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Pittsburgh Basketball: 3 keys to winning at home vs. UNC in 2018-19

By Tristan Freeman

LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 14: Jeff Capel the interim head coach of the Duke Blue Devils gives instructions to his team during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on January 14, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 14: Jeff Capel the interim head coach of the Duke Blue Devils gives instructions to his team during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on January 14, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NC – JANUARY 20: Khameron Davis
DURHAM, NC – JANUARY 20: Khameron Davis /

Pittsburgh Basketball has a daunting task to open ACC play with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Here are the three keys to the Panthers getting the upset.

After winning just eight total games all of last season, Pittsburgh Basketball (10-3) has already surpassed their win total by two games. And while wins over A-10 opponents Duquesne and Saint Louis are the only ones that represent decent victories, close calls against both Iowa and West Virginia show the team’s growth as a program under first-year head coach Jeff Capel.

But now comes the ACC, a place where the Panthers made history. They lost all 19 games in the conference, with 15 of them having a margin of defeat of at least 10 points. But with a retooled roster and a pair of teams looking inferior to this one (Wake Forest and Georgia Tech), odds are very good that Pittsburgh won’t go winless this time around.

It’s going to be hard for them to get their first ACC win in nearly two years on Saturday, taking on the 15th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. With a 10-3 record, Roy Williams’ club has non-conference wins over Gonzaga and UCLA, while losing to just Texas, Kentucky and Michigan.

Last season, the UNC dominated Pittsburgh 96-65, with six different Tar Heels scoring in double figures. Marcus Carr led the Panthers with 22 points but since then he transferred to Minnesota.
But with a completely different roster, Coach Capel and the Panthers hopes to start of the new year with a program defining win. Here are a few keys for that to happen.

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