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Heels vs the Green Wave
| North Carolina | Tulane | |
| Record | 7-2 | 6-4 |
| Conference | ACC | AAC |
| KenPom Rank | #11 | #212 |
| Points per game | 84.1 | 69.2 |
| Adj. Off. Efficiency(Rank) | 117.5(3rd) | 96.8(280th) |
| Ad. Def. Efficiency(Rank) | 95.8(38th) | 100.4(131st) |
| Tempo(Rank) | 73.5(46th) | 69.0(237th) |
| Offensive eFG% | 54.5% | 49.3% |
| Defensive eFG% | 49.2% | 44.4% |
| Field Goal % | 49.5% | 43.5% |
| 2P FG% | 54.7% | 49.4% |
| 3P FG% | 36.1% | 32.7% |
| FT% | 72.4% | 65.4% |
| Offensive Reb Rate | 34.7% | 35.0% |
| Defensive Reb Rate | 74.4% | 69.4% |
| TO Rate | 15.4% | 21.8% |
| FT Rate | 34.8% | 38.9% |
| 3PA% | 28.0% | 35.1% |
One note before getting to the numbers. Texas beat Appalachian State on Tuesday night 67-55. The Longhorns shot 39% from the floor and 5-13 from three against a team that is allowing 42% shooting from beyond the arc. So yeah, death, taxes and teams playing like garbage in the game after beating UNC.
After a tough loss to Texas and losing Kennedy Meeks for a period of time, this looks like a good opponent on paper for UNC to work out some frustration and figure out the lineup. Tulane struggles on both ends of the floor in terms of efficiency but especially on offense. The Green Wave doesn't even crack one point per possession thanks in large part to a massive struggle with taking care of the basketball. Tulane turns the ball over on 21.8% of all possessions which is 317th overall. For UNC the formula is simple, turn Tulane over as often as possible and convert those miscues into easy baskets.
Life without Meeks will be interesting to see what happens with UNC's rebounding numbers. Both the ORB% and DRB% took a hit on Saturday versus Texas. Tulane is a comparable offensive rebounding team but not as strong on the defensive end. Then again neither was Texas and we saw how that turned out. Isaiah Hicks certainly has to step up his effort on the boards as do the perimeter players.