Appalachian State vs. North Carolina: TV Schedule, Live Streaming and More

There will be a reunion of sorts when the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (8-2) take the floor against the Jason Capel-led Appalachian State Mountaineers (4-5).

Capel played under former head coaches Bill Guthridge and Matt Doherty from 1998-2002 when he scored 1,447 points in 120 games and was a big part of the 2000 Final Four squad.

Exams for fall quarter are officially over for Carolina as they prepare to play their first of three games in the span of five days. Here’s everything you need to know about this out of conference matchup.

When: Saturday, December 17^th, 6:00 p.m. EST

Where: Dean E. Smith Center

Watch: ESPNU with announcers Rob Stone (play-by-play) and Jay Williams (analyst)

Listen: WCHL-AM 1360 in Chapel Hill and WCOG-AM in Greensboro

Live Stream: You can listen live online via the Tar Heels official website

Appalachian State Player to Watch: Jamaal Trice

The 6'6" junior has been struggling mightily since coming out of the gate on fire early in the season. After scoring 18, 19 and 27 in three consecutive games in November, Trice has only reached double digits in one of his teams five games since.

He is forcing the issue and too many turnovers are following. If he can ignore the raucous Tar Heel faithful and focus on getting to the rim without turning the ball over, then the Mountaineers have a shot.

North Carolina Player to Watch: John Henson

The junior center is coming off his best game of the season against Long Beach State, shooting 12-17 from the field en route to 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. The 24 points are a season high as the 6'11" Tampa native had his best game of the year.

Feeding Henson in the post early and often is going to be important against a team whose leading rebounder is a 6'4" guard.

Keys for Appalachian State Win: Don’t let the Tar Heels run

The Mountaineers are ranked 219^th in the nation in scoring, at 66.4 per game, and are 194^th in field goal percentage. In other words, this is an offensively challenged team.

If they let Kendall Hunter and Carolina get out on the break, it’s going to be over by halftime. With the sixth-best offense in the country (84.1 PPG), the Mountaineers are going to have their hands full.

Keys for North Carolina Win: Put the Mountaineers away early

It’s no secret this is a one-sided matchup and letting the visitors stay in the game for too long will only give them more confidence as the game rolls around.

With two more games in the next week still on tap, putting this one away early is a must.

Prediction:

It’s not a question of who wins, but by how much. The Tar Heels have to preserve energy for the grueling stretch on the horizon and need to really focus in the first half to ensure that happens. If they don’t take the Mountaineers seriously, they’ll have their hands full after half time.

I don’t see it happening.

Expect the Tar Heels to collect their 22^nd consecutive home win and 52^nd straight against non-conference opponents.

North Carolina 88 Appalachian State 61