Number 4 North Carolina plays Boston College on Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, it will try to duplicate its longest winning streak in five years.
The Tar Heels (14-3, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are playing excellent basketball right now. This is their seventh straight win for the first time since they won eight straight games in the latter part of the 2018–19 season.
North Carolina is having its best start to a conference season since the 2015–16 campaign, with five of the team’s victories during its current run coming against ACC opponents.
In their most recent victory, North Carolina defeated Louisville 86-70 on Wednesday. RJ Davis scored 21 points, pulled down six rebounds, and disheveled six assists, while Armando Bacot contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
But Jae’Lyn Withers was the one who really caught our attention.
As he continues to establish himself with the Tar Heels, Withers recorded season highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench against his previous team.
Withers had averaged just 3.6 points on 42.5 percent shooting from the field in his first 15 games. However, in his last two games, he has combined to make 81.8 percent of his shots and score 12.5 points per game.
“He was able to score around the basket, get to the free-throw line, and make free throws,” Withers’ coach Hubert Davis of North Carolina stated after the Cardinals game. “Without J-Wit, we cannot win this game. He was outstanding.His best performance of the season was exactly what we needed, and I’m ecstatic and proud of him.”
The Eagles (11-6, 2-4) defeated Notre Dame 63-59 at home on Monday to get back on track.
Before Jaeden Zackery scored 20 points and Quinten Post added 17 against the Fighting Irish, Boston College had lost two straight games.
Despite trailing by seven points at the half, the Eagles scored eight points in the opening eight minutes of the second half. With 3:39 remaining, Post completed a personal 8-0 run and a 3-pointer to give Boston College a 57-55 lead. From that point on, the team never trailed again.
For Post, it was a comeback game after he went 26 minutes without scoring in a defeat to Syracuse on January 10. Then, a stomach issue kept him out of the Eagles’ Jan. 13 loss to then-No. 21 Clemson.
“Obviously the last two games were rough for us as a team and me individually,” Post stated. “I had a horrible start to the game (against Notre Dame) coming off of an illness. But I have to give respect to coach Earl Grant and Zackery here; they told me to keep shooting. They just said they needed me out there. All I had to do was see one go through, and I felt fantastic afterwards.”
Sets team records for points (16.9) and rebounds (7.4) per game on average. One of only four Tar Heels with a double-digit scoring average is RJ Davis, who leads North Carolina with 20.4 points per game.
Bacot averages 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds a game, or a double-double.
In their last 17 confrontations, North Carolina has prevailed 16 times over Boston College.