North Carolina finds themselves 13-3 on the season after splitting their first two ACC games. Georgia Tech defeated Carolina in their opening ACC game and Carolina just barely escaped Clemson with an Overtime victory. What do you need to know before this Saturday’s game as the Wolfpack travel up the road to UNC?

The Tarheels have had 38 total turnovers in their first two ACC games…

Roy Williams cannot like that trend which has cost his team possessions offensively and consequently giving opponents easy baskets. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on 20 UNC turnovers in their first ACC game and the Tigers almost beat the heels as they committed 18 in their second conference matchup. Joel Berry has had an excellent season; however, he has led the turnover charge for Carolina. Berry has 11 total turnovers in the last two games compared to just four assists.

Carolina is scoring 87.9 PPG and averaging 18.2 APG…

Justin Jackson and Joel Berry lead the Tarheels in PPG as they are averaging 17.4 and 15.1 respectively. Jackson is a matchup nightmare with his 6 foot 8-inch frame allowing him to shoot over smaller guards. Jackson also has tons of experience playing in big games throughout his career. In addition to Jackson, Joel Berry has been playing well! Berry is coming off a big scoring game as he posted 31 points on the Tigers as well as knocking down 7 of 10 threes. North Carolina excels at playing fast, pushing the pace on missed shots as well as made shots. Carolina wants a fast pace game in the high 80s and 90s as that caters to their style of play. In two of Carolina’s three losses they failed to score 70 points.

Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks give UNC size and athleticism in the front court…

Carolina thrives at beating teams on the glass with a plus 14 in rebounding margin. Kennedy Meeks averages 9.9 rebounds per game as he uses his wide frame to neutralize opposing big men from rebounding. Hicks, on the other hand, is more athletic using his raw abilities to out hustle and jump for rebounds. Isaiah Hicks is a nightmare on the offensive glass with his quick ability to jump and reload to jump again to keep the ball alive.

Theo Pinson is back
Pinson has been out all season with a right foot injury, but will make his season debut against the Pack. Pinson played over 18 minutes per game last season and scored over 4ppg. He’s not a game changer for the Heels but he does add depth.

Carolina will look to clean up their turnovers issues and play better in all facets of the game. They have had two eye awaking games to start conference play, cementing the fact that any team can win on a given night. Roy Williams will want his group to rebound and run come Saturday! Look for Carolina to dump the ball to Meeks early as the big man has had big games aginst the Pack throughout his career. North Carolina will have lots of energy as Saturday is their first home ACC game.