“On Tuesday, Josh Hamilton realized the talent projected for him when he was made the first overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft: He was named the American League’s MVP.”
That’s how sportswriter Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News starts his article which examines how the Raleigh native won the award and what might be next.
North Carolina is fighting for a berth in the Music City Bowl while Duke is considering the finale at home against the Heels as their bowl game.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe said that the last game a team plays leaves “a little taste in your mouth that lasts.” He said through recruiting and into Spring practice it stays fresh in your mind.
“It certainly kicks off the offseason the way you would like it to be kicked off,” he said, especially if the last victory comes against chief rival North Carolina.
“I think it’s a great tradition, one of the better traditions in college football,” Cutcliffe said of the rivalry and the winning team getting the Victory Bell. “We just need to recreate a rivalry by playing well at Duke and winning a few of these ball games.”
Carolina has won 19 of the last 20 meetings, losing 30-22 in 2003 in Chapel Hill. Duke hasn’t beaten the Tar Heels at home since 1988.
UNC coach Butch Davis said that Cutcliffe has improved the Blue Devils team every year. “Statistically they’re better, athletically they’re better, and fundamentally and schematically they’re a better football team,” he said.
On top of the challenge from Duke, Davis said that losing two games in a row has been disappointing. “Emotionally and psychologically this will put our football team very much to the test of just bouncing back and playing to the very best of our ability this week,” he said.
North Carolina, behind Tyler Zeller who hit his first seven baskets and ended with a career-high 23 points, got out to a commanding 22 point-lead but saw UNC-Asheville pull within six late before wrapping up an 80-69 win at home.
The Tar Heels had their best free throw shooting game of the year (74 percent) and it was needed. Carolina hit eight of its last 10 free throws over the last three minutes to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
The 7-foot Zeller looked like a man among boys against UNC-Asheville as did John Henson, who led the team in rebounding and recorded his third double-double of the young season. Coach Williams said Henson, who many had figured to go pro early, needs to focus more on being a Dennis Rodman-type player than a Magic Johnson-type player. If so, maybe the sophomore will stay around at least through his junior year.
For a game story, please click here.
T.J. Graham, the junior N.C. State wide receiver, has been honored as the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Specialist of the week.
Graham had a milestone afternoon for the Wolfpack. He gave State its first lead of the game with an 87-yard punt return a minute into the fourth quarter. That return tied for the third-longest punt return in school history.
Graham also returned five kickoffs for 100 yards, giving him a new school record for career kickoff-return yards with 2,073. He finished the game with 188 yards in total return yardage.
Most experts and casual observers would expect the UNC women’s team to have a better chance in the NCAA tournament than the men’s team. But the men are still playing while the women lost at home to Notre Dame, 4-1, Saturday in Chapel Hill.
It was one of the most decisive, if not the most decisive defeat in UNC history. Carolina hadn’t given up four goals in a game since 1980 and haven’t lost by more than a goal since 1985.
“I thought they completely outfought us in the first half and they deserved to be in a dominant position going into the second half,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. “I thought we tried to come back in the second half, but they counterattacked well and we just couldn’t seem to get anything past their defense and their goalkeeper.”
UNC, the two-time defending champion, saw its season end at 19-3-2.
The fourth-seeded men’s team North Carolina battled Georgetown to a scoreless tie through 110 minutes today but won a 5-4 penalty shootout to advance to the third round of the NCAA tourney.
With the shootout tied at 2-2, UNC goalie Scott Goodwin stopped Seth C’deBaca’s low shot to the right to put Carolina in control.
UNC’s Jalil Anibaba and Enzo Martinez scored before Alex Walters popped the winning goal inside the left post.
Carolina advances to take on Michigan State in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Fetzer Field.
Field Hockey: North Carolina’s 2010 field hockey season ended today at Maryland’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in the NCAA Championship game. But the Tar Heels stretched the campaign out just about as long as possible, playing through the better part of two overtime periods before the top-ranked Terrapins scored the game winner to claim the program’s seventh NCAA title on their home field.
Sophomore Megan Frazer’s goal with 2:10 remaining in the second overtime gave Maryland a 3-2 win, reversing the score by which UNC claimed the 2009 title over the Terps.
“Congratulations to the University of Maryland on winning the national championship,” said UNC coach Karen Shelton, whose team finished the season 22-3. “I think both teams fought extremely hard. It was two good teams going at it, as you would hope in a national championship.”
After losing to Minnesota in the Puerto Rico Tipoff tournament, North Carolina perhaps could point to a flukish poor shooting night but what’s the excuse for turning right around and losing 72-65 to Vanderbilt?
The Tar Heels expended a lot of energy coming from 14 points down in the first half to take a one-point lead midway through the second half. But with the score tied at 51, Vanderbilt reeled off eight straight points while the Heels went scoreless over more than three minutes.
Carolina never could catch up again. Once again UNC had shooting woes hitting just 40.7 percent from the field (including just three of 11 from the arc). Both teams were sloppy as the Heels committed 22 turnovers while the Commodores committed 21.
But Vanderbilt scored 12 more points than the Heels from the three-point line and three more points from the free throw line. That’s 15 points UNC had to make up from the field and the Heels didn’t shoot well enough to do that.
Tyler Zeller led Carolina with 20 points while Harrison Barnes scored 11 and Reggie Bullock got 10. Carolina, which falls to 2-2, hosts UNC-Asheville Tuesday night.
North Carolina outplayed N.C. State for all but about 20 seconds during which the Wolfpack scored on, of all things, a two-yard tipped Hail Mary play on fourth down and an 87-yard punt return a couple of minutes later.
The Tar Heels, even though in control most of the day, settled for field goals instead of getting touchdowns and led 19-10 when the Pack scored those two touchdowns to take a lead they never relinquished, eventually winning 29-25.
UNC coach Butch Davis was not happy about a couple of non-calls for intentional grounding on State QB Russell Wilson. He said that if it were called like it should been, “the tipped ball in the end zone never happens.”
It was a bitter pill for the 17 Carolina seniors who lost all four of their games against State. Three of last four games have been decided by a combined total of nine points.
One area that State dominated was in rushing and blitzing the quarterback with its linebackers. The Wolfpack sacked UNC’s T.J. Yates seven times including in the last seconds for a safety.
N.C. State can play for the ACC championship with a victory next week at Maryland, something that apparently is a foregone conclusion to some. “This was a two-fer,” State coach Tom O’Brien said. “We got to beat Carolina and play for the championship.”
North Carolina’s freshman sensation Harrison Barnes hasn’t been very sensational lately as he hasn’t scored a field goal in three halves, including an 0 for 13 effort in a 72-67 loss to Minnesota in the Puerto Rico tournament.
What a low after such a high against Hofstra. Just when you think the bad taste of last year is out of your mouth, they pull something like that against Minnesota.
“Last year doesn’t have anything to do with this year,” UNC coach Roy Williams scoffed. “We just stunk.”
Yes, Minnesota is better than Hofstra but it’s more about Carolina than it is the opponent. In other words, you have to be consistent. You can’t shoot the eyes out of it one night and the very next night can’t buy a basket, even with open looks.
“I’ve tried to erase last year from my mind,” Williams said.
It won’t be easy with performances like this.
The Tar Heels shot just 37 percent from the floor and only 60 percent from the free throw line. Carolina, 2-1, plays in the consolation game in Puerto Rico at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
For a full game story, please click here.
The playoffs for high school football started last week and my prediction record was 12-1 for Triangle-area teams. Games tonight are at 7:30 p.m. In bold below are the predicted winners. My record of predicting games in the regular season was 97-23, which is an 81 percent accuracy.
Douglas Byrd @ Cardinal Gibbons
Fuquay-Varina @ Panther Creek
Middle Creek @ Garner
Purnell Swett @ Hillside
Southern Durham @ Southeast Raleigh
Wakefield @ Wake Forest-Rolesville
Check the scores in our Sports Roundup on the left navigation bar. Good luck to Cardinal Gibbons – I hope I’m wrong.
North Carolina had 10 players who played 13 minutes or more in the game against Hofstra in Puerto Rico during the Tar Heels’ 107-63 victory. Even more impressive was that the most minutes anyone played was 25 – by Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller.
Barnes is getting all the attention nationally but this is shaping up to be a pretty deep Carolina team – even if the Heels were only playing Hofstra.
For instance, bench players contributed greatly. Kendall Marshall dished out a team-high nine assists while Leslie McDonald scored 16 and Justin Watts scored 13. In addition, transfer Justin Knox had eight points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes of play.
Barnes led the way with 19 points, all in the first half, while John Henson scored 12 and Zeller and Dexter Strickland tallied 11 each. Point guards Larry Drew II and Marshall combined for 15 assists and just three turnovers.
For a game story, please click here. For a photo gallery, please click here.