North Carolina vs. Arkansas: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Arkansas Razorbacks and the North Carolina Tar Heels face off in another second-round game of a prestigious tournament. Will the result be different this time around?

TV schedule: Friday, Nov 24, 2:30 p.m. ET. ESPN

Arena: Moda Center in Portland, Oregon

Roy Williams and the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0) have picked up where they left off last season, winning their first four games including a 102-78 win over the Portland Pilots.

Luke Maye continues to shed that “former walk-on” label with another 20 and 10 double-double. Joel Barry had 18 points, including four three-pointers on the night. Kenny Williams scored 17 on 7/12 shooting. Unlike their Duke counterparts in the other bracket, this game was never in doubt after the opening minutes.

But their second-round game should be a high-level, intense battle, especially given the recent history between the two. The last game the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-0) lost was in the round of 32 game of the NCAA Tournament.

The final score of the game had UNC victorious 72-65, but was not without controversy towards the end, and Mike Anderson and the team had chances to win that game — potentially altering history in the process. For North Carolina, they lost a ton of scoring from last year with Berry and Maye being the only returnees who played in that game.

While the Hogs lost some production as well, their core three guards are back with a vengeance. In their first-round shootout with Oklahoma on Thursday, Daryl Macon had 27 points to lead his team, thanks in part to his 6/8 shooting from deep. He was also the only one who played well in the game from last year, dropping 19 points on 6/8 shooting from the field.

This year he’s hoping fellow seniors Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard will play as well in this upcoming game as they have so far this season. In the game versus the Sooners, Barford had 19 and Beard with 14. Throw in freshman center Daniel Gafford’s 13 points and eight boards, and the Razorbacks could even be better than last year.

This game is a huge opportunity for Arkansas to get two things done. One, get a top-10 neutral court resume win to solidify their at-large standing. But, more importantly, exact revenge on the team who eliminated them just a year ago. And considering the number of seniors that’s on this Arkansas team, it’s all the more important.

Next: Preview of the PK80 Victory Bracket

There have already been a bunch of upsets so far with top-25 teams losing to inferior foes. But Arkansas is top-25 good, they just don’t have a number next to their name. However, that changes after this week, because they’re going to pull off the minor upset in what should be another instant classic and exact their revenge from months ago.

Prediction: North Carolina 82 – Arkansas 85