North Carolina (23-4) Takes On NC State (18-9)

Filed under Game Preview on February 20th, 2012

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It will be a lively atmosphere at RBC Center on Tuesday as NC State welcomes North Carolina in an ACC battle. Tip-off will be at 8:00 EST and it will be shown on ACC Network.

North Carolina is 1st in the ACC and NC State is in 4th. Both teams continue to jockey for position. The Tar Heels will also look to maintain their place in the Top 25. In addition, NC State currently sits at #58 in the RPI, allowing North Carolina an opportunity to test its 9-4 record against RPI Top 100 teams. The Tar Heels check in at 23-4 overall and are 10-2 in the ACC. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack have a record of 18-9 with a 7-5 record in the conference.

North Carolina should be able to win this game. North Carolina will look to improve its 7-2 road record, while NC State is 12-5 at home. North Carolina has also won three games straight and is playing with purpose.

Digging into season averages, North Carolina comes out ahead in two categories. In rebounding, a key offensive area for the Tar Heels, they lead the Wolfpack, 46 per game to 37 per game. Additionally, North Carolina tops NC State in scoring, 82 pts/game to 73 pts/game.

North Carolina has seen NC State already this season, and beat them 74-55 on January 26th. Last year, the Tar Heels had a record of 2-0 against the Wolfpack, winning by an average margin of 16. In four seasons, North Carolina has a record of 9-0 against NC State, including 4-0 at RBC Center.

• North Carolina has more Top 5 Director's Cup finishes than NC State (9 vs 0)
• We're a talent magnet. Since 1998 North Carolina has recruited more Top 10 high school players than NC State (15 vs 2).
• You get an A for effort, but North Carolina has punished NC State the last 11 times they've played.
• Diaper Dandies love us. North Carolina has recruited more McDonald's All-Americans out of high school than NC State (63 vs 12).

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