UNC Basketball: What's on the Line for Tar Heels vs. Ohio State?

Ten games into this season, North Carolina still hasn't shown whether it's going to be a good team, a great team or one that struggles all year long. It's actually been all those things, unable to pick an outfit to wear out on the town and instead remains stuck in front of the mirror.

So consider Saturday's game against No. 12 Ohio State—in the CBS Sports Classic at Chicago's United Center—yet another dress rehearsal where we can only hope to start getting an idea of what the Tar Heels will look like in 2014-15.

"We do have a lot of things we've got to work on," UNC coach Roy Williams Thursday said during a press conference, per Andrew Carter of the Raleigh News & Observer.

Improving in areas like rebounding, shot selection and pace are only part of what's on the line for Carolina against Ohio State. It's also a key chance to develop an identity, in front of a large crowd (that likely will be very slanted toward OSU and Kentucky, which faces UCLA in the opening game of the doubleheader) and against another team still trying to figure itself out. 

Williams had expectations and hopes for this group coming into the season, but a lot of things were uncertain, dependent on how individual players would perform and how the team as a whole would work alongside each other. Much of that hasn't been there, which has prompted the coach to look at becoming more of a dictator than a pal.

Powell Latimer of the Greensboro News & Record noted as much following Williams' comments Thursday about his nice-guy approach not seeming to work.

Ohio State provides a perfect opportunity to try a new approach, because the Buckeyes might be feeling far better about themselves than they should. Their 9-1 record includes six victories against teams with RPIs of 100 or worse, according to CBS Sports. The lone loss came in their only clash with a Top 50 team, losing 64-55 at Louisville on Dec. 2 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

That was the same night UNC lost at home, to Iowa, only a few days after returning from the Bahamas with solid wins over Florida and UCLA (but also an unsettling loss to Butler) under its belt.

UNC—which has an RPI of 26, one ahead of Ohio State—is 5-1 against sub-100 teams thanks to the Iowa loss, while 2-2 against those in the top 100. Not exactly the resume of a team that was picked to finish second in the ACC behind Duke at the annual "Operation Basketball" media event.

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Ohio State is one of the best shooting teams in the country, hitting 53.7 percent overall and 41.8 percent from three-point range. Much of that might have to do with its opponents, but it will also mean UNC's field goal defense will get tested. The numbers say the Heels are good in this area, holding foes to 35.6 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively, but Kentucky made 56.3 and 46.7 percent in last week's 16-point victory.

That prompted Williams to say "we can cure a lot of peoples' 3-point woes," per John Clay of Kentucky.com.

UNC doesn't want to be that team that opponents see on the schedule and consider one that can be used as a confidence-builder, or a chance to turn things around. That's where things are headed, though, and if Ohio State gets to the line at a better rate than it has to this point, the trend of the Heels being an opponent elixir will continue.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.