North Carolina is on the road in ACC play for the third time in four games as the Tar Heels visit Miami on Tuesday night for an 8 pm tip at Watsco Center in Coral Gables.

UNC is coming off its first ACC win, a 66-65 victory at home over Notre Dame after Leaky Black’s driving shot off the glass fell through the cylinder with 9.1 seconds to play. The Hurricanes have dropped consecutive games, including Saturday at home to Clemson also by a 66-65 score.

The Canes’ best win is over Purdue a month ago and two of their ACC losses are by a combined three points – one of which was at nationally-ranked Virginia Tech. Miami won’t have senior guard Chris Lykes, who has hurt UNC in the past, and as a veteran point guard, could have given these Tar Heels fits like other veteran guards have.

Carolina is 6-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC while Miami is 4-4 and 0-3.

The game tips at 8 pm and will air on ESPN.

Here are 5 Keys for UNC to defeat Miami:

Without Chris Lykes, who is injured, Miami plays eight guys 22 or more minutes, and another who plays 12 minutes. Three of them are big men: Anthony Walker (6-foot-9), Nysier Brooks (7-feet) and Deng Gak (7-feet). The Hurricanes have some length on the perimeter, too, and they will get after it defensively and on the glass.

In other words, the Hurricanes will battle Carolina’s size and strengths inside more than the last few opponents the Tar Heels have faced, so the Heels need to be ready to scrap and for their bigs to be big.

It begins on the glass, as the Heels are No. 3 in the nation with a plus-13.5 rebound margin, and then it goes to scoring on the lower blocks, which means Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe must make themselves available and demand the ball. And when they get it, make decisive, efficient moves.

Add Garrison Brooks into the mix, too, but with his four assists versus Notre Dame, he can be an asset playing away from the basket some as well. UNC’s high-low game has been effective at times, and with Miami one of the top shot blocking teams in the nation (nearly five per game), dragging the second big away from the blocks could make scoring opportunities a bit easier.

UNC goes into this game with an advantage on the glass, but not like it has the last few games. NC State, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame were essentially even on the boards with their opponents going in, but Miami isn’t. The Hurricanes are No. 41 in the nation at plus-7.9 per game, and given that they are winless in the league and have a blue blood in town, expect Jim Larranaga’s team to give their best effort versus the Tar Heels.

Again, Carolina better be ready to rumble because that’s what Miami will try to turn the game into if it has its way. And the best way to leave the alley less scathed than the other guys is to win big on the glass. UNC has the goods to do that, so it must.

Miami isn’t going to give the Heels a ton of great looks, so the Tar Heels need to work the ball to earn most of their quality shots, which means taking care of the ball first and foremost. The Heels had just eight turnovers versus 15 assists versus Notre Dame, but the Irish aren’t very good defensively and certainly haven’t been turning teams over much this season. Miami has.

The Hurricanes are just No. 210 in turnover margin because they give it away a lot themselves, but they’re also No. 71 in scoring defense (64.9 ppg), No. 84 in defensive field goal percentage (40.4), they block a fair number of shots (nearly five per game), and their overall adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, is No. 47 in the nation.

The Canes will make the Heels work for their shots, so Carolina must be patient, make good reads and then deliver effective passes leading to open looks.

Miami shouldn’t have a big night on offense, of course shouldn’t depends on how the Tar Heels guard the Canes. Miami doesn’t shoot well from the perimeter, having converted just 28 percent from outside, but he Canes don’t attempt many, either, ranking just No. 210 in that department. They shoot off the dribble, drive the ball some, occasionally get stuff on the offensive glass and hit several threes per game. There's nothing that pops out about them offensively without Lykes in the lineup.

Thus, there isn’t anything Miami does on offense that should concern UNC, it’s just a matter of the Tar Heels being sound and not allowing much easy stuff. Carolina doesn’t have t be great offensively to win, especially if it’s better-than-solid on the other end of the floor. Be sound, and UNC should win the game.

The Tar Heels drained eight threes versus Notre Dame for the second consecutive game, as they hit eight at Georgia Tech last Wednesday. If that can become the norm moving forward, and the Heels remain more committed to getting as many touches in the post as possible, there’s a chance they could develop into a solid offensive team.

What’s promising is the percentages were high enough, too, as UNC was 16-43 from beyond the arc in those two games, which is 37.2 percent. Kerwin Walton hit seven of the treys, but Brooks had one in each of the last two games, Caleb Love, who was 4-for-34 before Atlanta, is 3-for-8 in the last two games, and Leaky Black hit one versus the Irish. He must occasionally hit one to make defenses honest.

RJ Davis is 2-for-9 and Andrew Platek is suddenly slumping from outside at 1-for-7 in the last two games and just 3-for-12 in the last four games. Better shooting outside makes UNC a better team.