GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels will host the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday night, and here are all the facts to know before the big ACC matchup.
The day will mark senior night at UNC’s Dean Smith Center, and some Tar Heels seniors have already admitted how special the evening will feel for them, as it will be their final regular-season home game.
“Senior Night is going to be really emotional for me, but I’m just trying to do my best to soak everything in and enjoy this team, enjoy what’s going on and try to do my best to lead this team back to where we want to be and that’s making another Final Four,” said UNC guard Joel Berry.
Miami’s head coach echoed Jim Larrañaga echoed some of Berry’s sentiments: “This is a very short turnaround for us, it’s Senior Day at Carolina, we’re expecting a very vocal crowd and a lot of enthusiasm. They’re on a six-game winning streak and playing their best basketball of the season. They’ve got a very versatile team. Normally, they’re very, very big; this team is different and has a lot of three-point shooting.”
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North Carolina’s (22-7, 11-5 ACC) latest six straight victories have all been conference wins, and they are also undefeated in February. Their last triumph was a 78-74 win at Syracuse on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes (20-8, 9-7 ACC), meanwhile, dropped three straight conference games to start off the month but then made some lineup changes and rebounded to win their last two games. Lonnie Walker’s last-second three-pointer to defeat Boston College on Saturday gave Miami 20 wins this season, and also boosted their NCAA Tournament resume.
ESPN has Larrañaga’s team currently slated as the No. 8 seed in the Midwest. In 16 games, freshman guard Walker is leading the Canes with 13.8 points per game and shooting 36.2 percent from three. He’s scored in double digits in 11 ACC games, including a career-high 25 points against Louisville and a 23-point performance against Florida State.
In Miami’s last meeting vs. UNC, the Tar Heels dominated 78-53, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Isaiah Hicks led North Carolina with 19 points. UNC leads the all-time series 21-7.
Here are all the details about the game:
North Carolina (22-7, 11-5 ACC) vs. Miami (20-8, 9-7 ACC)
Place: Chapel Hill, N.C. – Dean E. Smith Center
Date/Time: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m. EST
TV Channel: ESPN (Rece Davis, Jay Bilas)
GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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