After decommitting from North Carolina earlier Tuesday, Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School three-star quarterback Zaid Lott has a new home: Syracuse. Please click here for more.
Category Archives: UNC
UNC’s Alyssa Ustby, who missed senior day, gets her home finale in win over WVU
Tar Heels’ fifth-year forward Alyssa Ustby ended a 58-47 win against West Virginia, standing atop the scorer’s table and yelling toward the cheering home fans and applauding from above the court. It was the perfect send-off for a player who had missed her scheduled home finale due to injury, then made good on a second shot in March Madness. Please click here for more.
Michael Jordan Opens Another Free Health Clinic in Wilmington
Hall of Fame former Chicago Bulls and UNC legend Michael Jordan, a billionaire several times over, continues to give back to the community in a big way. Per Randy Aldridge of The North Carolina Medical Society, the 14-time All-Star shooting guard is opening up a whopping fourth free healthcare clinic to help give medical access to uninsured and/or generally underserved people in his native North Carolina. Please click here for more.
Duke favored over Carolina in women’s basketball tourney
Duke and North Carolina will tip things off in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday at Legacy Arena. The two in-state rivals split their regular season series. Please click here for more.
Tar Heels click in NCAA tourney, show they belong
North Carolina showed all those with UNC Derangement Syndrome that the Tar Heels belong in the NCAA Tournament as they were locked in during a 95-68 romp over San Diego State in a game that wasn’t even that close. (3/18)
The Tar Heels, who led by as many as 40 points, figured to have a tough go against a taller team that leads the nation in defensive field goal percentage. But it was the Carolina defense that set the tone and fast break buckets and three-pointers followed as the Heels poured it on.
Up just 13-11 after turning the ball over seven times, Carolina went on a 20-2 run over six minutes to take command of the game at 33-13. During that stretch Drake Powell and Jae’lyn Withers both swished threes and Eliott Cadeau had a couple off flashy assists and a spinning drive of his own to the hoop.
“Our defense was real, especially in the first half,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “We did a good job defending the paint and then getting out in transition…
“This group is getting better – our confidence is growing.”
RJ Davis, playing in his final NCAA Tournament, made it one to remember as he hit all six off his three-point shots and finished with a game-high 26 points, including a three at the first-half buzzer to give the Heels their largest lead to that point at 47-23.
Carolina kept the up-and-down offense and stingy defense going in the second half working the lead up to 40 at 82-42 following Davis’ final three of the game with 7:32 to go. Soon thereafter Coach Davis started taking the starters out as the Heels settled for a 29-point win.
“We know we deserved to be here,” said UNC’s Seth Trimble, who scored 16 points. “We’re not sending a message to anybody else. We hear what people say but it doesn’t make any difference.”
The three-point shot made a difference for the Heels as they hit 14 of 24 for their best three-point percentage in a game this season. Carolina also outrebounded the Aztecs 39-28. After turning the ball over seven times in the first six minutes of the game, UNC turned it over just four more times over the last 34 minutes of the game.
“We have focused guys,” Coach Davis said. “It doesn’t surprise me that they had one of their best games of the year.”
The other two Tar Heels in double figures were Ven-Allen Lubin, who had 12 points, and Jaylen Withers, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The 11th seeded Heels, now 23-13, advance to play No. 6 seed Ole Miss Friday at 4 p.m.
Duke women’s basketball on a crash course with UNC for the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament
When it comes to Duke’s rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels, it isn’t just about one sport, although men’s basketball will certainly take the cake for ratings and such. The women’s basketball side of the rivalry saw a split in its two regular season games, each team winning on their home court. Please click there for more.
Data indicates that North Carolina is actually under-seeded in the NCAA Tournament
While it feels like the entire country is against the UNC basketball program making the NCAA Tournament, the data drawn by Evan Miyakawa seems to indicate that North Carolina is actually underseeded in this year’s bracket. Please click here for more.
Bill Belichick Lands Highest-Rated UNC Recruit Yet in Flip From SEC Program
In another recruiting coup for Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels, four-star defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to North Carolina. Please click here for more.
FT, mental error ends Heels’ comeback as Duke prevails
North Carolina rallied from 24 points down on rival Duke and had a chance to take the lead at the foul line with four seconds left. Then, the absolute worst things that could happen happened and the Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils 74-71 in the ACC Tournament semi-finals. (3/14)
Down 72-71, Carolina’s Ven-Allen Lubin drew a foul and went to the free throw line with a good chance to win it. Lubin, who had made all four of his free throws earlier in the game, missed the first of two free but he still had a chance to hit the second and possibly send the game into overtime. He indeed hit what would have been the tying free throw but an over-anxious Jae’lyn Withers moved his foot into the lane for a violation that negated the free throw.
Carolina was forced to foul and Duke’s best free throw shooter – Kon Knueppel – got the ball on the inbounds, was fouled and hit two free throws to make it 74-71. With a couple of seconds left, the Tar Heels were unable to get the ball to RJ Davis and big man Lubin had to heave up a three at the buzzer that wasn’t close. Duke, playing without best player Cooper Flagg, had survived.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Knueppel said. “Obviously we were pretty happy they didn’t get a chance to tie it.”
Earlier, it looked as if it would be a runaway as Duke scored the last 15 points of the first half over the last 4:40 and took a commanding 45-24 halftime lead. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 52-28 before the Tar Heels started their comeback.
Over the next seven minutes, Carolina shaved 10 points off the Duke lead but still trailed by 14. In the final eight minutes, the Tar Heels made some defensive stops and attacked the basket often, absolutely dominating the No. 1 team.
A 24-7 run during that time pulled the Heels within a point when Seth Trimble converted two free throws with 32 seconds left to make it 72-71, setting up the disastrous finish.
An emotional Withers left the court with a towel over his head and teammates consoling him. For his part, UNC coach Hubert Davis wouldn’t directly address the play. He was asked a question about lifting Withers’ spirits. “It’s all of our spirits because we’re a team,” Coach Davis said. “When we win we win together and when we lose we lose together.”
He also wouldn’t directly answer questions about whether or not his team had done enough to make the NCAA Tournament. He noted that the Tar Heels had been asked about being on the bubble for more than a month during which time the players have been focused on becoming the best team it can. “We’ve been playing must-win games for a month and we’ve played our best basketball. That’s pretty cool.”
In this game, Carolina’s recent three-point barrage ended. The Tar Heels, who have been averaging 11 threes a game late in the season, managed only three – and they were all from a surprising source, Elliot Cadeau, who was saddled virtually the entire game in foul trouble. As a result, Cadeau played less than 27 minutes but still scored 15 points, dished out five assist and picked off a pair of steals.
While the Heels were cold from outside, Lubin picked it up in the paint with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last five games. “He has been consistently high level for a while, giving us that inside presence we need,” Coach Davis said.
The other two Tar Heels in double figures were Seth Trimble with 14 points and Drake Powell with 10.
The Heels, now 22-13, must wait until Sunday at 6 p.m. to find out if they did enough to make the NCAA Tournament.
Even if Duke doesn’t win the ACC Tournament title Saturday night, the Devils are likely to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils, now 30-3, had five players in double figures with Knueppel leading the way with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
Tar Heels survive officials, Wake Forest in physical ACC Tourney win
North Carolina found itself it an ugly, physical battle against Wake Forest but came through with a game-ending 11-2 run to give the Tar Heels a 68-59 ACC Tournament win, sending the Heels to a semi-final game against Duke. (3/13)
Officials, who decided to put away the whistles for long stretches at a time, lost control of the game as one Wake player purposely tripped an opponent, opposing players tangled up for double fouls and the Carolina bench picked up a technical after an obvious foul went uncalled. All the while the crowd and both benches were arguing non-calls or ticky-tac calls after more obvious infractions.
This all led to no flow to the game as both teams went multiple minutes without field goals. At one stretch in the second half, North Carolina went nearly 11 minutes between baskets.
An RJ Davis three with just over 15 minutes to go put the Tar Heels up by seven at 45-38 but Carolina failed to score another field goal until Jae’lyn Withers stroked a three from the left corner to put the Heels up 57-56 with 4:34 to go.
A controversial foul on Jaylen Washington that the Tar Heels felt should have been called on Efton Reed led to a free throw by Reed that tied the game at 57. That’s when Davis and Ven-Allen Lubin took over. During the run, Lubin slammed down two dunks and hit a free throw while Davis swished a three and hit two three throws.
“We were in these types of situations earlier in the year and we weren’t able to be stronger. We were able to do that today,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, who added that his team has shown tremendous growth during the season. “I’m so proud of how they’ve stayed together and how they have committed to stay the course with perserverance.”
Lubin picked up his second double-double in a row with his two late dunks as he finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. After the game he said that it was exciting to attack the rim on those dunks at the end but he admitted to being frustrated that he picked up four fouls during the game. The implication was that those battling him didn’t get in foul trouble. “So long as it’s physical and fair, I can rock with it,” he said.
In what could have been his last game as a Tar Heel after five years had Carolina fallen, Davis had one of his better games of the season as he led the Heels with 23 points, hitting five of six threes.
The rest of the team didn’t shoot particularly well. In fact, Carolina’s 33.9 percent from the floor was the team’s worst outing of the season. Seth Trimble was the third and final Tar Heel to score in double figures with 10 points but he was only one of six from the field as his scoring game from the free throw line where he was eight of nine.
Carolina started the game scoring on only four of its first 20 shots but the Tar Heels still somehow managed to rally from a 14-3 deficit to take a 33-31 lead at the half on a tip-in by Trimble.
There were 10 lead changes in the second half and Wake had chances to extend leads but the Deacons missed all 10 of their three-point shots in the second half.
“Whenever they scored, we needed to score,” said Wake coach Steve Forbes. “Our defensive effort was off the charts but when you only hit two threes in 22 attempts, it’s tough.”
Wake’s Hunter Sallis, an all-ACC pick two years in a row, led all scorers with 25 points but he also turned the ball over a game-high five times.
Carolina, now 22-12, plays Duke for the third time this season in the ACC Tournament semi-finals Friday at 7 p.m. A win could punch the Heels ticket to the NCAAs but with a loss Carolina must sit and wait, hoping for other teams around the country to lose.
No. 4 seed Wake Forest, who could still get a bid to the NCAAs or the NIT, falls to 21-11.