By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina State Wolfpack
ACC Network | Saturday, January 11th 4:00 PM EST

Raleigh, N.C. — NC State won its last men’s basketball meeting against North Carolina, defeating the top-seeded Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament title game to secure its fifth win in five days, its first title since 1987 and the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

When the two rivals meet Saturday at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, the stakes will be a bit lower — but the intensity may not be.

“The two teams being so close and the history of the two programs, I feel like, how can it not be a rivalry?” said NC State forward Dontrez Styles, who played two seasons at UNC to start his career. “So when I see people say it’s not a rivalry, you know, that’s crazy.”

UNC freshman Ian Jackson questioned whether the game was a rivalry after the Tar Heels’ 15-point victory against SMU. He got some backing from coach Hubert Davis, who refused to put any more importance on the game Friday afternoon.

“I consider everybody a rival,” Davis said. “I don’t look at anybody differently. When you’re competing, I’m ready to go. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what conference you’re in, my approach and the way that I want our team to compete is indifferent toward one team or one program compared to another. It’s one approach.”

Davis is 5-2 against NC State. His predecessor, Roy Williams, was 33-5 against the Wolfpack.

NC State (9-6, 2-2 in the ACC) is 9-1 at home, including ACC victories against Florida State and Notre Dame. The Wolfpack rallied from a10-point deficit to top the Irish in the final seconds on Wednesday in Raleigh.

It’s the kind of win Keatts hopes could spark a mid-season surge to help put the program in position for another NCAA Tournament bid. The Wolfpack won nine straight between the ACC and NCAA tournaments in last year’s magical March.

“It takes time,” coach Kevin Keatts said. “We started playing when we loaded the plane to go to DC last year. And, boy, that was very magical. You just don’t know when you’ve got so many dudes, when the light will come on.”

The ACC, thanks to a poor showing in non-conference play, is likely to receive limited spots in the tournament, giving each game elevated importance. Six teams, including UNC (10-6, 3-1), have fewer than the Wolfpack’s two conference losses.

The Tar Heels, which has won two in a row, had a strong performance in their last outing led by 26 points from RJ Davis, 18 from Jackson and 17 from Drake Powell. Seth Trimble returned from injury for the game.

“The SMU game was really good,” Keatts said. “I thought they played their best basketball.”

NC State leads the ACC in fewest turnovers per game at 9.8 per game. NC State matched a season low with seven turnovers against Notre Dame, including just two in the second half.

UNC center Jalen Washington has nine blocked shots in the last two games, half of the 18 blocks that he has all season.

“Having somebody in the lane that can block and alter shots, which J Wash has been doing over the last couple of games, has been a huge benefit for us defensively,” Hubert Davis said. “It’s something that he can do on a consistent basis.”

Who: North Carolina Tar Heels at NC State Wolfpack

Where: Lenovo Center, Raleigh

When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

TV: ACC Network

Source: wralsportsfan.com