COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball plays North Carolina on Saturday at the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans. Here's everything you need to know before tip-off:
GAME INFORMATION
Who: Ohio State (10-3) vs. No. 5 North Carolina (10-2).
When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans).
TV: CBS, with Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery and Allie LaForce on the call.
Latest line: North Carolina -6.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Ohio State: G C.J. Jackson (6-1, Jr., 13.0 ppg); G Musa Jallow (6-5, Fr., 4.2 ppg); F Jae'Sean Tate (6-4, Sr., 12.9 ppg); F Keita Bates-Diop (6-7, Jr., 18.2 ppg); C Kaleb Wesson (6-9, Fr., 12.2 ppg).
North Carolina: G Joel Berry (6-0, Sr., 17.1 ppg); G Kenny Williams (6-3, Jr., 13.2 ppg); F Theo Pinson (6-6, Sr., 8.6 ppg); F Luke Maye (6-7, Jr., 19.2 ppg); F Garrison Brooks (6-9, Fr., 6.8 ppg).
OHIO STATE BREAKDOWN
Ohio State has won five straight, and is coming off a 94-65 win over The Citadel on Tuesday. During this streak, the Buckeyes have wins over Wisconsin, Michigan, William & Mary, Appalachian State and The Citadel ... Ohio State is 1-2 all-time in the CBS Sports Classic with a win over Kentucky in 2015. The Buckeyes lost to UNC in 2014, and UCLA last year. Kentucky and UCLA will meet in the second game of this year's CBS Sports Classic ... A win for the Buckeyes would be their first six-game winning streak since opening last year 6-0 ... Ohio State has held every opponent under 70 points during its winning streak, and is No. 44 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency ... The Buckeyes are 2-11 all-time against North Carolina ... Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann has been wanting to see Ohio State's turnover number come down from being in 200s nationally. That number sits at 19.2 percent (No. 177 nationally) coming into Saturday ... Ohio State is No. 39 in the country in effective field goal percentage (55.7), and No. 27 in 2-point field percentage (57.0) ... Ohio State is 1-7 in its last eight games against ranked opponents.
NORTH CAROLINA BREAKDOWN
The Tar Heels, the defending national champions, are coming off a 79-75 loss to Wofford on Wednesday night that snapped a five-game winning streak. UNC's other loss this year is to Michigan State ... Saturday's game will be the 3,000th game in North Carolina basketball history. Only four other programs have played 3,000 games: Kansas, Washington State, Oregon State and Duke) ... UNC and Ohio State have two common opponents this year, Stanford and Michigan. Both the Tar Heels and Buckeyes are 2-0 against those teams... The Tar Heels are No. 15 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 19 in adjusted defensive efficiency. They're also among the best rebounding teams in the country, No. 16 in offensive rebounding percentage and No. 10 in opponent offensive rebounding percentage ... North Carolina beat Butler, then coached by Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year ... UNC junior forward Luke Maye is averaging a double-double (10.6 rebounds per game) and is fourth in the ACC in scoring.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Ohio State basketball links from the past few days:
* OSU nuggets: Chris Holtmann's history with UNC; curiosity about the Buckeyes
* Different vibe around Ohio State with North Carolina looming
PREDICTION
Bill's pick: North Carolina 71, Ohio State 68. This is my way of saying I think Ohio State can win without actually having the guts to pick that. It certainly doesn't help the Buckeyes that UNC is coming off an unexpected loss to Wofford. But OSU has played well in this event more often than it hasn't. The loss to UCLA last year was a bit lopsided, but this Ohio State team is playing better now than it was at any point last year.
I thought coming into the year that the Buckeyes had a surprising win or two in them (also a surprising loss or two). Neither has happened yet. They had openings for good wins against Butler and Clemson, and blew it. The roster is fragile, but while intact Ohio State has the ability to be a solid team if it can hold onto the ball. That showed in stretches in those losses to Butler and Clemson, and in the win over Michigan. North Carolina's guard play will put Ohio State's ball security to the ultimate test. In the end, I think UNC's depth, size and pressure will be too much. But I also don't think this Ohio State team is as far off as I thought it would be at this point of the season, so I think this one is at least close.