With the regular season almost finished, the North Carolina men's basketball team has yet to have a signature win against one of the top five teams in the ACC.
That opportunity may come on Saturday against the University of Louisville, barring any late postponements from the Cardinals, who have had five of their last six games postponed, including Wednesday's game against Syracuse.
Despite not having played since Feb. 1, Louisville sits fourth in the ACC at 6-3 in conference play. Toppling the Cardinals would be North Carolina's biggest win by far this season — here's how the Tar Heels can do it.
Rebound, rebound, rebound
Despite not regularly starting any player taller than 6-foot-8, the Cardinals are one of the best rebounding teams in the ACC. They come in second in rebounding margin at 6.1, average the most defensive rebounds of anyone in the conference at 28.1 a game and the third most total rebounds at 38.3.
Rebounding has been North Carolina's saving grace during a season in which almost every player not named Armando Bacot has struggled with efficiency. North Carolina is first in total and offensive rebounds in the conference at 42.7 and 15 a game, respectively.
They have four players averaging more than five rebounds a game, and Bacot, Garrison Brooks and Day'Ron Sharpe are all grabbing more than two offensive boards a game. Scoring off misses has been one of the only consistent ways for the Tar Heels to score this season, and they need to be able to create second chance opportunities against a team that's good at preventing them.
Early offense, early execution
North Carolina struggles on nearly any offensive play that isn't a putback dunk. This is not news to anyone who has watched multiple games this season, but it's important because Louisville allows the third fewest points per game in the ACC, at just 64.2.
