UNC vs. Tulane Prediction, Game Preview

The UNC Tar Heels will be back in Chapel Hill, N.C. to play host to the Tulane Green Wave in the Dean E. Smith Center. Below is the UNC vs. Tulane prediction and game preview.

UNC vs. Tulane Game Preview

Game Broadcast

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 16
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Network: ESPN2

Why You Need To Care

Roy Williams probably woke up in a bad mood on Sunday after he watched his team lose in gut-wrenching fashion.

The Texas Longhorns’ buzzer-beating win against the No. 11 Tar Heels (7-2) may have gone down thanks to a fortunate bounce off the rim, but Texas shouldn’t have even been in the game. UNC entered the season at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings, and it should have been able to take care of the Longhorns.

Now the Tar Heels welcome Tulane (6-4) to town, and they’ll need a win to get back on track.

The Green Wave responded to a loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by knocking off Prairie View, 63-49, on Monday, but going into Chapel Hill and winning is a much taller task.

Why UNC Will Win

UNC will have to fill the void left by junior forward Kennedy Meeks, who is out for at least two weeks after bruising a bone in his let knee. His absence is expected to be tag-teamed by Isaiah Hicks and Joel James. Tulane has pulled down 395 rebounds, and 123 of them have been on the offensive glass. Brice Johnson, along with Hicks and James, needs to control the boards, while Marcus Paige needs to lead the scoring charge. Paige creating shots for himself will draw attention and leave open looks for guys like Justin Jackson to knock down from the outside.

Why Tulane Will Win

The Green Wave needs to hope Paige sleeps in on Wednesday. If they don’t stop him from getting to the rim and slicing his way through the defense, Tulane won’t have any kind of shot. Louis Dabney and Malik Morgan will have to use the threat of the three ball to open up lanes to the basket. Then, if they can attack the rim and get Johnson and UNC’s other bigs into foul trouble, Tulane can pick up some easy points and stay in the game.

What’s Going To Happen?

Paige is going to attack the rim with ease. The Green Wave doesn’t have anyone who can guard the UNC point guard one on one. He’ll help get Jackson open on the perimeter, and, despite Meeks’ absence, the Tar Heels should control things down low. They’ll cause headaches for Tulane in the post. Dabney and Morgan won’t hit enough threes to make UNC fear the long ball, and the Tar Heels will end up on top.