University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Look To Rebound Vs. Northwestern
November 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Kansas State and Missouri will face off in the first game of the doubleheader in Kansas City, followed by the Tar Heels and the Wildcats. The winners will meet on Tuesday night in the championship game.
Tipoff for Carolina-Northwestern is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Eastern Time (8:15 p.m. locally in Kansas City) in the Sprint Center. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2. Bob Wischusen (play-by-play) and Dan Dakich (analyst) will have the call.
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ Carolina was ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches' polls last week before its loss at Northern Iowa (the new polls are scheduled for release on Monday afternoon).
♦ The Tar Heels remain shorthanded, having played without senior All-America Marcus Paige all season due to a broken bone in his right hand suffered on Nov. 3. His return date is to be determined. He was in uniform for the first time this season and was honored during pregame at Northern Iowa but did not play.
SERIES HISTORY
♦ Carolina leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 3-1, though Monday will mark the first meeting between the schools since Nov. 29, 1978 (a 97-67 Tar Heel win at Northwestern under head coach Dean Smith).
♦ UNC has won each of the last three meetings, including a win in Louisville in the Blue Grass Festival (Dec. 20, 1958), a win in Greensboro (Dec. 30, 1970) and the Nov. 1978 win at Northwestern. The Wildcats' only win over Carolina came on Dec. 19, 1946.
♦ Tar Heel fans may be familiar with third-year Wildcat head coach Chris Collins, who spent 13 years as a Duke assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski after also playing at Duke from 1993-96.
♦ Roy Williams has never faced Northwestern as a head coach.
PREVIEWING THE WILDCATS
♦ Northwestern returns all five starters from its 2014-15 squad that went 15-17 overall and tied for 10th place in the Big Ten.
♦ Six of the Wildcats' top seven scorers return, including sophomore guard Bryant McIntosh (11.4 ppg and the team leader in minutes and assists in 2014-15) and fifth-year senior Tre Demps (12.5 ppg). Also returning is 7-0, 270-pound center Alex Olah (11.7 ppg & 6.9 rpg last year)
♦ Northwestern is 3-0 so far this season and is coming off an 83-80 home win over Columbia on Friday. The Wildcats also beat Fairfield, 79-72, and UMass Lowell, 79-57, to start the season. Carolina also has played Fairfield during the young 2015-16 season, beating the Stags, 92-65, last Sunday in Chapel Hill.
UP NEXT
♦ Carolina will face either Kansas State or Missouri on Tuesday in Kansas City before breaking for Thanksgiving. After the holiday, the Tar Heels will host Maryland on Dec. 1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
