No. 12 North Carolina is surging but will be tested in a big way when it squares off against dangerous SMU on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference clash in Dallas.
This is the first meeting between the two programs at Moody Coliseum, the Mustangs’ home arena.
The Tar Heels (13-1, 1-0 ACC) are riding a seven-game winning streak that includes a 79-66 home victory over Florida State on Tuesday in their league opener.
Caleb Wilson recorded 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for North Carolina in the win. He is the first Tar Heel freshman to score 20 or more points in six consecutive games and posted his 10th double-double in 14 college contests.
“I just wait for (opponents) to kind of get undisciplined cause it’s gonna happen — people get tired,” Wilson said after the win. “Nobody’s going to outhustle me, so I’m going to get an offensive rebound. I’m going to do what it takes. It’s how I play.”
Seth Trimble contributed 20 points, Kyan Evans scored 15 and Henri Veesaar finished with 12 points (all in the second half) and grabbed a dozen boards. North Carolina led by just one point early in the second half but created separation with an 18-3 run.
“At the beginning of the game, we settled for 3s,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “We said we wanted to dominate points in the paint through post penetration and offensive rebounding. In the first half there was maybe a four- or five-minute stretch when we played well. Other than that, we just didn’t have any rhythm from an offensive standpoint.”
Saturday’s game is one of five North Carolina will play on the road in the month of January.
The Mustangs (11-2, 0-0) open their conference campaign after a highly successful non-league run that’s seen them win all nine of their home games.
SMU has won two in a row, most recently a 110-63 dismantling of Cal State Fullerton at home on Dec. 28 in which B.J. Edwards produced his second triple double of the season (21 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).
Jermaine O’Neal Jr. also scored 21 points for the Mustangs, with Corey Washington adding 15 and Boopie Miller racking up 14 to go along with 12 assists.
Samet Yigitoglu collected 11 points and 12 rebounds for SMU.
The Mustangs built a 32-point lead at halftime and reached the 100-point mark for the fourth time this season.
“We want to keep getting better as a team,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said. “We’re proud of them because when you ask them to do something as coaches, and they do it, then you have to congratulate them. The front line we will play against on Saturday will be as good as any in the country. We have to have all our players ready for the challenge.”
All five of the Mustangs’ starters average at least 10 points per game.
