UNC Basketball prepares for quick turnaround following road win at Virginia

There are moments when you giggle at the current college basketball schedule.

The period between December 2022 and February 2024, or nearly 15 months, passed before the UNC basketball program played Miami. And now, for the second time in the previous sixteen days, the Tar Heels and Hurricanes are going up against each other.

When the Hurricanes visit town on Monday night, North Carolina will wrap up their final two-day turnaround of the 2023–2024 regular season. The Tar Heels experienced this scheduling conflict for the first time in mid-January when they left on a Saturday afternoon to face Wake Forest at Boston College and came home on Monday night.

North Carolina will try to capitalize on their hard-fought victory at Virginia as they head into the final four games of the ACC Regular season with a one-game lead in first place. The Hurricanes, who last lost to Georgia Tech on Saturday, will be trying to snap a six-game losing streak.

The UNC Basketball team beat Miami 75-72 in the first matchup. Despite the Tar Heels attempting 11 more free throws and making 5 more three-pointers than Miami, it was still a game that went down to the final buzzer.

One key area that North Carolina got beat in that needs to improve in the rematch is points in the paint. The Hurricanes won that battle 38-24. The Tar Heels led 68-56 with 7:33 remaining in the game and then were outscored 16-7 throughout the remainder of the game, holding on for the three-point victory.

Not only do the Tar Heels need to win the battle in the paint, they need to be able to build a lead and put the Hurricanes away when they do so, not allowing them to claw back into the game. Several times against Virginia, North Carolina built a double-digit lead to see the Cavaliers claw back into the game. Putting teams away is crucial, especially as we inch closer to March.

One last aspect that will be key in this game will be limiting turnovers. One large reason the Hurricanes were able to claw their way back in the first matchup was North Carolina turnovers. The Tar Heels had 16 turnovers, leading to 22 Miami points. Taking care of the basketball and keeping the Hurricanes from getting easy baskets in the paint will go a long way on Monday night.