The No. 12 North Carolina men’s basketball team, 18-6 overall and 8-3 in conference, will play its first ACC game in Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon when it takes on the Pitt Panthers, who come in with a 16-9 mark on the season and 5-5 ledger in the league.

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After a week-long hiatus spent absorbing the news of Carolina legend Dean Smith’s passing while hitting the practice courts, UNC should be eager to tip things off at high noon Saturday.

The ‘Oakland Zoo’, as they call the boisterous student section at the Peterson Events Center, will be ready as well, doing their part to guide the Panthers to an upset victory over the Tar Heels.

The Pittsburgh student section AKA Oakland Zoo (Panther Athletics)

The Pittsburgh student section AKA Oakland Zoo (Panther Athletics)

UNC sophomore forward Isaiah Hicks, meanwhile, will be looking to block out the noise and continue on his upward trajectory. In his last outing at Boston College, Hicks tallied a career-high 21 points.

Junior guard Marcus Paige was impressed.

“He was a beast on the block. He went to his right-hand jump hook. He hit the boards. He was really impressive, especially for a guy in his second career start. I was proud of the way he fought for us,” Paige says.

Hicks says his offensive performance can vary from game to game, but on the defensive end, it’s another story.

“At times, it’s been on and off. But on the defensive side, it’s always been on because it’s something you can control. Effort is all about you, your brain and body. That’s something you can easily control,” Hicks says.

UNC head coach Roy Williams says Hicks has emerged as the premier defensive stalwart for the Tar Heels, and with the recent losses, Hicks has been getting more minutes.

“Defensively, he’s won the defensive player of the game I think more than anybody on our team. He’s been trying to do some good things. You lose two in a row, you can’t say everything’s rosy. I wasn’t ready to jump off the building, but you got to try something different,” Coach Williams says.

Isaiah Hicks extends for the slam (Nick Vitali)

Isaiah Hicks extends for the slam (Nick Vitali)

In the second half last weekend against the Eagles, Paige says his teammates were able to make some strides thanks in large part to enigmatic junior forward J.P. Tokoto’s play.

“It’s more about playing a little bit harder and playing together. We did a great job of screening for each other in the second half and working to get great shots. J.P. set the tone for us defensively. He [Tokoto] did a great job being a pest on defense. Everybody followed that with intensity and urgency. The level of commitment to what we were doing ramped up another level,” Paige says.

Tokoto has been inconsistent this season. Bursts of breathtaking moments have been followed by bouts of sloppiness.

“J.P. gives us a third ball-handler in there when he makes the easy play. When he makes the easy play, they usually end up being assists. When he tries to hit the home run, it usually ends up being a turnover,” Coach Williams says.

Still in search of a marquee ACC win to put them on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, head coach Jamie Dixon’s Panthers fell just short of snagging one against the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals Wednesday evening.

Sophomore forwards Jamel Artis and Michael Young provide the most potent offensive attack for Pitt and will get most of the defensive attention from UNC.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the game, though, will occur before tipoff. Who will be in Carolina’s starting lineup? Coach Williams has been playing around with it lately and isn’t sure who will take the floor from the outset this weekend.

Carolina leads the all-time series with Pitt, 8-2, but the Tar Heels fell to the Panthers, 80-75, in ugly fashion in last year’s ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Greensboro.