WRAL Sports Fan

The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, January 29, 9 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Conte Forum (8,606) -- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: UNC 9-1. BC 7-4. Away Record: UNC 2-4, BC 2-4. Neutral Record: UNC 2-1, BC 0-2. Conference Record: UNC 3-3, BC 1-5. Series Record: North Carolina leads, 8-6.

GAMES NOTES: Coming off a humbling loss to an instate rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels will look to avoid another setback against the Boston College Eagles in Atlantic Coast Conference action at the Conte Forum.

North Carolina was downed by then No. 18 NC State on Saturday, 91-83. It was the first time in the last 14 meetings that the Tar Heels failed to top the rival Wolfpack. The Tar Heels had won three straight before the setback and are now sitting at 13-6 overall to go along with an even 3-3 split of their six conference battles. The loss came on the road, where the Tar Heels are just 2-4 this season. Home matchups with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest await the Tar Heels next.

Boston College has dropped its last four contests following a 65-51 defeat to Virginia on Saturday. The loss dropped the Eagles below .500 overall this season (9-10) and to just 1-5 in ACC play. That mark has the Eagles tied for last place in the conference standings with Georgia Tech. Boston College has done a respectable job of defending its home court with a record of 7-4 at the Conte Forum. The Eagles will remain at home for their next bout with Clemson.

This is just another ACC rivalry that North Carolina has dominated during the last decade with the Tar Heels earning victories in seven of the last nine meetings.

In the loss to NC State, North Carolina gave up the most points in a game against the Wolfpack since February of 2002. The Tar Heels trailed for the entire game and were down by as many as 28 points in the loss. North Carolina did manage to shoot 60.5 percent from the field in the second half to pull within five with 28 seconds remaining but by then it was too late.

It hasn't been the offensive end of the floor that has given North Carolina problems. The Tar Heels are the second best scoring team in the ACC (78.9 ppg) with that mark ranking eighth nationally. The Tar Heels also rank within the top five teams in the country in assists (18.3 pg) and rebounds (42.5 pg). Letting up big point totals has been a bit more of an issue with North Carolina allowing 69.3 points per game. James Michael McAdoo (14. 6ppg, 8.4 rpg) and Reggie Bullock (14.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.0 apg) have been the most productive scorers, with P. J. Hairston (12.3 ppg) adding a nice spark off the bench. Dexter Strickland (7.8 ppg, 4.1 apg) and Marcus Paige (6.7 ppg, 4.4 apg) don't add much in terms of scoring but have been strong distributors.

For the third straight game (all losses), Boston College was held to less than 60 points. The Eagles shot just 36.2 percent from the floor in the contest while being decimated up front. Virginia outscored BC by a 40-16 margin on points in the paint.

As might be expected Boston College has been one of the least effective offensive teams in the ACC. The Eagles rank second to last in field goal percentage (.431) and ninth in scoring (67.8 ppg). The Eagles have managed to keep themselves in most games though by letting up just 67.5 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting. Ryan Anderson (16.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg) leads a quartet of players in double figures for the Eagles, while ranking third in the conference in both scoring and rebounds. Anderson has struggled during league play though, especially in the last four games when he has averaged 14 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Olivier Hanlan (13.8 ppg), Joe Rahon (10.4 ppg) and Lonnie Jackson (10.1 ppg) all score in double figures as well but other than Hanlan (.405) none shoots better than 40 percent from the floor. The Eagles lack scoring off the bench as well with Dennis Clifford (4.3 ppg) and Andre Van Nest (4.2 ppg) the only reserves scoring more than three points per game.

It might not be the same type of North Carolina team of the last decade taking the floor on Tuesday. However the Tar Heels are still good enough to top the Eagles.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Carolina 78, Boston College 66