UNC goes for 5th Straight Win!

by Sharon Thorsland

It’s about time. North Carolina is finally looking like North Carolina on the basketball court. The Tar Heels have won four straight now after an easy win over Cal on Wednesday night, moving to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in ACC play. Now they take on another new conference foe, welcoming Stanford to the Dean Dome for a Saturday afternoon match-up. Tip-off is set for 2:15 on WBT.

Stanford has been in North Carolina since early this week, losing at Wake Forest on Wednesday. The Cardinal (11-6, 3-3) has struggled against tougher competition in the ACC, losing to Clemson and Pitt in addition to Wake. Stanford’s best player in 7’1 Frenchman Maxime Raynaud, who is averaging over 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. He leads the nation in double-doubles and will be a huge challenge for the Tar Heels, who use a guard-heavy rotation without a bunch of height. And to make things even more challenging, Raynaud also shoot nearly 36 percent from behind the arc. UNC Center Jalen Washington will be tasked with trying to contain Raynaud, but the entire team will need to continue playing the strong defense we’ve seen over the past four games. The Tar Heels were able to limit Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic, one of the ACC top scorers, to his worst offensive output of the season Wednesday and will need a similar effort to contain Raynaud.

The Tar Heels will see a familiar face in the Stanford lineup – Duke transfer guard Jaylen Blakes is averaging over 14 points and five assists per game. UNC counters with RJ Davis, who had a season low seven points against Cal. Look for him to rebound against a Cardinal defense that ranks 173rd in nation in efficiency.

History is certainly on North Carolina’s side in this one, the Tar Heels are 13-0 in the all-time series against Stanford. The last time they played was in 2020, when UNC won 67-63. I say they keep the streak going – Go Tar Heels!