North Carolina enters the home stretch of the regular season beginnign with the ninth-ranked Tar Heels hosting NC State on Saturday at the Smith Center for a 4 PM tipoff.

Carolina rides a three-game win streak that followed losing three of five. The Tar Heels beat Miami at home Monday 75-71. They are 22-6 overall, 14-3 in the ACC, and have clinched at the very worst second place in the ACC.

The Wolfpack enters coming off a 90-83 loss at Florida State, and has dropped seven of its last 11 games. State is 17-11 and 9-8.

UNC won the first meeting between the schools, 67-54, which took place January 10 in Raleigh. RJ Davis led the Heels with 16 points that night, while Harrison Ingram scored eight points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.

Here are 3 Keys for the Tar Heels to beat the Wolfpack, but first many noteworthy NCSU stats: