NC State basketball is making some noise at the 2024 ACC Tournament. Needing to win the ACC championship to secure a bid in the NCAA Tournament, the Wolfpack, led by DJ Horne, kept those hopes alive with a 74-69 win against reigning ACC champion Duke on Thursday at Capital One Arena. Please click here for more.
Sticky D, fastbreak offense lead Heels over FSU
There was no letdown for North Carolina after an emotional win at Duke as the No. 1 seeded Tar Heels used an aggressive defense to run past Florida State 92-67 in the ACC Tournament. (3/14)
“Everybody knows their role,” said UNC’s Elliott Cadeau, who had eight points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. “We have good chemistry. We’re a good team.”
Carolina not only controlled the boards (47-20 rebounds) but the Tar Heels had a season-high 26 fastbreak points.
Armando Bacot, who scored 12 of his points 14 in the first half, pounded the offensive boards in the first half to help Carolina open up a game that was only 20-19 UNC with eight minutes to go in the opening stanza.
It was ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, however, who spearheaded a 12-0 run late in the first half. First he came up with a steal that led to a run-out layup and then half a minute later he drilled a transition three.
After a battling Bacot layin – following the Heels getting multiple chances on the possession – Carolina led by 19 at 46-27.
A 10-2 Tar Heel run over just two minutes early in the second half gave Carolina its biggest lead to that point at 62-41 following a Davis swished transition three with 14:34 left in the game.
The lead got as high as 27 on several occasions with the first coming on a Jae’Lyn Withers three from the right wing with 3:54 to go which made it 84-57.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said the Tar Heels got going once they increased the pace. “It was one of our most complete games of the season,” he said, noting that the rebounding and speedy UNC guards led to the Heels getting opportunities off the break.
Davis led four Tar Heels in double figures with 18 points. Bacot and Cormac Ryan each scored 14 while Seth Trimble came off the bench to score 12, including a poster-worthy dunk down the lane.
Florida State was led by Primo Spears 17 points.
The Tar Heels improve to 26-6 overall, and advance to tomorrow’s matchup with either Wake Forest or Pitt.
For a box score, a highlight video and more on the game, please click here.
‘RJ, you f*cker, I wanna kill you’ – silence is deafening
Duke coach Jon Scheyer completely ignored water bottles and debris being thrown at players but pleaded for the same group of students to accept his apology for the performance of his team. The optics of this are horrible. What could be worse? Death threats without consequences. Some are saying the heckler says, “I’m gonna kill you” rather than “I wanna kill you.” Listen for yourself. Please click here for more.
NC State pulls away in shootout win over Louisville
NC State flirted with adversity but senior guards Michael O’Connell and Casey Morsell came up big to lead the Wolfpack a 94-85 win over Louisville on Tuesday in the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C. Morsell had his second biggest scoring game of the season with 25 points and he made all 13 free throws to lead the way. He helped offset the explosive performance by Louisville sophomore guard Skyy Clark, who erupted for seven three-pointers and 36 points. Please click here for more.
Blue Devils going after their own Crazies
Duke sports website had this to say about the Cameron Crazies following their latest antics against Carolina: After we heard some of what was said, amazingly, we had to side with those players – against you. Our reaction would have been much the same. You can’t treat people that way. You just can’t. Those guys, to their credit, kept their composure and responded only after they won the game. Please click here for more.
DJ Horne is a Game-time Decision for NC State vs. Louisville
All-ACC Guard DJ Horne is a game-time decision for NC State against Louisville this afternoon in the 1st Round of the ACC Tournament. Tip-off is schedule for 4:30 following the Georgia Tech-Notre Dame matchup. Please click here for more.
Colt Langdon of Millbrook named district basketball player of the year
Joining Langdon on the first team are Isaac Ericksen (Green Level), Nathan Fife (Sanderson), Chris Uwayo (Panther Creek) and Will James Jr. (Holly Springs). The Coach of the Year is John Green of Green Level. Please click here for more.
RJ Davis, ACC Player of the Year, Delivering on Roy Williams’ Hunch
As North Carolina’s final home game of the season came to an end last week and standout guard RJ Davis headed off the court at the Smith Center, he made a special stop before disappearing down the tunnel to the Tar Heels’ locker room. There was retired coach Roy Williams, the UNC luminary who Davis played under early on in his college career, waiting with a hug. Please click here for more.
Duke ‘Crazies’ Throw Drinks, Gum Balls At North Carolina Players Following Loss
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that North Carolina players were excited when the clock hit zero, rushing out onto the court to celebrate the win, but also give a little bit of that taunting back to the Duke student section. This is when things took a turn, leading to students throwing drinks, cups and even a gumball at North Carolina players. Please click here for more.
Ryan leads Heels over Duke for ACC title
After six seasons in college, Cormac Ryan had the game of his life by scoring a career-high 31 points, including six threes, to lead North Carolina to an ACC regular season title with an 84-79 at rival Duke. (3/9)
“I love to play in these environments,” Ryan said. “This game meant a lot to us. We didn’t want to share the title with anyone… Winning outright in this building is something special.”
Ryan set the tone early by swishing three triples in the first four minutes to force Duke to take a timeout with the Tar Heels up 15-4.
The Heels extended the lead to 15 on three different occasions in the first half. A Jalen Washington dunk made it 21-6. An Elliott Cadeau layup high off the backboard made it 27-12 and an RJ Davis three put the Heels up 30-15.
Duke didn’t go away, getting threes from McCain and Proctor to help the Blue Devils cut the halftime margin to nine at 40-31.
A quick Duke spurt at the beginning of the second half, led by Kyle Filipowski, who scored seven points in less than two minutes, put the Blue Devils right back in the game. After Jeremy Roach hit a three from the top of the key, the Tar Heels led by just one at 43-42 with 16:55 still left in the game.
But the resilient Tar Heels went on a quick 9-1 run of their own to get back control of the game with a 52-43 lead. Highlighting the run was an old-fashioned three-point play by Armando Bacot, who backed in, scored and was fouled.
The lead hovered around six to 10 points most of the remainder of the game. A long two by Cadeau at the end of the shot clock with 40 seconds left seemed to wrap it up at 80-72. But Duke scored seven points in 35 seconds to make it close at the end.
Carolina game hero Ryan hit four straight free throws late in the game to help keep Duke at bay.
“We competed and fought,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “We had the will, the effort, the want-to, everything you have to have to win a game like this on the road against Duke. I really wanted our guys to be ACC champions alone and they are.”
Harrison Ingram, the other starting transfer player, was the only other Tar Heel in double figures as he scored 14 points and pulled in 10 rebounds.
Duke, who end the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and a 15-5 mark in the ACC, was led by Filipowski’s 23 points and Jared McCain’s 19 points.
“We took some tough shots that led to them getting some run outs,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, adding that the Devils may have gotten caught up in the senior day activities. “We’re hurt and disappointed but our guys always respond.” He said he expects his team to regroup and be refreshed for the ACC Tournament.
The Tar Heels improve to 25-6 overall and 17-3 in the ACC. Carolina goes into next week’s ACC Tournament in Washington, DC as the No. 1 seed. With that, they’ll face the winner of the 8 vs. 9 game at noon on Thursday, March 14.
For a box score and more on the game, please click here.