North Carolina Welcomes Miami To Chapel Hill

On Saturday eighth ranked North Carolina will host Miami.

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 18-4 while they’re 8-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Miami comes into the game with a record of 10-12 while they’re 2-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As for North Carolina’s previous game, they beat NC State earlier in the week.

North Carolina's Luke Maye just loves playing against North Carolina State. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Maye had a season-high 31 points to go with 12 rebounds, helping the eighth-ranked Tar Heels beat the Wolfpack 113-96 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Maye finished 10 of 15 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws for the Tar Heels (18-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). He had managed 21 points in last month's first meeting in Raleigh, and this one came five days shy of a full year since he went for a career-high 33 points (27 after halftime) on the Wolfpack's home court.
  "I think just from being in-state, I think I just try to play as hard as I can," Maye said, "and have a little bit more fire playing against an in-state team." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Maye is averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds in his last four meetings against the Wolfpack (16-7, 4-6), and three of his four career 30-point games have come against N.C. State. He's the first UNC player ever to have three 30-point games against N.C. State. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Asked why Maye keeps having such big nights against the Wolfpack, coach Roy Williams had a simple response: "If I knew that, I'd get him to do that against everybody." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Yet it was merely the latest strong performance in North Carolina's surge since a 21-point loss to Louisville on Jan. 12 that stood as Williams' worst at home since taking over in Chapel Hill. UNC shot 56 percent, dominated the glass (41-27) and repeatedly got to the line (31 of 37). And the Tar Heels turned a 56-40 halftime lead to a 27-point margin early in the second half before posting the second-most points ever allowed by the Wolfpack in any game. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

Braxton Beverly scored 17 points for N.C. State, which was coming off a woeful 24-point showing in Saturday's loss to Virginia Tech. N.C. State warmed back up to shoot 50 percent but was unable to keep up once the Tar Heels got rolling. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

"I think everybody knows that my teams are going to compete and play hard," Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said. "We're not going to always do everything right. Now our biggest challenge is playing smarter. We have to start comprehending more things and taking away people's strengths as opposed to letting guys get to their strengths." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-roll-past-wolfpack.aspx

As for Miami’s previous game,

Like North Carolina, Miami won their previous game as they beat Notre Dame earlier in the week.

In its best defensive showing since Nov. 22, 2017, the University of Miami men's basketball team blew past Notre Dame, 62-47, Wednesday night at the Watsco Center. The 47 points marked the fewest points for an opponent since Miami (10-12, 2-8 ACC) held La Salle to 46 points last season. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Finishing the night with a game-high 15 points, Dejan Vasiljevic pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to secure his first career double-double. The junior guard's double-double was matched by senior teammate Anthony Lawrence II, who posted 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Overall, the duo recorded the program's first pair of double-doubles on the same night since Davon Reed (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Kamari Murphy (11 points, 13 rebounds) accomplished the feat against Buffalo in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2016. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
The tandem were joined by Ebuka Izundu (14 points) and sophomore guard Chris Lykes (11 points) in double figures, while the senior center grabbed seven rebounds and finished the contest shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Overall, the Hurricanes closed out the night shooting 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the field, while Miami held the Fighting Irish to just 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) from the field, also a season low for a UM opponent. Notre Dame shot just 4-of-28 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc, including just 1-of-25 (4.0 percent) after the Fighting Irish opened the game by converting their first three attempts. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Notre Dame (12-11, 2-8) was led in scoring by D.J. Harvey with 14 points, while John Mooney tallied 11 points. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Miami used a 24-10 outburst to enter the locker room in command 28-23, its first halftime lead since holding a 41-40 advantage over Louisville on Jan. 6. Through the opening 20 minutes of action, Izundu took over in the paint, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field to lead the Canes with 10 points while pulling down five rebounds. At the half, the Hurricanes held the Fighting Irish to shoot just 8-of-25 (32.0 percent) from inside the arc, including just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from the field and 0-of-11 from beyond the arc in the final 16:20 of action. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Out of the break, Miami opened with a 6-0 run, following a trio of jumpers by Vasiljevic, Lawrence and Lykes, as the Canes extended their run to 30-10 over a span of 18:13. Miami pushed its lead to as many as 18 points midway through the second half. “according to https://hurricanesports.com/news/2019/2/6/mens-basketball-canes-cruise-past-notre-dame-62-47.aspx
 
Tip-off is set for 12:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be televised on Raycom Sports.