“Just to see how the last four minutes went. I mean, it kind of gave me flashbacks to how Baylor was a little bit (in the 2022 NCAA Tournament), just in terms of how much we were up and we could have extended the lead, and we had some slip-ups. … I think that film study was good for us because it allows us to grow and allows us to see where we were making mistakes, so that when it happens in March, we don’t make those mistakes again.” — UNC guard RJ Davis on Friday, discussing the Tar Heels’ review of their wobbly finish in Monday night’s victory against Miami.

Final Saturday Home Game: Carolina will play its last Saturday home game of the season this weekend when rival NC State visits the Smith Center. UNC has two of its last three games at home, hosting Notre Dame next in Tuesday night’s home finale, before playing at Duke in the March 9 regular-season finale. The Tar Heels are 12-1 at home this season, while the Wolfpack is 4-5 on the road.

UNC controls its own destiny atop the ACC standings, sitting in sole possession of first place with a 14-3 conference record. The Tar Heels are one game ahead of second-place Duke (13-4 ACC) and 2½ games ahead of third-place Virginia (12-6 ACC). The Tar Heels already have clinched at least a No. 2 seed and a double bye in this month’s ACC Tournament.

RJ Davis’ Blistering Bounce Back: RJ Davis, the ACC’s leading scorer, shot a season-worst 1-for-14 from the field (7.1 percent) in Carolina’s 54-44 win last weekend at Virginia. Davis was hounded by UVa guard Reece Beekman, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, that day at John Paul Jones Arena. That rough outing marked the first time since his sophomore season that he was held to one made field goal or less.

The standout senior Davis responded by breaking the Smith Center scoring record, erupting for a career-best 42 points in Carolina’s 75-71 defeat of Miami. Davis racked up 21 points by halftime, and poured in another 21 points during the second half. He connected on a career-high seven 3-pointers, burying four straight from long range in an explosive span of 3:12 later in the second half. He produced 15 of UNC’s final 17 points against the Hurricanes.

Davis’ outburst moved him into a tie with Brad Daugherty for 10th place on UNC’s all-time scoring list with 1,912 career points. Davis accounted for 56 percent of UNC’s 75 points against Miami, the highest percentage by one Tar Heel player since George Glamack accounted for 59.2 percent of Carolina’s scoring in a February 1941 game.

Looking at NC State: Much has changed for NC State and seventh-year coach Kevin Keatts since these two teams met 52 days ago at PNC Arena, and UNC won 67-54. Entering that Jan. 10 matchup, Carolina and NC State were unbeaten early on in ACC league play. Since then, NC State has trended in the wrong direction.

The Wolfpack has lost seven of its last 11 games and sits in a three-way tie for seventh place in the ACC standings, with Pittsburgh and Florida State. NC State has dropped games to Virginia Tech (84-78), Virginia (59-53), Pitt (67-64), Wake Forest (83-79) and lost twice to Syracuse during its current slide. The Wolfpack is coming off a 90-83 road loss Tuesday night at Florida State.

All three of NC State’s losses in non-conference play (Ole Miss, BYU and Tennessee) were to teams currently ranked or previously ranked in the AP Top 25. The Wolfpack’s lone victory over a high-major opponent in the non-conference portion came against Vanderbilt (84-78). NC State’s non-conference slate ranked No. 320 nationally per Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball database, the second-worst mark in the ACC behind only Pitt (No. 339).

DJ Horne Leads Scoring Charge: DJ Horne, the Arizona State transfer, has solidified himself as NC State’s top scoring threat this season. In his first year with the Wolfpack, he’s putting up a career-best 17.5 points per game, while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point territory (also a career-high). Horne’s efficient shooting beyond the arc is coming on more than seven attempts per game, and he has made at least one 3-pointer in all but two games this season. And in the month of February, he averaged 24.1 points per game.

Horne’s scoring average of 19.4 points per game in ACC league play this season ranks second only to RJ Davis (22.1 points per game in conference games). He led the Wolfpack in scoring in seven straight games across a stretch from late January to early February. His hot streak included a career-high 32 points in a home loss to Syracuse. But Horne’s increased scoring production has coincided with a drop in his playmaking numbers. After averaging 2.8 assists per game through the first 21 games of the season, he has dished out just five total assists in the last seven games (or 0.7 assists per game).

In the first meeting against UNC this season, Horne was held to six points on 2-of-16 shooting from the field. That remains the worst shooting percentage he has registered in a game this season. He went 0-for-3 from 3-point range that night at the Wolfpack’s home arena.

Wolfpack Shuffling Big Men: DJ Burns Jr. was held scoreless for just the second time in his five-year college career during NC State’s loss this week at Florida State. The only other time Burns failed to score occurred in January 2021 during his sophomore season at Winthrop. Burns played a season-low 12 minutes on Tuesday night against the Seminoles, missing his two field goal attempts and also failing to grab a rebound.

Burns, who is listed at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, was hindered defensively against the Seminoles due to their ability to stretch the floor and get out in transition. On exploiting Burns on the defensive end, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said after the game, “They say he’s 250 (pounds), 270 (pounds), but I don’t know what scales they’re using.” Despite playing a career-high 24.7 minutes per game this season, Burn has failed to reach his season average in playing time in eight of the last 13 games. Burns had 11 points against the Tar Heels in the first meeting this season. He quickly scored seven points during the first 11 minutes of that game. But after his strong start, Burns struggled in the second half, recording just four points.

Meanwhile, NC State 6-10 forwards Mohamed Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks combined for 25 points and 16 rebounds at Florida State. Diarra is playing his best basketball of the season. Across the last five games, he’s averaging just shy of a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He also has blocked seven shots and registered five steals during that stretch, shooting 19-of-32 from the field (59.4 percent), including 8-of-15 from 3-point distance. Diarra has led the Wolfpack in rebounding in four of the last five games, and eight of the last 12. He ranks fifth in conference action, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game in 17 ACC contests.

Series History: UNC leads the all-time series 165-80. The Tar Heels have won 37 of the last 43 matchups in the rivalry dating to January 2004. Carolina is 30-7 against the Wolfpack at the Smith Center, including 18-2 in the last 20 meetings.

Last Meeting: The Tar Heels defeated NC State 67-54 at PNC Arena about 7½ weeks ago. That victory was part of UNC’s 10-game winning streak, as the Tar Heels got out to a 9-0 start in ACC play.

RJ Davis led all scorers with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Fellow guard Elliot Cadeau added 11 points along with six assists. Harrison Ingram grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds, the most ever by a Tar Heel against NC State, and supplied nine points.