WRAL Sports Fan

The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, February 5, 7 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Dean E. Smith Center (21,750) -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: WFU 8-3, UNC 10-1. Away Record: WFU 1-6, UNC 3-4. Neutral Record: WFU 1-2, UNC 2-1. Conference Record: WFU 3-6, UNC 5-3. Series Record: North Carolina leads, 154-65.

GAME NOTES: The Wake Forest Demon Deacons head to the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill with the hopes of upsetting the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Jeff Bzdelik's Demon Deacons suffered an 86-60 setback at Maryland on Saturday to mark their third consecutive loss and fifth in six games. Wake Forest is now 3-6 in the ACC standings, giving it just one win more than Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Boston College, who are all tied in last place. It did manage to pull off a very surprising triumph over NC State by outscoring the Wolfpack, 51-37, in the second half just before the beginning the current slide.

North Carolina started ACC play out with two straight losses, but it has since rebounded with five wins in six games, including 12-point victories over Boston College and Virginia Tech in its last two outings. Roy Williams's team is one of the best statistically in the nation, ranking eighth in scoring offense (78.7), second in rebounds (42.4), and third in assists (18.2). The Tar Heels will be tough to beat in Chapel Hill, where they have lost only once in 11 games this campaign.

UNC leads the all-time series with Wake Forest by a 154-65 margin. The teams have split their past 16 meetings since 2001-02. In the Deacons' most recent trip to Chapel Hill, the No. 19-ranked Tar Heels picked up a 78-64 win on Feb. 15, 2011.

Wake Forest was completely outplayed when it visited College Park over the weekend. Travis McKie led the team with 15 points and six rebounds while Codi Miller-McIntrye chipped in 14 points, but the Terrapins shot 67.3 percent from the field and limited the Demon Deacons to 34.4 percent shooting. Wake Forest was outrebounded, 42-21, and allowed Maryland to connect on 11-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc in the contest. McKie leads the team in both scoring and rebounding this season, posting 15.0 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Harris is just behind him in scoring with 14.5 ppg, while hitting on 42.0 percent from long range. The Deacon Demons need to focus more on the defensive end of the court, where they allow just over 70 ppg to their own average of 67.8 ppg.

UNC may still be without sophomore guard P.J. Hairston, who suffered a concussion at Boston College, as his status for Tuesday has not been determined. The Tar Heels got off to a slow start in their most recent appearance, as they fell behind by 12 points to Virginia Tech. Freshman point guard Marcus Paige set a new career-high with 19 points as UNC outscored the Hokies, 72-48, the rest of the way to collect the overtime victory. Sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo registered his third consecutive double-double with 22 points and 10 boards. McAdoo paces UNC with 15.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Reggie Bullock is second in the scoring column at 13.6 ppg.

The Demon Deacons are a few pieces away from competing with the top tier teams in the ACC. Their victory over NC State showed there is some talent present, but the team will struggle on the road until Miller-McIntyre, Devin Thomas, and Tyler Cavanaugh gain more experience. The Tar Heels should coast to an easy decision behind McAdoo's interior dominance.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Carolina 88, Wake Forest 72