Ohio St. @ North Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2017 ) Ohio St. 72, North Carolina 86

Ohio State already owns two high-profile wins this season and the sixth-ranked Buckeyes can add the best prize yet to their collection when they visit No. 7 North Carolina on Wednesday night as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Ohio State has won seven straight games to open the season, including impressive victories over Cincinnati and Villanova, and hopes to continue its strong two-way play in its first game away from home.

The young Buckeyes entered the week second in the nation in field goal percentage defense (32.7), sixth in scoring defense (52.7) and are draining 39.7 percent from 3-point range with a balanced offense that features seven players averaging between 7.3-12.7 points per game. Ohio State comes in off a 90-57 rout of Morgan State on Friday as senior forward Andre Wesson came off the bench to connect on all four of his 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points, while the Tar Heels finished third at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas - capped by a satisfying 78-74 win over No. 14 Oregon on Friday. North Carolina limited Oregon to 35.7 percent shooting from the field and received a fourth double-double in five games from freshman forward Armando Bacot. “It was probably a double good feeling because we had a 10-point lead and we got it there with our toughness and our attention to detail,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told the team’s website. “Then all of a sudden it gets to be a one-possession game, and then I liked our toughness after that again.”

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT OHIO STATE (7-0): Junior forward Kaleb Wesson, who had a double-double in the 76-51 win over Villanova on Nov. 13, leads the team in scoring (12.7 per game), rebounds (9.3) and blocks (1.7). Freshman D.J. Carton adds 10.4 points and 2.9 assists per contest while sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr., a nephew of former NBA player and coach Derek Fisher, averages 10.1 points and has drained 14-of-27 from 3-point range. Junior forward Kyle Young has also been quite efficient, averaging 8.9 points on 65.8 percent shooting from the field and hauling in 6.6 boards per contest - including 13 versus Cincinnati in the season opener.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (6-1): Bacot scored a season-high 23 against Oregon and became the first Tar Heel to record at least 23 points along with 12 rebounds and six blocks since 1995 when Rasheed Wallace accomplished the feat. “Today coming into the game, I knew I just had to make everything simple and just attack the offensive glass and do the moves we work on every day,” Bacot, who averages 11.7 points and a team-high 9.6 boards, told reporters after the Oregon win. Freshman guard Cole Anthony leads the way in scoring (20.7) and assists (4.0) while junior forward Garrison Brooks adds 12.9 points and 8.3 boards per game.

TIP-INS

1. North Carolina senior G Brandon Robinson is averaging 11.3 points with just three total turnovers in three games since returning from a preseason ankle injury.

2. Ohio State junior G C.J. Walker had 10 points against Villanova and leads the Buckeyes in assists (3.4).

3. The Tar Heels have won 12 of the 14 previous meetings, including the last seven after an 86-72 triumph at home in 2017.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 72, Ohio State 64