No. 10 UNC not taking rival NC State lightly (Jan 27, 2018)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- No. 10 North Carolina is back home, rested up and bound to be trying to establish a strong presence in the lane for Saturday's game against North Carolina State.
Alarms went off after the Tar Heels began the week with an 80-69 loss at Virginia Tech.
As for North Carolina State, the Wolfpack rallied to win Wednesday night at Pittsburgh, their first victory in four road outings this season.
Not that arriving in Chapel Hill is likely to be any treat. N.C. State lost by 51 points last January on its rival's home court.
"A new year, a new team," North Carolina forward Luke Maye said, realizing the Tar Heels shouldn't put too much stock in what happened a year ago. "We don't need anything to get fired up on Saturday."
For North Carolina coach Roy Williams, the Wolfpack always has been considered the Tar Heels' top rival because of the clashes he encountered several decades ago as a North Carolina student.
"I think they know how I feel," Williams said of his players regarding the emphasis he places on this matchup.
Williams-coached North Carolina teams are 27-3 against the Wolfpack.
N.C. State (14-7, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) figures to show up with new-found confidence. It needed a 15-2 game-ending run to overcome Pittsburgh, which is winless in ACC play.
N.C. State has defeated three ranked teams this season, albeit none in true road games.
"I'm happy with this team," first-year Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said. "I'm excited to watch them play and get better. I love my group, and we are right there with everyone."
N.C. State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven is in the middle of a strong run averaging 20.5 points in the last five games.
Given that North Carolina (16-5, 5-3) has had trouble defending in the post, Yurtseven could create a difficult matchup for the Tar Heels.
"Yurtseven is having a fantastic run," Williams said. "He can score on the block better than anyone we have."
Yet now that Yurtseven, who has moved to an ACC-best 62.4 field-goal percentage, has shown consistency, the defensive alignments against him could change, Keatts said.
"We understand because he's playing very good basketball, he's going to get different looks," Keatts said. "He has been very efficient near the basket."
Meanwhile, North Carolina took 31 shots from 3-point range in the 80-69 loss at Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels took only 32 shots from 2-point range.
Williams said upon reviewing footage there were at least six 3-point launches that he deemed ill-advised. Perhaps as a result, the Tar Heels took a season-low five free throws.
"We need to get to the line more, really attack," Maye said. "We need to get to the basket more."
N.C. State had its own offensive issues, tying its season-low by shooting 33.8 percent from the field at Pittsburgh, but benefiting from 15-for-15 accuracy on free throws.
Since they last played Monday, the Tar Heels were anticipating challenging practice sessions leading up to Saturday's game. Williams and the coaching staff got the players' attention.
"Coming off a loss like that, it's hard -- you don't want to really wait," Maye said. "You want to play right away."
