Pittsburgh still has yet to win a conference game this season. But with North Carolina reeling, can the Panthers take advantage?
TV schedule: Saturday, February 3, 8:00 p.m. ET. ACC Network
Arena: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The ACC basketball conference has a few different categories when it comes to team aspirations for March. Teams like Duke and Virginia are getting prepared for Final Four runs, while programs like NC State, Florida State, and Syracuse are just looking to get an invite to the Big Dance.
Then there’s Pittsburgh. The Panthers are still looking for their first conference win and things are getting bleak. To their credit, the Panthers have been getting closer, with each of the last three games being close in the second half. The last game was a 69-57 loss to Miami. In that game, the team was led by Jared Wilson-Frame with 17 points. Marcus Carr, who has been struggling badly in conference play, had 14 points along with seven assists.
We know that the top two teams are preparing for possible deep tournament runs, but North Carolina was supposed to be in that category as well. Something’s been off with them, though, and they have lost three games in a row. The latest came earlier in the week at Clemson, 82-78.
Luke Maye, the team’s leading scorer, had his worst game of the season with only four points. Cam Johnson tried to replace his production with a career-high 32 points to go along with Joel Berry’s 27 points. No one else for the Tar Heels had more than six points in the game.
What’s been the most disappointing aspect for UNC has been the teams’ defense, giving up 85.7 ppg in the three losses.
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With the game being in North Carolina, combined with the severe talent gap between both teams, the Tar Heels will likely win this one. But how they play will be important, as anything less than a blowout will add concern about this team.
Prediction: North Carolina 80 – Pittsburgh 63