Johns Hopkins hosts North Carolina on Friday night in a matchup between teams still trying to answer an important question: How good can we be this season?

Both teams have shown flashes of brilliance this season, but missteps have hampered their ability to look too far ahead. 

For North Carolina, two overtime wins over Furman and Lehigh provided enough of a scare to cast some doubt as to how well the Tar Heels would fare against a top 20 team. Johns Hopkins opened its season with a commanding with over Towson, but failed to follow it up in a 12-5 loss to Charles Street rival Loyola.

The two games against crosstown foes may help Johns Hopkins in its preparation for North Carolina — having the ability to match up with high-quality Division I opponents. The Blue Jays will enter Homewood Field as the more battle-tested team.

NO. 13 NORTH CAROLINA AT NO. 15 JOHNS HOPKINS
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU

The Blue Jays are led by a veteran offense that includes Shack Stanwick, Kyle Marr and Joel Tinney. The trio combined for seven goals and six assists in the win over Towson, but had just a goal and an assist in the loss to Loyola.

The revamped Johns Hopkins defense looked strong against the Tigers, holding them to six goals on 40 shots with goalie Brock Turnbaugh turning in 13 saves. It struggled against Pat Spencer and Loyola, allowing 12 goals on the same number of shots.

For North Carolina, Chris Cloutier and sophomore Tanner Cook have been the stars of the offense. Cloutier leads the team with nine goals and four assists, and Cook sits in a tie for second with eight goals and an assist. Each has gone lacrosse viral with one-handed goals, helping fuel the nation’s fifth-leading offense.

Conversely, the defense had a tough time with both Furman and Lehigh. It sits 48th in Division, allowing 11.67 goals per game. North Carolina led by six goals against Furman and three over Lehigh before allowing both games to reach overtime.

It’s February and teams are still figuring out who and what they will be in 2018. Friday night’s game will give us a good glimpse of what both Johns Hopkins and North Carolina can do this season. Plus, it’s a chance for both teams to pick up a strong non-conference win come May.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 20 Princeton at No. 9 Virginia
  Saturday, 1 p.m., ESPN3
  
  Two programs with storied backgrounds will meet in an intriguing non-conference matchup Saturday — the 25th meeting between the teams. Virginia has already knocked off Loyola, Drexel and High Point, and will look to continue the momentum with another quality win in February. Princeton will have to answer after surviving a double-overtime test from Monmouth last week. 

• No. 11 Army at No. 18 Syracuse
  Saturday, 2 p.m., ACC Network Extra
  
  After being blown out by No. 3 Albany at the Carrier Dome last weekend, the Orangemen don’t get a break. In comes an Army team that has already beaten Rutgers and will look to top Syracuse for the second straight season. The Army defense ranks third in the nation in goals allowed per game, trailing Albany’s one game and Vermont.

• No. 9 Villanova vs. No. 16 Hofstra
  Saturday, 12 p.m., Pride Productions
  
  Is there a bigger story in lacrosse right now than Villanova? After knocking off Penn State on Feb. 3, the Wildcats followed it up with a win over then-No. 5 Yale at the Star in Frisco, Texas. Danny Seibel, the scorer of the game-winner against Yale, sits in a tie with Christian Cuccinello for the team lead in points with seven. But this time, Villanova is the higher ranked team when it faces a Hofstra program fresh off playing Ohio State tight last weekend.

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in ET. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV listing page, presented by Nationwide.

SATURDAY, FEB. 24

12 p.m. 

Lafayette at No. 10 Loyola (Patriot League Network)
Delaware at Monmouth
Robert Morris at No. 14 Penn State
Vermont at Quinnipiac (Quinnipiac)
Fairfield at No. 12 Rutgers (BTN Plus)
Georgetown at Towson (Lax Sports Network)

1 p.m. 

Drexel at No. 3 Albany (AmericaEast.tv)
Navy at Boston U (Patriot League Network)
Bucknell at No. 19 Colgate (Patriot League Network)
Richmond at No. 5 Notre Dame (ESPN3)

3 p.m.

No. 1 Duke at No. 17 Penn (ESPN3)

SUNDAY, FEB. 25

1 p.m.

No. 5 Ohio State at Jacksonville (CBS Sports Network)
Cleveland State at No. 4 Denver (DenverPioneers.com)