NC State looks for season silver-lining win vs Carolina | Breakdown, Preview & How to Watch

NC State Wolfpack vs North Carolina Tar Heels
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Raleigh, NC
TV: ESPN
Line: UNC -4

NC State’s season hasn’t gone the way they were hoping. Unless they make a historic run in the ACC Tournament and win the whole thing, they aren’t going to have a postseason. And no consolation prize can change that. However, a win today vs UNC wouldn’t hurt.

It’s senior day at NC State, and it’s time to give props to Jericole Hellems and Thomas Allen.

Hellems has been a rock for Kevin Keatts. He has taken on a much larger role from day 1 than anyone would have imagined. The St. Louis native was coming in a class with Saddiq Bey. The two were supposed to share time at the 3 and 4 eventually. However, when Bey left citing NCAA sanction questions, the spot was left to Hellems. Pretty soon after, Hellems had carved out a role as a do-it-all glue guy, willing to play physical and do the dirty work that no one else wanted to do. Then when injuries hit, Hellems was again thrust into an even greater role as a Junior. He was forced to be the team’s go-to scorer.

Every step of the way, Jericole Hellems has risen to the occasion. He’s never been the fastest, strongest or biggest guy. Every night he’s outsized and many times, out-quicked by his opponent, but you never look at his matchup as one that will hurt you. That’s because Hellems always goes at it 100%, never backs down and refuses to be outworked.

Hellems isn’t going to hold any records at this University, but it’s hard to find a guy who personifies the traits that NC State fans value more than this kid. He won’t be forgotten and will have a great send-off in this one in a matchup he may be able to exploit.

As for today vs. UNC. This one should be a lot closer than the matchup we saw earlier this season in Chapel Hill. In that one, Smith and Hellems went off but got zero help from anyone else. Meanwhile, Carolina was light out, shooting 55% from the floor and 55% from 3 point range.

I think you have to scrap that game. In fact, when we were looking at matchups, usually we look back to the first meeting if possible. In this one, it’s not even worth it. UNC is not going to shoot 55% from 3. So we’ll go back to what we said before. Bacot is going to be a problem down low, but aside from that, NC State matches up well with UNC. In fact, we think Hellems has a nice advantage against Manek on the wing. If the Pack can get hot, and if they play SMART on defense, then they can win this one and at least have one bright spot this season.