• Carolina and NC State play for the 248th time when the Tar Heels visit the Lenovo Center on Saturday, January 11, for a 4 p.m. tip vs. the Wolfpack on ACC Network.
• The Tar Heels have won two in a row and are 10-6 overall, 3-1 in the ACC.
• Carolina is 2-2 on the road with wins at Hawai’i and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels have played nine of their first 16 games away from home (four road and five neutral site).
• The Wolfpack has played 10 of its 15 games at home and has a 9-1 record, including home ACC wins over Florida State and Notre Dame.
• In the last seven days, Carolina beat the Irish by a point on the road and the Pack beat them by one in Raleigh.
• The Tar Heels are 31st in KenPom and 40th in the NET with a strength of schedule of fifth (ESPN and KenPom).
• Carolina defeated SMU, 82-67, in the Smith Center on Tuesday. RJ Davis scored 26 points, freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell combined for 35 points and the Tar Heels held SMU to a season-low 33.3% from the floor.
• The Tar Heels made 11 three-pointers (made 10 in the previous two games at Louisville and Notre Dame), including four by Powell and three by Jackson (tying both of their season highs) and three by Davis. Carolina made 50% from three, its best 3FG percentage of the season.
• Carolina never trailed, led by 15 at the half and by as many as 25.
• Hubert Davis improved to 46-18 (71.9%) in regular-season ACC play.

UNC-NC STATE

• Carolina is 166-81 all-time against NC State, including 69-48 in Raleigh.

• Carolina has won 76% of its games against NC State in the Lenovo Center. That is UNC’s second-highest winning percentage in another team’s home building against current members of the ACC (10-1 at Boston College’s Conte Forum).

• The Tar Heels are 23-6 in the Lenovo Center, including 19-6 vs. the Wolfpack and 4-0 in NCAA Tournament play in 2008 and 2016.

• Carolina won both regular season games last year vs. NC State (67-54 in Raleigh and 79-70 in Chapel Hill), while the Wolfpack defeated UNC, 84-76, in the ACC Tournament championship game in Washington, D.C.

• The Tar Heels are 38-7 vs. NC State in the last 21 seasons (33-5 under Roy Williams and 5-2 under Hubert Davis).

• Carolina’s 166 wins vs. the Wolfpack are the most by UNC against any opponent.

• RJ Davis has averaged 15.2 points in nine games against the Wolfpack. He has scored in double figures seven times with a high of 30 in the 2024 ACC championship game. Davis has scored 11, six, seven and 16 points in four previous game in the Lenovo Center.

NOTABLE

• RJ Davis is one of three players in the top 10 in the ACC in both scoring and assists (with Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Pitt’s Jaland Lowe).

• Davis leads Carolina and is fifth in the ACC in scoring at 18.2 points per game and is eighth in the league in assists at 4.1 per game.

• Davis scored 26 points in the Tar Heels’ 82-67 win over SMU. It was his 40th career game scoring 20 or more and his 18th with 25 or more. The Tar Heels are 31-9 when he scores at least 20 and 13-5 when he drops 25 or more.

• Davis needs one assist to become the 13th Tar Heel with 500 or more. He has 20 assists and six turnovers in the last four games.

• Davis is averaging 15.1 field goal attempts per game. Last year, he averaged 16.4.

• Davis has made 33 three-pointers through 16 games. Last season, he made 48 through 16 games.

• Carolina has built double-digit leads in the first half in each of its last two games (12 at Notre Dame and 17 vs. SMU). In 14 of the 16 games this season, either UNC or its opponent has led by at least 10 points in the opening half.

• Carolina has established double-digit first-half leads seven times and won all seven games (Elon, American, at Hawai’i, La Salle, Campbell, at Notre Dame and SMU). Twice (Elon and Notre Dame), the Tar Heels lost the lead but went on to win the game.

• Seven times UNC has fallen behind by 10 more points in the first half. The Tar Heels rallied to beat Dayton and UCLA, took the lead but eventually lost to Kansas, Michigan State and Florida and lost to Auburn and Alabama.

• Carolina has scored 154 more points in the second half than in the first (9.6 more per game).

• The Tar Heels have scored more points in the second half in 14 of the 16 games (all except Elon and Notre Dame).

• The Tar Heels are averaging 37.1 first-half points and 46.8 in the second half.

• Carolina has shot a higher field goal percentage in the second half than it did in the first in 15 of the first 16 games (only against Georgia Tech did UNC shoot better in the first half).

• Carolina has shot 50% from the floor four times in the first half (vs. American, Michigan State, La Salle and Campbell) and 12 times in the second half (vs. Kansas, American, Hawai’i, Dayton, Michigan State, La Salle, Florida, UCLA, Campbell, at Louisville, at Notre Dame and SMU). That includes three second-half performances when UNC shot better than 62% from the floor (vs. American, Florida and Campbell).

• The Tar Heels have shot a combined 57.8% from the floor in the second halves of their last seven games (La Salle through SMU). UNC has made 115 of 199 field goal attempts in the second half in those seven games. The Tar Heels are a combined plus 17 in the second half in those seven games.

• The Tar Heels are 22nd in the country in scoring at 84.4 points per game and 321st in scoring defense (78.4). However, factoring in the number of possessions, Carolina is 25th in the country in offensive efficiency and 50th in defensive efficiency.

• In Carolina’s 10 wins the Tar Heels are shooting 10.6% higher from the floor than their opponents (49.7 to 39.1%). The opponents have made six more three-pointers, but Carolina has made nine more free throws (192) than the opponents have attempted (183).

• Carolina is plus 5.1 rebounds per game in its 10 wins and minus 4.5 per game on the boards in the six losses.

• Carolina is shooting nearly 35% from three in its wins and 28.4% in the losses.

• Carolina is shooting 56.4% from two-point range, which is 0.1% below the highest percentage by UNC in the three-point era (beginning in 1986-87). The 1997-98 ACC champions and NCAA East Regional champion Tar Heels shot 56.5% from two-point range. The 1986-87 Tar Heels also shot 56.4% from inside the arc in the first season of the three-point shot.

• Ian Jackson is the only player to make a three in every game in which he has played (did not play vs. American).

• Jackson has made multiple threes in each of the last five games. He made 14 threes through his first 10 games and has combined to make 13 in the last five games.

• Jackson attempted 19 free throws in his first 10 games (1.9 per game) and 37 in the last five games (7.4 per game). Not coincidentally, Jackson averaged 10.8 points in his first 10 games and has averaged 23.6 points in the last five.

• Jackson was a combined minus 46 in his first eight games. In his last seven games, he is a plus 53. He has a positive plus/minus in five of the last seven games; UNC won all five times in that stretch when he had a positive plus/minus.

• Drake Powell has scored in double figures four times this season, including three times in the last four games. He scored 18 vs. Michigan State in November then totaled 23 points in the next five games. However, over the last four games, Powell has scored 12 vs. Campbell, 14 at Louisville, eight at Notre Dame and 17 vs. SMU.

• Powell has made four three-pointers twice this season (Michigan State and SMU). The 14 points he scored in the first half vs. the Mustangs were the most he scored in any half this season.

• Powell is shooting 53.8% from the floor in the last five games (21 for 39).

• Jalen Washington leads UNC with 18 blocks, nine of which came in the last two games (five at Notre Dame, four vs. SMU).

• Carolina’s top four scorers are guards – Davis (18.2), Jackson (15.1), Seth Trimble (13.6) and Elliot Cadeau (10.4).

• Trimble set career scoring highs in each of the first two games this season (15 vs. Elon and 19 at Kansas) then surpassed those with a 27-point double-double in the comeback win over Dayton.

• Trimble returned to the lineup against SMU after not playing in the previous three games due to an upper body injury suffered in practice on December 28.

• When Cade Tyson scored a game-high 23 points against La Salle, he became the seventh different Tar Heel to lead UNC in scoring this season. Last year, only four Tar Heels led Carolina in scoring.

JACKSON’S RECORD-SETTING RUN

• Ian Jackson became the first Tar Heel freshman ever to score 23 or more points in four straight games. He scored 24 vs. UCLA, 26 vs. Campbell, 23 at Louisville and 27 at Notre Dame.

• He followed that four-game run of 20-point games by tying his season highs with three 3FGs and seven rebounds and scoring 18 points in the win over SMU.

• He was the first UNC freshman to score 20 or more in four games in a row since Tyler Hansbrough (2005-06) and the first to lead UNC in scoring in four straight since Cole Anthony (2019-20).

• Phil Ford is only Tar Heel freshman to score 20 or more in five consecutive (he scored 22 or more in all five).

• Jackson has averaged 23.6 points in the last five games and 19.1 over the last nine.

• Jackson has scored in double figures 11 times, including nine of the last 10 games.

• Jackson and RJ Davis share the team lead with five 20-point games apiece.

• Jackson was named ACC Rookie of the Week for his 26-point performance on December 29 against Campbell.

• Jackson’s 24 points against UCLA were the second most ever by a Tar Heel freshman in Madison Square Garden (25 by Rashad McCants vs. Kansas in 2002).

SCHEDULE NOTES

• KenPom ranks Carolina’s strength of schedule the fifth-hardest in the country behind Florida A&M, Jackson State, Memphis and Mississippi Valley State.

• Carolina is one of four teams among the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC whose strength of schedule is ranked in the top 10 – UNC (5), Purdue (6), Alabama (7) and Auburn (8).

• Seven of Carolina’s opponents are ranked in the current AP poll – No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Kansas, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 22 UCLA.

• This season is the second ever (1967-68) in which the Tar Heels played four top-10 opponents prior to New Year’s Day. Carolina played at No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Auburn in Maui, No. 10 Alabama and No. 7 Florida in Charlotte.

CAROLINA BASKETBALL

• This is the 115th season of Carolina Basketball.

• The Tar Heels have won seven national championships (six NCAA Tournament titles), played in a record 21 Final Fours, won a record 133 NCAA Tournament games, played in the NCAA Tournament 53 times, been a No. 1 seed a record 18 times, won a record 33 regular-season ACC titles, won 18 ACC Tournament championships and have had 10 former players inducted in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

• Carolina has the second-highest winning percentage (.733) and third-most wins (2,382) in college basketball history.

• The Tar Heels are led by Hubert Davis, in his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. The 2022 National Coach-of-the-Year winner and 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year has led UNC to an 88-37 record.

• Davis’ 78 wins through 2023-24 were the second most by a Carolina head coach and fourth most ever at a Power 4 Conference program after three years as a head coach.

• Carolina is the only major program in the country whose six coaches all played at their alma mater. Davis played for Hall of Famer Dean Smith from 1988-92. Jeff Lebo (1985-89) and Pat Sullivan (1990-95) also played at UNC for Smith, Brad Frederick played for Smith and Bill Guthridge (1996-99) and Sean May (2002-05) and Marcus Paige (2012-16) played for Hall of Famer Roy Williams.

• Vince Carter and Water Davis were inducted in the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in October. They are the 13th and 14th Tar Heels inducted, the second most among all college basketball programs (Kansas).

• They were the seventh and eighth inducted as players, which is more than any other college’s alumni in the Hall’s history.

• They were the ninth and 10th individuals who played collegiately for Dean Smith. No other coach has more former players inducted in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

• On December 31, the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2024, and Tar Heel Lennie Rosenbluth is among the eight honorees.

• Rosenbluth, star forward on the 1957 undefeated NCAA championship team, will become the 15th Tar Heel player or coach inducted in the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

TAR HEELS AND THE ACC

• Carolina is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

• This is the 72nd season of ACC men’s basketball.

• UNC has won the regular-season championship 33 times, including the 2023-24 season, when the Tar Heels went 17-3 to win the title outright for the 22nd time. Duke is second with 20 regular-season titles.

• The Tar Heels are 761-314 all-time in ACC regular-season play. The 761 wins are the most by any team.

• RJ Davis was the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis was the Coach of the Year.

• Davis is the first Player of the Year to return the following season since UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2008 and came back for his senior season in 2009, when he led the Tar Heels to an NCAA title.

MORE MILESTONES FOR RJ

• RJ Davis is the second-leading scorer in Carolina’s illustrious history with 2,379 points. He passed Armando Bacot, who also played in five seasons, for second place in the Notre Dame game on January 4.

• He broke the UNC career record for three-pointers on December 29 (now has 307) and has the highest free throw percentage ever by a Tar Heel (85.8%).

• Davis’ 29-point outing vs. Florida on December 17 made him the highest scoring guard in Carolina history, eclipsing the mark held by Phil Ford.

• Davis’ career scoring average is 15.4, the eighth-highest by a Tar Heel guard.

• Last year, Davis became the 19th Tar Heel to earn consensus first-team All-America honors. Those 19 players have won consensus first-team All-America honors a total of 28 times.

• Davis joined Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957, Phil Ford in 1978, Michael Jordan in 1983 and 1984, Kenny Smith in 1987, Jerry Stackhouse in 1995, Antawn Jamison in 1998, Joseph Forte in 2001 and Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 and 2009 as the only Tar Heels to make first-team All-America on each of the teams the NCAA recognizes to determine consensus first-team All-America.

• Davis was the 15th Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors, the first since Justin Jackson in 2016-17. It is the 16th time a Tar Heel has won the award (Larry Miller won twice).

KUDOS FOR CADEAU

• West Orange, N.J., native Elliot Cadeau is being honored by his hometown on January 15, when the West Orange Human Relations Commission presents him with its 2025 Global Impact Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award for his community and charitable contributions.

• The sophomore point guard has hosted free camps for underprivileged children in Chapel Hill and New Jersey, provided school supplies, backpacks and holiday gifts to children in Chapel Hill through the Hargraves Center, donated gear and basketballs to his elementary school and is working toward restoring basketball courts in lower-funded areas in Sweden, Haiti and New Jersey.

• Cadeau’s father, James, will accept the award on Elliot’s behalf. James is a native of Haiti, while Elliot’s mother, Michelle, hails from Sweden, where he is a member of the National Team.

• Cadeau leads Carolina and is third in the ACC with 5.8 assists per game.

SMITH CENTER

• This is the 40th season the Tar Heels are playing in the Dean E. Smith Center.

• Carolina is 6-1 in the Smith Center this season and 483-88 (.845) all-time.

• The Tar Heels are 251-69 against ACC opponents in the Smith Center.

NOVEMBER SIGNEES

• Carolina signed Isaiah Denis of Concord, N.C., and Derek Dixon of Vienna, Va.

• Denis is a 6-5 guard at Davidson Day High School in Davidson, N.C. His parents are Nancy Denis and Frantz Denis, and he plays AAU for CP3.

• Dixon, the son of John and Kari Dixon, is a 6-3 guard at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He also plays AAU for Team Takeover.