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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 10 North Carolina at Virginia

by Sharon Thorsland

North Carolina is back at home tonight for another ACC match up, this time against Boston College. The Eagles have lost three straight and are 8-10 (2-5 ACC) on the season and have been very inconsistent, with wins over Notre Dame and a near win over Duke but horrible losses to Wake Forest and Maine. The Tar Heels (12-6, 4-3 ACC) got back on track with a win over Louisville on Saturday and this is another team they should beat. Tip-off is set for 7:00 on WBT.

The Eagles are having all sorts of problems this season, but most of their issues are on the offensive side of the ball. They’re managing just 65 points per game, They’re pretty good on defense, allowing 69.4 points per game. But they have had some lapses recently, allowing Miami to shoot 66.7% from three last week – ouch!

Guard Makai Ashton-Langford is BC’s best shooter and leading scorer but he’s only averaging 12 points a game. Everyone else has been streaky – DeMarr Langford Jr. has been inconsistent, scoring 20 points last week followed by four against Wake Forest on Saturday. Seven-footer Quinten Post is back from injury and is putting up 10 points a game but guard Jaeden Zackery is the only other Eagle scoring in double figures. He and Mason Madsen jack up plenty of 3’s but are only making 29% and 25% respectively.

The Tar Heels boast one of the best offenses in the country averaging 80 points a game. Armando Bacot was back in the lineup versus Louisville after suffering an ankle injury against Virginia, he’s averaging over 17 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game. He’ll no doubt give Post and the Eagles plenty of trouble. Besides Post, no player in the Eagles regular rotation is over 6’9 so UNC has a definite size advantage.

This is one of those games that UNC should definitely win. The Eagles are over matched on paper and have struggled to score all season. And the Heels are 8-0 at home – look for that streak to continue against the Eagles. Go Tar Heels!

UNC faces slumping BC Team  was originally published on wbt.com