Down to No. 11 in the most recent AP Top 25 Poll after losing at the buzzer against Texas this past Saturday, the UNC men’s basketball team returns to the Smith Center on Wednesday night to take on the Tulane Green Wave.
Now at 7-2 on the season, the Tar Heels will look to bounce back against Tulane, which enters the game at 6-4 so far this year. But in order to do that, UNC will again have to play without one of its starters.
It was announced recently that junior forward Kennedy Meeks, who is averaging career-highs in both points and rebounds with 12 and 7 per game, will be sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks with a bone bruise on his left knee.
This news comes after the Tar Heels played without senior point guard Marcus Paige for their first six games of the season.
Marcus Paige recently became UNC’s all-time leader in three-pointers, moving past Shammond Williams–who is now a Tulane assistant coach. (Todd Melet)
Head Coach Roy Williams will likely turn to another junior, Isaiah Hicks, to take Meeks’ place in the starting lineup.
Although Hicks is not as physically imposing down low as the 260-pound Meeks, he excelled in preseason scrimmages and could provide a quicker, more explosive option offensively.
Hicks has scored in double figures three times this season, including a season-high 14 in the loss to Texas. But in his three years at UNC he has only played 20 or more minutes in six games, meaning this stretch will be the first extended period fans will get with him.
The Green Wave recently played another ACC opponent, when they came up just eight points short against Georgia Tech back on December 5.
They are led by senior guard Louis Dabney, who is scoring at a clip of 14 points per game—and is one of only two Tulane players averaging double figures.
It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Tulane assistant coach Shammond Williams, a former UNC guard from 1994 to 1998. Williams, who played professionally for 13 years in the NBA and overseas, was the Tar Heels’ all-time leader in three-pointers until last game—when Paige surpassed him.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WCHL’s airwaves at 97.9 FM and 1360 AM.
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