UNC Basketball: 3 keys to beating Tennessee in ACC-SEC Challenge

The North Carolina Tar Heels are set to host the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday at the Dean Dome in a battle of ranked teams. UNC Basketball is returning home after taking third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they bookended a narrow loss to Villanova with wins over Northern Iowa and Arkansas.

The Tar Heels won 20 games last year but missed out on the NCAA Tournament in large part because they lacked a signature win. Prevailing over Arkansas last week will certainly look good on the resume, but a win against the 10th-ranked Volunteers would solidify Carolina as a real contender.

The ACC-SEC Challenge is replacing the ACC-Big Ten Challenge this year. Carolina’s loss to Indiana at Assembly Hall last year was its third straight defeat on the season, and it was about this time that fans started to hit the panic button on a year that began with Carolina ranked #1 in the country.

UNC may be catching Tennessee at a good time. Rick Barnes’ group has lost two straight after facing the country’s top two teams, Purdue and Kansas, on back-to-back days in the Maui Invitational. The Volunteers acquitted themselves well in both contests, but ultimately came up short to finish in fourth place in one of the most loaded preseason tournament fields in memory.

Carolina is planning a “white-out” for all those in attendance on Wednesday, which should help create a raucous environment. UNC last staged a white-out almost 10 years ago in a memorable win over Kentucky. Will the hometown crowd help lead the Tar Heels to Hubert Davis’ biggest win since the 2022 Final Four against Duke? Let’s look at three keys to Carolina coming out on top.