Northwestern vs. North Carolina: College Basketball Game Preview, TV Schedule, Prediction

TV Station: Monday, Nov. 23, 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Arena: Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO

Line: UNC (-11)

The formerly No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels fell to the Northern Iowa Panthers in a shock upset, but they should not be worried moving forward. There was practically no way that UNC was going to finish the season undefeated playing in the ACC anyway, so now they have a first loss under their belt to push them to win close games in the future.

Next up for North Carolina is a trip to Kansas City to face off with the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2015 Hall of Fame Classic.

Northwestern (3-0) was picked to finish No. 10 in the Big 10 in the preseason media poll. Despite their expectations to hover around the middle of the Big 10, however, the Wildcats were highly unimpressive in their last two games, where they barely defeated both the Columbia Lions and the Fairfield Stags. Bryant McIntosh is one of the most explosive player in the Big 10, but he cannot do it alone for the rest of the season.

North Carolina should have no problem rebounding from their loss with a big win over Northwestern. The Wildcats are significantly less talented, and the Tar Heels are smarting after losing this early in the season. I would not be surprised to see this UNC squad come out extremely aggressive and dominate from the opening tip.

Unless you are a die-hard UNC or Northwestern fan, you might want to switch over to ESPN for Monday Night Football, because this one should be an easy win for Roy Williams and Co.

Prediction: North Carolina 85, Northwestern 67

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.