By R.L. Bynum
East Tennessee State (8–3) at No. 12 North Carolina (9–1)
When: 8:10 p.m.
Where: Smith Center
Officials: Pat Driscoll, Jerry Heater and Chase Shaw
TV: ACC Network: Jay Alter play-by-play and Terrence Oglesby analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app);
Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Hansbrough analyst
Coaches: Brooks Savage (46–31 in fourth season at ETSU) and Hubert Davis (110–46 in fifth season, all at UNC; was 228–95 in nine seasons as a UNC assistant coach)
UNC projected starters: Kyan Evans, Luka Bogavac, Jarin Stevenson, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar (none played for Carolina last season)
Series: UNC leads 6–0 (see list below), with four of those games in the 1970s.
Line: UNC -16
Over/under: 150
Common opponent: Both beat Central Arkansas at home: UNC 94–54 on Nov. 3, ETSU 80–57 on Nov. 29
Quad designation: ETSU has a NET ranking of 98, making this a Quad 3 game for UNC.
ETSU results
Oct. 29: 89–70 exhibition home loss to Wake Forest
Nov. 4: 102–50 win vs. Converse
Nov. 8: 68–64 loss at Presbyterian
Nov. 12: 75–63 win vs. Northern Kentucky
Nov. 15: 78–74 win at North Alabama
Nov. 21: 77–62 win vs. Morehead State
Nov. 23: 97–56 win vs. UL-Monroe
Nov. 29: 80–57 win vs. Central Arkansas
Dec. 2: 88–71 loss at Dayton
Dec. 5: 91–65 win vs. South Alabama
Dec. 7: 78–62 win vs. Tusculum
Friday: 76–75 loss at Austin Peay
Projected ETSU starters
No. 15 | F | Cam Morris III (top photo) | 6–8, 205 | graduate student | UMass Lowell transfer
— Team-leading 14.2 points, team-leading 63.1 FG%, team-leading 54.5 3P%, 69.8 FT%, 4.1 rebounds, 14 assists, 13 blocks, 7 steals
No. 11 | G | Brian Taylor II | 6–4, 175 | senior | SIU Edwardsville transfer
— 13.7 points, 51.8 FG%, 36.2 3P%, 69.6 FT%, 4.8 rebounds, 35 assists, 20 turnovers, 18 steals
No. 13 | F | Blake Barkley | 6–8, 220 | redshirt sophomore | Northwestern transfer
— 12.2 points, 60.9 FG%, 46.2 3P%, team-leading 86.5 FT%, team-leading 5.0 rebounds, 8 assists, 16 turnovers, 8 steals
No. 0 | G | Allen Strothers | 6–1, 172 | senior | SIU Edwardsville transfer
— 3.1 points, 40.6 FG%, 1 of 10 3FG, 58.3 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 45 assists, 16 turnovers, 16 steals
— His 253 career assists are the 10th-most in program history.
No. 35 | F | Jordan McCullum | 6–8, 180 | junior | Murray State transfer
— 8.8 points, 51.4 FG%, 31.3 3P%, 64.6 FT%, 4.4 rebounds, 10 assists, 20 turnovers
More on Tar Heels
— Check out an extensive photo gallery from the USC Upstate game.
— UNC jumps to season-high ranking in AP Top 25 poll
— Agitated Davis lets his team have it during late timeout in ugly win
— Caleb Wilson played through a foot injury in putting up seventh double-double.
— Trimble progresses to five-on-five drills in practice
— Powell brings quick-release perimeter shots, defense UNC needed
— Tar Heels slide in NET rankings after unimpressive Quad 4 win
Hubert Davis on ETSU
— Here’s what Davis said about East Tennessee on Monday night during the “Hubert Davis Live” radio show:
“They can consistently score in the paint. They’ve got a couple guys that, early in the season, have gotten really hot from 3-point range. So, their ability to be able to score beyond the arc is real. Defensively, they’re very active in terms of trying to get steals and deflections. They’ll throw a number of things at us when we’re coming off ball screens, in regards to traps, picking up full-court pressure. It just falls right back in line of defending, rebounding the basketball and taking care of it. Put us in a position to compete against a very good, very good team.”
— On ETSU forcing 15.4 turnovers per game:
“One of the things that we talk about every day is making the easy play. I say it differently, ‘simple works, make routine plays routinely. We don’t need home runs. We just need singles.’ I’ve thrown everything at them [to emphasize] how important is to take care of the basketball. When we do, that gives us shots. I like when we get shots, because, if we get good shots, we’ll make them. And if we miss them, we’ll be in position to get fouled, get to the free-throw line, and get second-chance points attacking the offensive glass.”
Notes
— ETSU was picked fourth in the 10-team Southern Conference after going 19–13 last season, but its 115 KenPom ranking leads the league.
— Junior North Florida transfer Jaylen Smith, a 5–11, 175-pound guard, is a Southern Conference Preseason First Team pick, but has come off the bench in all but three games. He averages 9.8 points and 2.3 steals per game.
— Freshman guard Frederico Whitaker Jr. was a teammate of Drake Powell at Northwood High School in Pittsboro.
— Seven Buccaneers, including all five of their usual starters, are transfers.
— UNC has started a season with nine wins in its first 10 games for the 48th time.
— Caleb Wilson (10.6) and Henri Veesaar (9.2) are the first UNC duo to average at least nine rebounds in the same season since John Henson (9.9) and Tyler Zeller (9.6) in 2011–12.
— Wilson leads the country with 31 dunks, is fourth in double-doubles (seven) and is ninth in rebounds per game, leading the ACC in all three.
— Wilson has become the fifth Tar Heel since 1953 to make at least five free throws in 10 consecutive games. Ahead of him are streaks of 11 games by Tyler Hansbrough (2008–09) and Lennie Rosenbluth (1956–57), and streaks of 12 by Rosenbluth (1956–57), Pete Brennan (1957–58) and Bobby Lewis (1965–66).
— Wilson has the sixth-most points through 10 games in program history (194; leader is Rosenbluth with 266) and fourth-most rebounds (106; leader is Billy Cunningham with 155.)
— Veesaar leads the team in field-goal percentage (61.6%) and blocks (14), and is second
in scoring (16.0) and rebounding.
Series: UNC 6, ETSU 0
UNC season statistics
ETSU season statistics
Statistical comparison
| Category | ETSU | UNC |
| Points per game | 80.7 | 81.1 |
| Scoring defense | 65.5 | 64.7 |
| Scoring margin | +15.2 | +16.4 |
| FG% | 49.1% | 46.6% |
| 3P FG % | 32.4% | 32.8% |
| 3P per game | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| FT% | 70.9% | 70.0% |
| FG% defense | 39.0% | 36.9% |
| 3FG% defense | 30.4% | 30.3% |
| Opponent 3P/game | 8.3 | 6.7 |
| Rebounds per game | 37.3 | 42.8 |
| Offensive rebounds/game | 11.2 | 12.3 |
| Rebounding margin | +4.1 | +9.2 |
| Assists per game | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| Turnovers per game | 11.8 | 10.5 |
| Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Turnovers forced/game | 15.4 | 9.6 |
KenPom comparison
| Category | ETSU | UNC |
| Overall ranking | 115 | 27 |
| Offensive efficiency | 111.0 (121) | 118.8 (43) |
| Defensive efficiency | 105.5 (118) | 97.7 (24) |
| Effective FG% | 55.7 (53) | 53.5 (101) |
| Turnover % | 17.5 (180) | 15.0 (55) |
| Offensive rebound % | 30.8 (183) | 35.3 (69) |
| FTA/FGA | 29.8 (298) | 41.4 (63) |
| Strength of schedule | 329 | 174 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 9–0 | 20–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 7–2 | 18–3 | 18 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 16–6 | 26 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 39 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 5–3 | 17–4 | 25 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 5–4 | 15–6 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 56 |
| SMU | 4–4 | 15–6 | 34 |
| California | 4–5 | 16–6 | 51 |
| Syracuse | 4–5 | 13–9 | 78 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 102 |
| Boston College | 2–6 | 9–12 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–7 | 11–11 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–7 | 11–11 | 85 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 114 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Georgia Tech 75
No. 4 Duke 72, Virginia Tech 58
N.C. State 96, Wake Forest 78
No. 20 Clemson 63, Pittsburgh 52
No. 18 Virginia 73, Boston College 66
No. 24 Louisville 88, SMU 74
California 86, Miami 81
Florida State 88, Stanford 80
Syracuse 86, Notre Dame 72
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 14 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 18 Virginia, 9 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at SMU, 9 p.m, ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 20 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 14 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 7 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via etsubucs.com
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