Overall, the ACC was a very weak Power 5 conference this season. According to the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Net Rankings, there are only seven ACC teams in the top 75: Duke (at No. 3), Pitt (at No. 11), Clemson (at No. 27), SMU (at No. 27). 44), UNC (at No. 46), Louisville (at No. 62) and Florida State (at No. 71).

In a conference with very few high-performing teams, UNC’s chances of quality wins are clearly slim. North Carolina needs to improve its resume by beating the Bruins – which would also be UNC’s first win against a ranked opponent this season.

Season 2024-2025

North Carolina Tar Heels

Overall record: 6-5
Conference record: 1-0
Home record: 4-1
Away record: 1-1
Neutral site record: 1-3

UCLA Bruins

Overall record: 10-1
Conference record: 0-0
Home record: 8-0
Away record: 1-0
Neutral site record: 1-1

Key players

North Carolina

RJ Davis (Gr. Guard) – 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists
Seth Trimble (Jr. Guard) – 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Elliot Cadeau (So. Guard) – 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists

UCLA

Tyler Bilodeau (Jr. Forward) – 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Eric Dailey Jr. (So. Guard/Forward) – 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Dylan Andrews (Jr. Guard) – 9.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists

Key to victory for North Carolina

Rebound!

Surprisingly, the Tar Heels’ rebounding advantage wasn’t as lopsided as one might think. North Carolina actually overtook Kansas and Alabama earlier this season. But the team’s presence and effort on the glass simply isn’t up to Carolina standards. After all, the Tar Heels expect absolute dominance on the boards every season – that’s a staple of UNC basketball games. And unfortunately, this team was anything but dominant on the glass.

North Carolina constantly allows itself to be overwhelmed and foregoes early offensive rebounds – like against Florida. The Tar Heels appeared to be in control with four minutes left against the Gators. But missed free throws and Florida’s conversion of offensive possessions into second-chance points made headlines. Florida topped UNC by 10, and at the Maui Invitational, Michigan State topped UNC by eight.

UCLA is not a very strong rebounding team and only averages 35 rebounds per game while UNC has 39 rebounds. Therefore, North Carolina must set the tone against UCLA and bring toughness and determination to the boards.

3-point shooting

North Carolina’s main advantage in this game – as in every other game – is their guards.

As a guard-dominated team that wants to go out, run and score in huddles, the Tar Heels need to knock down threes. In three of their last four games, the Tar Heels went 5-for-28 from deep against Florida and Alabama and 5-for-24 against Georgia Tech. That is simply not good enough.

For an undersized team that has tremendous defensive issues, UNC needs to hit shots. North Carolina needs to be a dangerous 3-point shooting team to compensate for some of its weaknesses. If they can’t hit threes at an efficient pace, it could be a long season.

Something to pay attention to

Ian Jackson has emerged as a rising star for UNC. The top five-star rookie plays with heart and enthusiasm. He is one of the few bright spots so far in this young season. The game against Florida proved that Jackson has the potential to be one of Carolina’s closers in the final stages.

“Captain Jack” averaged an impressive 13.6 points in his last five games. Freshmen typically struggle with efficiency, but not Jackson. Along with Trimble, he was UNC’s most efficient player shooting the ball. Jackson is shooting 47% from the field, 42.4% from three and 84.2% from the stripe.

It’s time to fully unleash Jackson and make him a bigger part of UNC’s offensive identity. Look for another big game from Jackson. North Carolina is best when it’s hot and lasts 25 minutes or longer.

When the lights shine brightest in basketball’s most famous arena and the Tar Heels have their backs against the wall, can they beat UCLA?

Planned starters

#3 Elliot Cadeau (So. 6’1)
#4 RJ Davis (size 6’0)
#7 Seth Trimble (Jr. 6’3)
#9 Drake Powell (Fr. 6’6)
#22 Ven-Allen Lubin (Jr. 6’8)