The No. 13 North Carolina men’s basketball team, 17-4 overall and 7-1 in ACC play, travels to No. 10 Louisville, 17-3 on the season and 5-2 in the league, to take on the defensive-minded Cardinals Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in a pivotal ACC showdown.

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The Tar Heels will hope to be road warriors in the coming weeks as they strap themselves in for a stretch that includes away games in four of the next five matchups.

That all begins Saturday with a tough test at the KFC Yum Center against a Louisville squad that will have revenge on its mind. Earlier this month, the Cardinals dropped a 72-71 decision to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.

Roy Williams gets limbered up courtside (Todd Melet)

Roy Williams gets limbered up courtside (Todd Melet)

UNC is looking for its seventh win in a row and 12th in 13 games overall. In the latest win against Syracuse, it was sophomore guard Nate Britt who made a welcome statement.

“Nate was awesome. I feel so good for him. He had the death of his grandfather the night of the N.C. State game and 15 stitches in his mouth at Wake Forest. He’s been battling, battling, battling,” UNC head coach Coach Williams says.

Despite the radical switch in shooting hands last summer, Coach Williams says he never doubted Britt’s decision.

“His release looks great. His left-handed release because of the hitch he had never looked great. I’ve never doubted that decision. You love it when you have that kind of support from the family. He’s been struggling. The little rascal was a big-time player for us,” Coach Williams says.

Meanwhile, Carolina junior point guard Marcus Paige rang up a team-leading 22 points Monday night. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Paige this season. But to that end, Coach Williams says he’s never been too concerned with Paige’s shooting touch.

“I told you guys more than once that if Marcus was my biggest concern, I’ve got a really blessed life,” Coach Williams says.

Against a Cardinal squad led by two outstanding playmakers in Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell, the Tar Heels will need to be flowing on the offensive end to escape enemy territory victorious.

For UNC, a comfortable Britt, who says his team is like a family to him, will be looking for a reprise of his standout performance.

“I’ve had a lot of support from my family, teammates, and especially the coaching staff. They’ve always made me feel like this is a second home from me. Anything that I’ve ever needed, they’ve been there for me,” Britt says.

Coach Williams is open and honest about his team’s inability to knock down shots, but in recent games, it seems the Tar Heels have begun to find the range.

Marcus Paige has his eyes on the basket (Todd Melet)

Marcus Paige has his eyes on the basket (Todd Melet)

Three guys got 17 and another guy got 22 against a defense that’s really tough for us. We don’t shoot the ball especially well to say the least, but nine out of 16 tonight [vs. Syracuse], I’ll take that every night to say the least,” Coach Williams says.

In Carolina’s six-game winning streak, the team has shot 50.8 percent from the floor.

Britt, for one, has supreme confidence in his team’s upward trajectory in the ACC. With all the pieces seemingly coming together, the sophomore is relishing his team’s chances.

“We’re starting to feel each other out a little bit more. Kennedy [Meeks] and Brice [Johnson] have been playing off the charts. Marcus [Paige] is getting his confidence back. When we have everybody working and doing their job, we can be really good,” Britt says.

UNC leads the all-time series with the Cardinals 10-3. The last win for Rick Pitino’s squad came more than fifteen years ago in 1999.