Getty CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 02: Day'Ron Sharpe #11 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react with his teammates following a play during the second half of their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Dean Smith Center on January 02, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The North Carolina Tar Heels (9-5) will host their in-state rivals, the NC State Wolfpack (6-4) at the Dean Smith Center Saturday.
The game starts at 2 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. But if you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch a live stream of NC State vs UNC online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial right here:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch NC State vs UNC live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your FuboTV credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with cloud DVR space.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 30-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. It’s the cheapest streaming service with ESPN, plus you can get $10 off your first month, and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch NC State vs UNC live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch NC State vs UNC live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Vidgo credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch NC State vs UNC live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
NC State vs UNC Preview
The Tar Heels are coming off an 80-73 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday. Caleb Love led the way for UNC with 20 points, Armando Bacot added 18, and Rhonda John-Davis added 13.
After the win, Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams had some very high praise for the freshman guard. “Defensively, I think he could be one of the best defensive guards I’ve ever coached. Playing his position, he has strength, he has speed, he has jumping ability, he has great feet. Most of the time when you get a freshman that doesn’t mean that much to him but it’s meaning more and more to Caleb all the time,” Williams told Sports Illustrated recently, adding: “He’s getting better a little bit each and every day and we just got to keep getting him some opportunities.”
The Wolfpack have dropped three in a row, most recently against Florida State, 105-73. Thomas Allen led the way for NC State in the loss with 16 points, guard Devon Daniels added 14 and Jericole Hellems chipped in 12.
They shot just 44.4 percent from the floor and were beaten badly on the boards, losing the rebound battle 32-19 to Florida State. N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts wasn’t happy about the effort his group put out, and he was blunt about it in his postgame press conference.
“I want them to remember the loss, we’re all going to take ownership and we understand that we got to do some soul-searching,” Keatts said after the game, via News & Observer. “We got to get better in certain situations. I certainly don’t want those guys to forget what happened tonight.”
Keatts ran into more trouble this week after five members of the basketball program have been forced to quarantine after multiple positive COVID-19 tests.
“We’re trying to get on the court and it’s been a challenge,” Keatts said this week, per the Miami Herald. “We have full intentions on trying to be ready to go on Saturday but a lot of that is going to come down to whatever happens with the contact tracing and the virus.”
The Wolfpack have had three games postponed due to COVID-19 complications, and they haven’t played in 10 days, so rust could be a huge factor. NC State is averaging 76.9 points a game, while the Tar Heels are putting up 73.6 points per contest, and neither team is likely to have forgotten the results the last time they played on December 22.
NC State scored a 79-76 upset, and Williams and company are looking to avoid the same result here.