California @ North Carolina preview

California at North Carolina

Reflecting on his time as a player at North Carolina, as an assistant coach on the Tar Heels staff and now as the program's head coach, Hubert Davis said he has not been around a player who can score as easily and efficiently as Ian Jackson.

The freshman has averaged 23.2 points over the past six games, shooting nearly 43 percent from 3-point range. Behind Jackson, UNC (11-6, 4-1 ACC) has won five of its past six games and now sits 1 1/2 games out of first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tar Heels continue conference play on Wednesday against visiting Cal (8-8, 1-4).

"His versatility of being able to score," Davis said, noting the guard's capability to shoot from long range or beat his defender off the dribble. "His ability out there just to be able to make plays and score ... has been a huge benefit for us over the last month."

Jackson has shouldered some of the offensive load from RJ Davis, who leads the Tar Heels with 17.8 points per game. Behind those two, UNC has averaged 83.2 points this season -- second only to SMU in the league.

Andrej Stojakovic, son of NBA champion Peja, leads Cal into Chapel Hill, scoring 20.3 points per game this year. Guard Jeremiah Wilkinson has also emerged recently, putting up 15.8 points over his past 12 games.

The Golden Bears will need that production as ACC play continues, especially as Cal looks to get on the right side of close games. Of their eight losses, the Bears have dropped six by 12 points or fewer.

"This is ACC basketball," coach Mark Madsen said. "This is the best basketball conference in the country. We embrace that, we embrace the challenge. North Carolina is talented. Cal men's basketball is talented. We have great respect for their current players and coaches. We're a scrappy bunch ourselves.

"We've got to execute better, I've got to be better as a head coach, but we're excited for the challenge of playing top teams."

--Field Level Media