The Deacons bus over to Chapel Hill after losing to Miami on Wednesday. They are perhaps the best team for Carolina to have to face after a week off. They aren’t bad by any means, but unlike previous seasons Wake is firmly mediocre and pretty far away from NCAA Tournament contention. With the game being at home they present like a team that Carolina should take care of. This is key as Caleb Wilson is coming off perhaps his most freshman-like performance since joining the Tar Heels. You can score on Wake Forest—teams that have beaten them have put up over 80 consistently, and even with the quadrant four games mixed in opponents are scoring at a 74.7/game clip. Wake, like SMU, also can score as they currently are averaging 81.6/game, and we’ve all seen too many games against the Deacs where they love going up and down the court.
So we will see just how well Carolina has adjusted, not to mention we’ll find out what Hubert Davis is going to do about the point guard position. At this point it’s pretty clear he doesn’t want to have a lead guard, but it’s also pretty clear that playing at the One isn’t a great fit for Kyan Evans. What isn’t clear is if he’ll move to the bench, if Davis will basically flip Seth Trimble and Evans, or if Davis decides to go really big with having Jarin Stevenson on the floor to start as well. It’s perhaps the biggest hole in the game and they so fans are eager to see what adjustments have been made.
Also a reminder—tonight is the premier of the “We’re No. 1: 1993 UNC Tar Heels.” The documentary is going to start right after the end of this game, and even though it’s likely it’ll show multiple times, there’s nothing quite like catching it the first time. It promises to be poignant. So, if you aren’t going to be in the Smith Center tonight, here’s how to catch the action before the documentary premier:
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Location: Roy Williams Court at the Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, NC
- TV: ACC Network with Wes Durham and Dennis Scott on the call. Woody’s son calling this game seems appropriate as his voice will likely be heard multiple times during the documentary.
- Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network with Jones Angell, Tyler Hansbrough, and Adam Lucas. Here’s a list of affiliates airing the THSN broadcast. You can also listen to them on GoHeels.com, The Varsity Network, Tune In, and Sirius XM on channel 84.
- Streaming: Streaming is available on WatchESPN or the app.
- Line: UNC -9.5, ML UNC -630
