UNC vs The Citadel Preview

The Tar Heels will attempt to start a new winning streak before hitting the road once again to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports

North Carolina snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday with a 75-59 victory over Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels returned home for the first time since Nov. 20th and improved to 6-4 on the year.

With just one more game in Chapel Hill before they head to New York for CBS Sports Classic, Hubert Davis and company will welcome The Citadel to town on Tuesday.

Under head coach Ed Conroy, who is in year one of his second stint in Charleston, the Bulldogs are a respectable 5-4 on the season.

Senior forward Stephen Clark leads the way, averaging a team-high 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. The Charlotte native is shooting an efficient 54 percent from the field and also tallies 1.7 blocks per game.

Graduate guard and former Iowa Hawkeye Austin Ash has settled in nicely in his first season with The Citadel, pouring in 15.1 points on 33.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. His 4.8 rebounds are tied for second on the roster.

Freshman Madison Durr mans the backcourt for the Bulldogs, dishing out a team-high 3.6 assists per game.

While The Citadel shoots just south of 43 percent from the floor, North Carolina needs to keep the Bulldogs off of the free throw line. Ed Conroy's squad connects of 79 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe, good for 11th in all of college basketball.

The Tar Heels should have a distinct height advantage down low with Armando Bacot and Pete Nance manning the frontcourt.

In Saturday's victory, Bacot recorded another double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Guard R.J. Davis accompanied the Preseason ACC Player of the Year with a double-double of his own, tallying 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Pete Nance assisted the effort with 11 points and six rebounds of his own.

The most noticeable difference for North Carolina was their improved offense due to sharing the basketball. The Tar Heels assisted on 15 of their 27 made baskets, more than their last two games combined.

High-percentage looks were created and good shots were often passed up for great ones. 

Helping the cause was the North Carolina bench, who poured in 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists on 50 percent shooting.

In a game in which the Tar Heels are favored by 15 points, a deeper bench can be expected and it is a quality opportunity to minimize minutes from the starting five ahead of a top-25 opponent on Saturday.