Gameday Preview – North Carolina vs Stanford – Sat Jan 18th 2025

The North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6, 5-1 ACC) finish off their hosting duties of the ACC’s newest California members taking on the Stanford Cardinal (11-6, 3-3 ACC) in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels have won 8 of their last 10 coming off a three game losing streak in December. The Cardinal have lost 2 of their last 3 after their own 3 game losing streak.

The Tar Heels are coming off a dominant performance Wednesday night soundly taking care of the California Golden Bears, 79-53. Star freshman Ian Jackson had another 20 point game along with 7 boards giving Jackson his 6th 20 point performance in the last 7 games. Guard Elliot Cadeau added 15 points shooting 50% from the three point line. The Tar Heels used scoring from 5 different players to go on a 15-0 run to take a 63-39 lead with around 8 minutes left in the second half. Carolina’s defense held the Golden Bears to only 5 points in the last 5 minutes of the game. Cal’s leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic who is averaging 24.5 points a game was held to only 6 points. The Tar Heels victory keeps Carolina in the hunt for an ACC regular season title as they are tied with 3 other squads for second place in the conference behind 7-0 Duke.

The Cardinal began their tour of Tobacco Road with a trip to Winston Salem and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Wednesday evening. Stanford ran into the buzzsaw of the Demon  Deacons and head to Chapel Hill after a 80-67 loss. Tre’Von Spillers of the Deacs made a basket with 4:49 seconds left in the matchup and gave the Deacs a 66-63 lead. The Deacs finished on a 16-4 run to finish off the Cardinal. Wake Forest Hunter Sallis scored 30 points in front of Spiller double-double effort with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Cardinal were led by Oziyah Sellers with 16 points and Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes with 15 points. Naismith Award candidate Maxime Raynaud finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards.

Key Points:

UNC

• Ride the Ian Jackson wave. His draft stock, like the Tar Heels season, are on a meteoric rise. In Jackson’s streak of 20 point performances, he has shot 40% from three and grabbed an average of 5 rebounds.
• Take advantage of home court. The Tar Heels are 7-1 at home this season. After recent success, the buzz around the team is at its highest of the season. Get the fans excited and bury the Cardinal. 
• Keep the status quo. The Tar Heels average 82 points a game while giving up 76 points. The Cardinal average 76 points a game. Keep the status quo and the Tar Heels keep the pressure on the Blue Devils

Stanford

• Quiet the crowd. Take advantage of their 3-point shooting ability to get a lead or stay close to the Tar Heels. Momentum will be huge for the Carindal to get and keep.
• Lean on Wooden Award candidate Maxime Raynaud. He is scoring 20 points a game along with 11 rebounds a game. He is coming off a conference low of 14 points. Look for Raynaud to get back on track with  a big game
• Jaylen Blakes. Blakes is having a career season , scoring 14 points a game. Blakes has played in Chapel Hill three previous times as a member of the Blue Devils. This game should not be too big for him.