After picking up a pair of crucial wins in their last two games, North Carolina essentially faces another must-win today against NC State. If the Heels want to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, they probably cannot afford to take a loss to the Wolfpack, who are tied for 14th in the ACC. That also doesn’t even take into account any rivalry implications.
The two teams met back in January in Chapel Hill, with UNC winning easily, leading by well over 30 points for much of the second half. They’ve won just one game since, beating the Georgia Tech team that they’re tied at the bottom of the conference with.