North Carolina is back in Chapel Hill on Wednesday for one of the most important nonconference games on its schedule, as No. 10 Alabama visits the Smith Center for a 7:15 tipoff as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

The Tar Heels are coming off a four-game trip to Hawaii in which they went 2-2, including 1-2 in the Maui Invitational, and have now lost consecutive games. Those defeats came against No. 2 Auburn and Michigan State.

The Crimson Tide has played their last five games against power conference teams going 3-2 with losses at Purdue and to Oregon, and wins over Illinois, Houston, and Rutgers.

UNC was eliminated in last year’s NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 by Alabama.

Carolina is 4-3 and Bama is 6-2. The game will air on ESPN.

Here are our picks: