UNC basketball vs. SMU game preview, info, prediction & more

The No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels will travel to Dallas for their first Atlantic Coast Conference road game of the season to take on the SMU Mustangs.

In its last outing, UNC opened ACC play with a 79-66 win over Florida State at the Dean Smith Center, improving to 13-1 and extending its streak of holding every opponent under 75 points to 14 games — the program’s best start in that category since the 1981-82 national championship season.

Advertisement

Seth Trimble paced a balanced effort with 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block, shooting 6-for-13 from the field and 8-for-11 at the line in his first 20-point outing of the year.

Caleb Wilson was dominant again, finishing with 22 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two blocks for his 10th double-double, while becoming the first freshman in school history to score 20 or more points in six straight games. Henri Veesaar added 12 points and 12 rebounds, giving UNC its third straight game — and seventh this season — with double-doubles from both Wilson and Veesaar.

Kyan Evans chipped in 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting from three.

SMU enters the matchup at 11–2 after a 110–63 rout of Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 30. BJ Edwards recorded his second triple-double of the season with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Boopie Miller added a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. The Mustangs are dangerous offensively, led by Miller (19.9 ppg, 4th in the ACC), Jaron Pierre (18.7 ppg, 8th in the ACC) and Edwards (13.5 ppg), and feature scoring threats across the rotation.

Advertisement

Saturday’s game at Moody Coliseum in Dallas is expected to be a near sellout, as it marks North Carolina’s first-ever visit to SMU’s home floor. Given UNC’s emotional high from the Florida State win and SMU’s firepower and home-court advantage, this shapes up as a classic trap game — one the Tar Heels can’t afford to take lightly and one that figures to stay close throughout.

Keep reading below…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/unc-basketball-vs-smu-game-181714114.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-01-02 18:17:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.