There’s not a lot leaking about the Duke coaching search but The Athletic seems to have a pretty good take on who the realistic candidates are. Defensive coordinators for NC State, Penn State and Ohio State are on the list. Please click here for more.
Cane’s Aho ties it in the final seconds, but Carolina falls in overtime
Despite outshooting the New York Islanders 43-16, the Carolina Hurricanes suffered a 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. However, a point in the standings could make all the difference at the end of the season. Please click here for more.
Which bowl games will NC State, North Carolina and Duke play in?
None of the ACC’s Triangle teams – NC State, North Carolina or Duke – will play in this weekend’s ACC championship game. However, the outcome of No. 4 Florida State (12-8, 8-0 ACC) against No. 14 Louisville (10-2, 7-1 ACC) will influence where the Triangle teams will play during bowl season. Please click here for more.
Middle Creek, Green Hope volleyball take first and second in final statewide top 25
Middle Creek, even without its best player, came out on top of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A volleyball championship — more than enough reason to take home the No. 1 spot in the final HighSchoolOT statewide top 25 rankings. Green Hope, the 4A East runner-up to Middle Creek, was second, followed by fellow 4A East team Chapel Hill in third. Kings Mountain, the 3A champ, was fourth followed by Cardinal Gibbons in fifth. Please click here for more.
NC State quarterback MJ Morris departs program
One of the biggest questions of the offseason was answered Thursday with redshirt freshman quarterback MJ Morris set to enter the transfer portal. Morris’ move will likely lead NC State to go after at least two different quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal. Please click here for more.
Max Johnson, Texas A&M QB Transfer, Can ‘Thrive’ in Tar Heel System
Former Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson committed to North Carolina on Wednesday after entering the college football transfer portal earlier this week. The graduate signal-caller started the 2023 season as a backup and struggled to lead the Aggies offense in five games as a starter after Conner Weigman’s injury. However, 247Sports’ Clint Brewster has a feeling Johnson can thrive in Chapel Hill. Please click here for more.
Duke loses to Arkansas in ACC-SEC Challenge
Arkansas played without its leading scorer Wednesday night, but it was No. 7 Duke that lacked a scoring punch. With Tramon Mark sidelined, Arkansas pulled away from cold-shooting Duke behind Khalif Battle’s 21 points and beat the Blue Devils, 80-75, at Bud Walton Arena. Please click here for more.
Tar Heels top No. 10 Tennessee 100-92
North Carolina raced out to a big lead at home against Tennessee and hung on to top the 10th ranked Volunteers 100-92 in Chapel Hill. (11/29)
The Tar Heels blitzed the country’s top defensive team in the first half with 15-2 and 12-2 runs to get up by as many as 23 points and finishing the first half up 61-39.
“I liked our pace offensively,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of the first half efficiency. “We pushed the ball in transition. We were really fast and got layups and dunks and wide open threes. And we got to the free throw line.”
Carolina shot 58 percent in the first half from the floor and 100 percent from the foul line, hitting all 16 of its free throws.
“That first half was some of the best basketball I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve been here,” Coach Davis said.
In the second half, he got to see some of the best basketball by an opposing player as Dalton Knecht hit eight of his nine second-half shots to help pull the Volunteers from 24 points down to just six at 92-86 with 1:39 to go.
Knecht’s 37 points tied Lionel Simmons of Lasalle (1988) for the Smith Center record for an opposition player’s scoring.
“Dallas Knecht is a lottery pick,” Coach Davis said. “He has size and the ability to score. We didn’t have anybody who could stop him.”
Tennessee cut the lead to eight with just over eight minutes to go and UNC’s RJ Davis responded with a driving layup to get it back to double figures. Then a minute later, with the lead down to seven, Davis responded again with a three from the left wing to once again stretch the lead to double figures.
“I know this team relies on me,” Davis said. “I have confidence in times like those.”
In addition to Knecht’s heroics, Coach Davis attributes the game getting closer to a lack of discipline defensively that led to fouling and the inability to get and take the shots the Heels had in the first half.
RJ Davis led Carolina with 27 points while Armando Bacot had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Harrison Ingram finished with 20. Cormac Ryan, who fouled out, contributed 15 to be the fourth Tar Heel in double figures.
Freshman Elliott Cadeau had only five points but he dished out 10 assists against no turnovers.
The Tar Heels, now 6-1, host Florida State in the first ACC clash on Saturday at 2 pm.
For a box score and more on the game, please click here.
Sports betting won’t start in North Carolina before Super Bowl
Sports bettors in North Carolina won’t be able to legally bet on the 2024 Super Bowl in the state from their mobile devices. North Carolina Lottery Commission chairman Ripley Rand made the announcement at the end of Wednesday’s commission meeting. Please click here for more.
Beginning in 2025-2026, NC high schools will double the number of classifications from four to eight
The N.C. High School Athletic Association will move to eight classifications beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. During the NCHSAA Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to adopt a recommendation from the realignment ad hoc committee to move to eight classifications in the next realignment. Please click here for more.