Tar Heels to Face Texas A&M

The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net at 9 p.m. EST.

The No. 14 Tar Heels (4-2) are coming off a 67-45 victory against Miami (Fla.) on Monday night. The Aggies

(3-3) blew out Lamar 83-60 on Tuesday.

Despite that win, Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins continues to have a tough time. Watkins left his job at UNC-Charlotte after the 1997-98 season -- and after leading the 49ers to back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament's second round -- to take over the helm with the Aggies.

He has posted a 23-38 mark since the move, and Texas A&M has had just one winning season in its past 11 tries.

But Watkins knows what it's like to coach against the Tar Heels and push them to the limit. His 1997-98 UNC-Charlotte team forced UNC to overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling 93-83.

Beating the Tar Heels then would have been an upset, but beating them Saturday might be an even bigger one.

The Aggies have already lost games to Virginia Commonwealth and Birmingham-Southern, and they defeated North Texas by just three points.

Only two players, shooting guard Bernard King (17.0 points per game) and forward Carlton Brown (14.7 ppg), average double figures in scoring.

North Carolina, meanwhile, enters the game with three players averaging more than 15 points per game. Sophomore guard Joseph Forte leads the way but has struggled with his shooting recently.

Forte is 16-for-46 from the field in his last three games. In UNC's victory against Miami, he failed to score at least 10 points for only the fifth time in 42 career games.

Center Brendan Haywood and power forward Kris Lang have carried the load inside for the Tar Heels. Haywood recorded the first triple-double (18 points, 14 rebounds, 10 blocks) in school history against Miami and is tied for third in the nation in blocked shots with 4.7 per game.

Lang has converted 25 of his last 39 field goal attempts (64.1 percent) in the last three games and is averaging 18.0 points per game during that span.