The North Carolina Tar Heels looks to earn a signature win against the fourth-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were the top-ranked team in college basketball at the start of last week. However, after falling to the Tennessee Volunteers in a thriller, they’ve now dropped to fourth in the latest poll. Having said that, the tests don’t stop there for Mark Few’s team as they now travel across the country to Chapel Hill for a date with the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday.
These Tar Heels will get a big boost in this game as they will see freshman point guard Coby White return from an injury that kept him out for a brief time. North Carolina is still in search of an identity, but it’s clear that White and fellow freshman Nassir Little are going to play a big part in whatever that is. That may start, however, with Roy Williams giving Little more minutes.
Gonzaga is certainly going to look to attack UNC on the interior on Saturday. Not only is Rui Hachimura arguably their best player right now, but the Tar Heels frontcourt (and the team as a whole) has struggled defensively this season. Especially if Josh Perkins and the Bulldogs frontcourt is hitting from outside, this is a tough matchup for the Tar Heels.
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While that may be true, North Carolina no doubt has talent, but they also have something to prove at this point in the early season. Knocking off a team the caliber of Gonzaga would go a long way in helping the Heels gain national respect.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Arena: Dean E. Smith Center
TV Info: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
The Tar Heels come into this game still searching for their identity. Having said that, the return of White could be huge for them as they will need his offense out of the backcourt. Even still, this matchup with Gonzaga will certainly show if North Carolina is a national contender just yet.