Wait a second, didn’t Carolina just play over this weekend?
Why yes they did, and in fact the result was a good one.
It feels like whenever the Tar Heels play in the CBS Sports Classic this close to Christmas, they typically call it a holiday and head their separate ways. This time, though, coach Hubert Davis decided to use the space between the weekend and the holiday to recreate a situation the Tar Heels will face twice in the conferences season: a Monday contest that follows a Saturday game. In
fact they are almost perfectly recreating one scenario in that they are on the road in Atlanta (Georgia Tech) on Saturday and then at home (Syracuse) on Monday at the end of next month. Of course success in the NCAA Tournament is also based on recovering on one day of rest.
East Carolina comes in at 5-7 and on paper doesn’t appear to pose much of a test for Carolina, but they’ve been off since last Wednesday and any time you have a team that comes from your same state you always have to be aware of an upset.
For Carolina, it’s the last chance for some players to get some work in before ACC play begins next Tuesday. It’s notable that in the win over Ohio State, we didn’t see players like Zayden High and James Brown. Davis seems to be pretty solid in his front court rotation of Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar, and Jarin Stevenson. With eight players getting double-digit minutes Saturday, it would appear that the main rotation has been set and if High or Brown wants to make any sort of impression, tonight will be it.
Overall there’s a big chance for a letdown, and expect the rotations and the minutes to look a lot different than Saturday. Hopefully this will end up being an easier game and the Tar Heels can head home for the holidays. If you aren’t going to be in the Smith Center tonight, here’s how you can catch the action:
- Time: 8 PM ET
- Location: Roy Williams Court at the Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, NC
- TV: ACC Network with Doug Sherman and Terrence Oglesby on the call
- Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network with Jones Angell, Tyler Hansbrough or Tyler Zeller, 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 193.
- Streaming: Available on the ESPN App, either with your own subscription or validated through cable.
- Line: UNC –
