North Carolina @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2018 ) North Carolina 82, Miami-Florida 65

No. 15 North Carolina made a positive, if not stylish, response to a shocking home loss and looks to build off that when the Tar Heels visit Miami on Saturday afternoon for an ACC contest. North Carolina was beaten 83-62 in Chapel Hill by Louisville last Saturday and coach Roy Williams told reporters his wish was to win one “ugly,” before rallying to knock off Notre Dame 75-69 on Tuesday despite 39.7 percent shooting.

“We had to bounce back,” Tar Heels junior guard Brandon Robinson told reporters after the team’s fifth victory in six games. “Coach always says his teams respond after losing, so that is what we had to do tonight. I think we did a great job of doing that, even if it was an ugly win.” North Carolina is 4-1 in true road games as it starts a run in which it plays three of four away from home against the Hurricanes, who snapped a three-game losing streak with a 76-65 win over Wake Forest last time out. Miami limited the Demon Deacons to 34.2 shooting from the field and sophomore Chris Lykes poured in 25 points for the team’s first conference victory of the season. “I don’t think anybody likes losing, so it’s definitely good to get one under our belts,” Lykes told reporters. “Now it is time to build on this.”

TV: Noon ET, ESPN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (13-4, 3-1 ACC): Freshman guard Coby White rebounded from an 0-for-4 shooting performance to score a team-high 17 points against Notre Dame and is third on the team in scoring (14.2). Senior wing Cameron Johnson tops the Tar Heels at 15.5 points per game and shoots 45.3 percent from 3-point range, but is 0-for-7 from behind the arc in the past two contests combined. Senior forward Luke Maye (14.4 points, 10.1 rebounds) notched his seventh double-double Tuesday while freshman forward Nassir Little (9.8 points per game) scored 11 versus the Fighting Irish.

ABOUT MIAMI (9-7, 1-3): Lykes, who drained 14-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line against Wake Forest, tops the Hurricanes at 17.9 points per game and senior guard Zach Johnson is next at 13.4 despite missing 14 of his 18 shots the past two outings. Junior guard Dejan Vasiljevic is 11-of-22 from 3-point range the last three contests and scores 12.2 per game while senior guard Anthony Lawrence II averages 12. Senior center Ebuka Izundu is averaging a double-double the past four games and is at 11.8 points to go along with 9.5 rebounds per contest overall on 65.3 percent shooting.

TIP-INS

1. Miami freshman G Anthony Mack, who did not play in four of the first seven games, had a season-high nine points Saturday.

2. North Carolina senior G Kenny Williams is shooting 26.5 percent from 3-point range after draining 40.2 percent last season.

3. The teams split a pair of matchups last season with the road team winning each contest.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 82, Miami 70