UNC vs. Pittsburgh Preview

North Carolina will return from a week long break on Wednesday as they play host to the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The Tar Heels can improve to 11-0 on their home floor and move into sole possession of third place in the ACC.

Pittsburgh enters Chapel Hill as winners of four of their last five games, including victories over Wake Forest and then No. 20 Miami.

Forward Blake Hinson (16.4 points) and guard Jamarius Burton (16.1 points) are the dynamic scoring duo on offense. Burton poured in a game-high 31 points on 14-of-17 shooting in the Panthers' 76-74 victory over North Carolina in December.

Backcourt mates Greg Elliott (11.0 points) and Nelly Cummings (10.2 points) round out the double digit scorers for Pitt.

A big area of success on the offensive end for the Panthers is their three-point shooting ability. Although they rank eighth in the conference in three-point percentage (35%), they sit tied for second with 9.1 threes made per game.

Elliott is producing at an elite rate from beyond the arc, shooting 40 percent over 123 attempts. Both Hinson and Elliott are shooting over 36 percent from three and give Pitt multiple scoring options at all three levels.

Hinson is also impactful on the glass, pulling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.

Both Pitt and North Carolina are two of the best rebounding teams in the ACC and whoever earns the advantage on the glass will go a long way in determining the winner.

For the Tar Heels, they'll look to avenge their loss earlier in the season to the Panthers, a game in which they should been able to close out and bring home a victory.

They are currently riding a four game winning streak and have won six of their last seven contests.

Armando Bacot has continued to produce not only ACC Player of the Year numbers, but those that warrant All-American consideration. Excluding the early exit against Virginia, Bacot has recorded double figures in scoring in every game he's played this season and is averaging an ACC-high 11.4 rebounds.

R.J. Davis, who is expected to play, has remained as consistent as ever and has turned the ball over one time or less in six of the last eight games, while Caleb Love had an impressive outing against Syracuse, shooting 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range,

Pete Nance played all 40 minutes in the win over the Orange and tallied a game-high 21 points, including the game-winner with less than a minute to go.

Despite still not having played a game this season with a healthy rotation, North Carolina continues to show flashes of elite basketball and can match their longest win streak of the season against the Panthers.

Pittsburgh has been the kryptonite for the Tar Heels, winning four of the last five games in the series.

The key to victory for North Carolina is to hold the Panthers to 65 points or less. Their last three losses in the series, dating back to 2018, have all come when scoring 65 points or under against the Tar Heels.

In three of their seven losses this season, they have failed to reach 65 points and have yet to win a game without scoring at least 66 points.

UNC is 6-1 this season when holding their opponents to 65 points or less. Their lone defeat was at Virginia, a game in which they were down starters Armando Bacot and Pete Nance.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill.