The North Carolina Tar Heels will wrap up the Phil Knight Invitational on Sunday hoping to avoid a two-game losing streak following a tough loss to Iowa State on Friday.
UNC is set to play in the third-place game and will face another tough challenge against Alabama. After getting by Portland in the opening game, UNC held the lead late against Iowa State before watching the Cyclones rally in the final few minutes to upset the Tar Heels. Now, in between an off day, UNC needs to get on track as they face their first Top 25 team of the year.
Alabama enters this game ranked No. 18 overall and has beat Michigan State before falling to UCONN on Friday night.
They are a team that can really score the basketball, averaging 81.2 points per game compared to 79.5 for UNC. Freshman forward Brandon Miller has been fantastic this season, averaging 20.5 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game, proving a tough test for UNC in the post. The Tar Heels are really going to need Armando Bacot and Pete Nance to show up in this one or it could get bad early on.
The Crimson Tide has been dominant on the boards as well.
Alabama enters this game averaging 49.8 rebounds per game, nearly 11 more than UNC. If there’s one area in which the Tar Heels have struggled, its been rebounding the basketball and Sunday will provide another tough test for them there.
Let’s get into our game preview for Sunday’s matchup:
Key to Victory
Mar 10, 2022; Brooklyn, NY, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) drives to the basket against Virginia Cavaliers guard Armaan Franklin (4) and forward Kadin Shedrick (21) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Win the rebounding battle. Alabama will be the best rebounding team UNC has faced so far this season, averaging almost 50 per game so far this year.
What I’ve seen from the Tar Heels isn’t good in terms of rebounding. Yes, Armando Bacot is getting his share of rebounds averaging 11.5 per game but other than that, they have struggled.
They really don’t have another big that can rebound well as forward Leaky Black is their second-best rebounder with 7 per game. After that it’s Pete Nance who is averaging just over 4 a game. If the Tar Heels want a shot in this one, they really need to win the rebounding battle and keep Alabama off the glass.
Something to watch
Nov 24, 2022; Portland, Oregon, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) puts a shot up during the second half against the Portland Pilots at Moda Center. North Carolina won the game 89-81. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
How does this team respond to its first loss of the season? After losing to Iowa State and getting punched in the mouth, how will this team respond on the quick turnaround? Alabama is a really good team and is very capable of beating the Tar Heels.
Losing back-to-back games wouldn’t ruin a season but it could have an impact on how this team plays moving forward. The games don’t really get much easier soon either. They travel to Bloomington to play No. 11 Indiana on Wednesday, and then have a conference road game next Sunday at Virginia Tech.
It’s key for the Tar Heels to respond positively here on Sunday. Getting that win over Alabam would be big for restoring their confidence.
What you need to know
WHAT? No. 1 North Carolina (5-1) vs. No. 18 Alabama (5-1)
WHEN? Sunday, Nov. 27th, 3:30 p.m. ET
WHERE? Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon
TV? ESPN (Watch and stream the game live on ESPN+)
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? 2019. UNC 76, Alabama 67
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 6-4
PREDICTION? Alabama 81, UNC 74
