Read below for a full UNC vs SMU prediction and preview.
UNC will face off against the Mustangs of SMU for the first time as conference opponents. This is the fourth all-time meeting between these two programs, but the first meeting since the Tar Heels won an overtime match-up in December 1987. The loss to UNC was the first of a season-high seven game losing streak that led to ending a three-year postseason streak. This is the first time SMU will play a game inside the Dean Dome since losing to Duke in the second round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. This game starts a streak of six straight games played in North Carolina, including road games at NC State and Wake Forest.
General Information:
Teams: North Carolina (9-6, 2-1) and SMU (11-3, 2-1)
Tip time: 9 p.m. EST
Watch: ACC Network
Listen: WCHL 97.9 FM (Internet Radio)
Latest on SMU basketball:
The Mustangs are entering their first season in the ACC and are coming off a 89-62 loss to Duke, ranked No. 5 in the latest CBB Review Top 25 poll. Senior Boopie Miller, who played last season at Wake Forest, is leading SMU in scoring with averaging 15.8 points per game. He also leads the team with 5.9 assists per game.
Boopie for 3! #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/vFHJy6KnQT
— SMU Basketball (@SMUBasketball) January 4, 2025
Miller had one of his worst games as a Demon Deacon last season, only scoring five points in a loss to UNC. The guard out of Chicago, IL has scored over 15 points in the last three games.
“You know I feel like it’s just a process of our teammates just learning,” Miller said when asked after the game if Duke’s length affected their shooting ability. “I feel like me and Matt [Cross] were in the ACC so we know how to play against those types of guys. So it’s just it’s just a learning experience. So just bringing that to the next game and just looking at film and getting better at that.”
This is the first season under Andy Enfield, who led both Florida Gulf Coast and USC to trips to the Sweet 16 during his 14 seasons as a head coach. Enfield is looking to finish above .500 in his first season at a school for the first time ever. Having players like Miller and UMass transfer Matt Cross, who leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game, will help him hopefully reach that goal.
Latest on UNC basketball:
The luck of the Irish was on the Tar Heels side in their last game. Down three points with just under 6 seconds to play, sophomore Elliot Cadeau was fouled on a three-point basket. The free throw was good and North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 74-73 in South Bend.
Another angle of Elliot Cadeau’s game winning four-point play.
Tough move 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LK6Een0h6M
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 4, 2025
“Today I felt like we played Carolina basketball, and we were a team,” said head coach Hubert Davis during a interview with Tar Heel Sports Network. “Even when things didn’t go right, we joined together and solved problems together and won a game on the road, which is very hard to do in the ACC.”
Freshman Ian Jackson had this fourth straight game with scoring over 20 points, notching a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers. His streak of scoring 20 or more points is the longest by a freshman since Tyler Hansbrough notched four straight in 2005-06.
The Tar Heels will need to improve their scoring off the bench. Opponents have outscored Carolina off the bench nine times, with Carolina scoring more than 30 points off the bench just four times.