For the third time in school history, the University of Evansville is preparing for the nation's number one ranked basketball team. The 7-1 Purple Aces take on the 9-0 North Carolina Tar Heels Thursday at Chapel Hill. Tip-off is at 6:00 CST, and the game will be televised by ESPN.

The top 10 things to know...vs. North Carolina Dec. 18:

1. This will be the third time Evansville has played a team ranked number one in the AP poll. The others were Jan. 9, 1961 at Ohio State (86-59 OSU) and Jan. 26, 1980 at DePaul (105-94 DU). This is UE’s first game ever against North Carolina. It’s the second time that UE has faced a Roy Williams team. His 1998-99 Kansas squad beat Evansville 95-74 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at New Orleans.

2. Thursday’s game is the first of three in the series against the Tar Heels. There is no game next season. UNC comes to Evansville in 2010-11, and UE returns to Chapel Hill in 2011-12.

3. Evansville coach Marty Simmons has a link to North Carolina basketball. He played for the Indiana University team that ended Michael Jordan's UNC career in the 1984 NCAA East Regional at Atlanta, Ga., 72-68. Simmons transferred to Evansville after the 1984-85 season and played his final two years for the Aces.

4. At 7-1 overall, the Aces are off to their best start since the 1981-82 team won 10 of its first 11 and went on to capture the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth at the Division I level. The Aces are just two wins away from matching last season’s victory total.

5. Last Saturday’s 72-40 win over Western Kentucky produced the biggest winning margin since the Aces won by 36 (87-51) over Tennessee-Martin in 1999-00. It was the second time in two years, and only the second time since 1999-2000, that Evansville held an opponent to 40 points or less.

6. Senior forward Shy Ely is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the first such honor for UE since Jason Holsinger won it Dec. 26 of last year. Ely totaled 15 points and six rebounds in Wednesday’s 80-76 win over Eastern Illinois, and scored a game-high 26 on 10-for-14 shooting in Saturday’s 32-point win over Western Kentucky.

7. All three seniors had special games last week. Jason Holsinger scored a career-high 31 in Wednesday's 80-76 win over Eastern Illinois. Nate Garner produced the second double-double of his career in Saturday's win over WKU with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Shy Ely fell two points shy of his career high with 26 in Saturday’s win.

8. Jason Holsinger is 26th in UE career scoring with 1,164 career points. He needs 19 to pass Gus Doerner for 25th place. Next in line to join the 1,000-Point Club is Shy Ely, with 965 points.

9. Freshman Kaylon Williams came within striking distance of the second triple-double in UE history on Saturday with nine assists, eight rebounds and seven points in the 72-40 win over Western Kentucky.

10. Evansville has attempted more and made more free throws than the opposition in all eight games. For the season, the Aces are 154-for-209 from the line. Opponents are 79-for-128.

For a complete look at the UE-UNC game notes, go to the Game Notes link on the men's basketball page here at GoPurpleAces.com.