North Carolina and NC State meet Wednesday at PNC Arena. (Getty)
State pride will be on the line Wednesday night when No. 5 North Carolina (22-5, 11-3 ACC) makes the short trip to Raleigh to take on NC State (14-13, 4-10 ACC).
Here’s a complete look at everything you need to know to watch the newest chapter in the Tar Heel State rivalry:
UNC vs. NC State Viewing Info
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
TV Channel: ACC Network; WFMY (CBS) in Greensboro; WRAL (CBS) in Raleigh and Durham; You can click here for complete local listings from around the country
Live Stream: ESPN3; TheACC.com; You can click here for a complete rundown of how to watch online or on mobile
Preview
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack are on opposite ends of the ACC standings, but in rivalry games of this magnitude, it’s best throw records out the window. That was apparent during their first meeting this year, when NC State went into Chapel Hill as major underdogs and played a close first half before running out of gas down the stretch and losing by 12.
NC State’s biggest test will be keeping the Heels away from the offensive glass. Featuring a big and athletic frontcourt of Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and Justin Jackson, UNC is seventh in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and grabbed a whopping 51.2 percent of their own misses when these teams met in January.
The Wolfpack have one of the best rebounders in the conference in Abdul-Malik Abu, but it’ll take a team effort to keep Carolina off the glass.
Another storyline to watch will be the battle of the guards. Marcus Paige, once a National Player of the Year candidate, has been struggling for much of the past two months, while Cat Barber, who is second only to Johnson in the ACC in points per 40 minutes, is just 5-of-23 for 22 points in his last two games.
The guard who best breaks out of his current funk will go a long way in determining Wednesday’s winner.
