Category Archives: UNC

Gritty Tar Heels rally but fail to hang on at No. 1 Kansas

A gritty North Carolina squad came from 20 points down but failed to score over the last two minutes while No. 1 Kansas scored five straight to win 92-89 at historic Allen Fieldhouse. (11/8)

Carolina trailed 51-31 late in the first half and went into the break down by 15. Then the Tar Heels picked up the defensive intensity, quickly getting the deficit under double digits.

The Kansas lead hovered in the eight to 11 range until the Heels went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to pull within a bucket at 77-75. A sweet turnaround jumper by Lubin and a three from the left corner by Jae’Lyn Withers highlighted the run.

Moments later a falling Withers got one to go in the lane to remarkably put the Tar Heels up 80-79 for UNC’s first lead since it was 10-7 early.

A Seth Trimble short shot inside off the backboard followed by a free throw by Jalen Washington put the surging Heels up 87-83 with 3:30 to go. But not much else went right for the Heels down the stretch as Withers, who had led the comeback, turned the ball over and missed a wide-open three from the right corner.

Meanwhile, Zeke Mayo scored in the lead to tie the game and Hunter Dickinson converted a contested layup to put the Jayhawks up for good at 91-89. Carolina had a chance to take the lead with 35 seconds to go but Washington was long on a three attempt from the right corner.

“I’m proud of them and their effort to get back in the game,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of his team. “They put our team into position to win the game.”

He credited the defense, which lowered the Jayhawks’ shooting percentage from 60 percent in the first half to 49 for the game and went from losing the rebound advantage by a lot to outrebounding Kansas 40-39.

“It showed the potential of this team,” Coach Davis said. “Our team is full of talented players who enjoy playing together… This team can go to the highest level.”

They’ll need better shooting from fifth-year senior star RJ Davis if they expect to reach their potential. Davis, who shot poorly in the season opener against Elon, was even worse in this game, going just three of 15 including just one of seven from beyond the arc.

Davis did score 16 points, mostly from the free throw line, as he was one of six Tar Heels in double figures. Trimble led the way with 19 points while Elliot Cadeau had 12 and Withers 11. Lubin and Ian Jackson each scored 10.

Mayo led the way for Kansas with 21 points while Dickinson finished with 20.

Carolina, 1-1, returns home to face American Friday, Nov. 15.

For a boxscore and more on the game, please click here.

UNC Football’s Final Month Ahead – Could 8-4 record save Mack Brown?

The prospects for a North Carolina football freefall have been averted following a pair of dominant victories to snap a four-game losing skid, although the state of the football program remains in question as the Tar Heels enjoy their final bye week before closing out the 2024 regular season. Would a five-game winning streak and an 8-4 record be enough to secure another season at the helm for Mack Brown? Please click here for more.

UNC Tar Heels wrestler suspended from team, charged in felony assault of fellow student

University of North Carolina wrestler Jace Palmer turned himself in to Chapel Hill police late Wednesday afternoon to face assault charges after punching another student, records show. Robbi Pickeral Evans, UNC senior associate athletic director, said in an email statement that Palmer has been suspended from the wrestling team. Please click here for more.

Dean Smith is a North Carolina icon. In his native Emporia, Kansas, he remains an ideal

It has been a long time since Dean Smith’s boyhood years in Emporia, Kansas, but in some ways his hometown looks like it must’ve looked when he grew up there. Commercial Street still looks straight out of the 1940s or 50s, just with a few more empty storefronts. Around a corner the old Emporia High School is the same as it ever was from the outside — a stately and beautiful three-story brick building; a classic old school — though the inside has long been abandoned. Please click here for more.

Duke women’s soccer looks to defeat UNC for third time this season in ACC tournament

The Blue Devils open the ACC tournament against North Carolina Thursday at 8 p.m. in Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park. The Tobacco Round showdown comes just seven days after the Halloween thriller where Duke routed the Tar Heels 3-2, defeating them for the second time this season. Please click here for the Duke perspective and please click here for the UNC perspective.

Davis, Cadeau help Heels avoid scare, beat Elon 90-76

Heavy underdog Elon erased a 16-point first-half deficit to take a two-point lead late but fifth-year senior RJ Davis and sophomore Elliot Cadeau led the Tar Heels on a 21-5 run to give North Carolina a 90-76 win in Chapel Hill. (11/4)

In the season opener, Davis tied the scored at 71 with a long floater and then drilled the three from the right corner to put Carolina up 74-71. The Heels never trailed again as Cadeau helped extended the lead with a three, a steal, a free throw and and a driving layup.

Davis scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the last seven minutes of the game.

“He stepped up,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of Davis. “He’s been in so many situations where he’s been needed to step up.”

Davis had started the game cold and ended seven of 19 from the floor but he sank all seven of his free throws and added seven assists and seven rebounds.

There were stretches where the Tar Heels played well and other stretches where they didn’t and it started at the start. The Heels hit six of their first 10 shots but then missed nine of their next 10 shots as Elon took a 19-17 lead at the second TV timeout. The Heels got hot again during a 16-5 run that gave Carolina a 42-16 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

The Tar Heels led 51-39 at the break, with Seth Trimble scoring 12 of his 15 points and Jae’lyn Withers scoring all 10 of his points.

The lead held between eight and 12 points most of the second half until Elon went on a 14-2 run, led by a pair of threes from Nick Dorn, which gave the Phoenix a 71-69 lead with 6:48 to play.

That’s when Davis, who was on the bench during the Elon outburst, and Cadeau took over. “It was good for us to see how we’d react,” Coach Davis said. “I’m proud of how they responded. But we’ve got to work to get better.”

Coach Davis said his team missed some layups and wasn’t making the easy play. In addition, defensively, he wanted to hold Elon to under 40 percent shooting and the Phoenix hit 42 percent and he wanted to outrebound the opponent by 10 or more and the Heels only outrebounded the visitors by three.

Cadeau added, “Our shot selection wasn’t the best and we didn’t take care of the ball very well I learned that we’re not as good as we should be.”

Carolina, 1-0, got double figures from four starters – Davis, Cadeau, Trimble and Withers – and eight points from the fifth starter – Jalen Washington. TJ Simpkins came off the bench to lead Elon with 18 points.

For a box score and more on the game, please click here.

College athletes are getting paid and fans are starting to see a growing share of the bill

Winning at big-time college sports has never been free, but in a rapidly changing era in which players are allowed to earn money and be paid by their own schools, it has never been clearer that fans will be picking up a bigger part of the tab. Nels Popp, a University of North Carolina sports-business professor, weighs in. Please click here for more.