North Carolina basketball looked good in its throwback jerseys. That, along with the arrival of the final buzzer, completes a list of positives for the Tar Heels on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Please click here for more.
Category Archives: UNC
Is North Carolina serious? What UNC does with basketball coach Hubert Davis will tell us
USA Today sports columnist says, “If they conclude that (Hubert) Davis isn’t a top-10 coach, then they need to make a change, they need to do it after this season, and they need to hire someone who fits in that category regardless of whether that person has any prior connection to the school.” Please click here for more.
Analyst says Davis made sure to gaslight UNC fans after Duke “catastrophe”
There’s no denying it now, the North Carolina Tar Heels are on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament field following back-to-back losses against Pitt and Duke. But UNC head coach Hubert Davis still has a positive outlook. Please click here for more.
Blue Devils put it away early against Heels
No. 2 Duke dominated unranked North Carolina from the start. An early 16-0 early run set the tone in a game that the Blue Devils led by 32 points before settling for an 87-70 win in Durham. Let the Carolina coaching rumors begin. (2/01)
Turnovers hurt the Tar Heels early and often. Carolina had nine turnovers in the first half including three from point guard Eliott Cadeau before the first TV timeout. Meanwhile Duke scored on 11 of their first 13 possessions of the game.
The Blue Devils worked the lead up to 40-13 before Carolina outscored Duke 12-7 to end the first half with a 47-25 deficit.
“Our turnovers again,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, who’s coaching seat is now on fire. “They got 19 points off of our turnovers. We can’t withstand that. Our turnovers got them going and in rhythm early.”
North Carolina played better in the second half but it was too late as Duke’s Kon Knueppel scored 13 of his game-high 22 points to keep the Tar Heels from mounting any comeback. In fact, the Blue Devils got their biggest lead of the game at 77-45 on a three-pointer by Isaiah Evans before a late Carolina surge highlighted by 10 points from freshman Drake Powell made the final sore look more respectable.
Even with Carolina’s miscues, the Tar Heels probably weren’t going to beat the superior Blue Devils on this night. For instance, Carolina started the second half going six of nine from the floor with two steals and the Tar Heels still lost ground on the scoreboard.
“They’re good, good players, and I’ve seen them all since high school. They’re playing at a high level,” Coach Davis said about Duke. “I was really proud of our fight and our perseverance in the second half. I thought we did some good things on both ends of the floor in the second half that can move us positively forward.”
Carolina’s shooting improved from 29 percent in the first half to 64 percent in the second half to end the game at 47 percent. Duke shot 53 percent for the game including 10 of 20 from beyond the arc.
Powell and RJ Davis were Carolina’s top scorers with 12 points each while Knueppel and Cooper Flagg were Duke’s top scorerrs with 22 and 21 respectively.
The Tar Heels, who don’t play again until Saturday at home against Pitt, are now 13-10 overall and 6-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Unless there is a late surge, the Tar Heels will likely have to win the ACC Tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament.
With the win, Duke moves to 19-2 and 11-0 in the ACC while extending the Devils’ winning streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the nation. The last time the Blue Devils won 15 straight games was at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
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Belichick Claps Back over Reports of His NFL Flight Risk
UNC football head coach Bill Belichick has seen the latest reports mongering fear over his NFL flight risk status after he took the Tar Heels job less than two months ago and he’s not happy. Please click here for more.
What UNC’s Hubert Davis said about rivalry showdown at Duke amid Tar Heels’ struggles
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis chose to downplay the significance of his team’s Saturday showdown at No. 2 Duke following the Tar Heels’ dispiriting 73-65 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The defeat was UNC’s third in its last four games and raises the stakes of the upcoming rivalry game for a team that is scrambling to assemble an NCAA Tournament resume. Please click here for more.
Tar Heels fade down the stretch at Pitt
North Carolina fans not only saw their Tar Heels fade down the stretch at Pitt but must be feeling that the season is fading away after the Panthers went on a 9-0 run to complete their 73-65 victory. (1/28)
The Tar Heels led all but a few seconds of the first half, shooting 58 percent, and working the lead up to as many as 10 points before going into the half with a mere 44-42 lead. Carolina led 44-34 with 2:10 left in the half but, perhaps as a preview of the end of the game, gave up eight straight points to let Pitt back in it.
In a game of runs where the Tar Heels’ offense disappeared for three or four minutes at a time, Carolina blew a 49-42 lead as BC scored eight straight to go ahead 50-49.
It went back and forth the rest of the way – well almost the rest of the way. Carolina took a 65-64 lead on a scoop shot high off the backboard by Eliot Cadeau with just 3:20 to go. But the Tar Heels never scored again.
Just as it looked as if Carolina would extend the lead as Ven-Allen Lubin broke free to the basket, Cadeau’s pass was low and Lubin developed stone hands and Pitt came up with the loose ball. Seconds later, Pitt’s Zack Austin sidestepped Cadeau and drilled a three from in front of the Panthers’ bench for a 67-65 Pitt lead.
A lay up by Lubin that would have tied it rimmed out and a shot by Ian Jackson that could have give the Heels the lead was blockd by Austin. After Cam Cohren scored in the lane for Pitt for a 69-65 advantage with a minute to go, the drained Tar Heels never really threatened again.
“We missed three or four layins and other shots around the rim that didn’t go that would have tied it or put us up,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Turnovers were costly. The timing of the turnovers was costly and their conversion of the turnovers was costly. It’s very difficult to overcome something like that.”
Carolina’s 21 pints in the second half was the lowest scoring period of the year for the Tar Heels. Key stats include the Tar Heels’ 14 turnovers compared to just six for Pitt and the Panthers’ nine blocks and eight steals. Pitt scored 22 points off those Carolina turnovers.
With Carolina’s Jalen Washington sitting out due to a leg injury suffered at the end of the previous game, Lubin played 32 minutes which is almost double his season average and he looked tired down the stretch. Only six Tar Heels had over four minutes of playing time but that was true of the Panthers as well.
The Tar Heels’ shooting percentage plummeted to 31 percent in the second half. Seth Trimble scored 10 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for a double-double despite missing all five of his three-point attempts. RJ Davis led the scoring with 16 points, hitting half of his attempts. Cadeau was the only other Heel in double figures with 11 points but he was in foul trouble much of the game and turned the ball over four times while missing five of his six three-point attempts.
The Tar Heels, who play at rival Duke Saturday evening, are now 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Jaland Lowe led four Panthers in double figures with 18 points as Pitt, which gets another crack at Carolina Feb. 8, improves to 14-6 and 5-4 in the league.
Heels get by BC in OT with late surge
It was a game heavily favored North Carolina had to have to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, and it looked bleaked in the last minute. But the Tar Heels rallied from four down in the last 20 seconds of regulation and never trailed in overtime in a 102-96 home win over Boston College (1/25)
Seth Trimble, who made his first start since an injury almost a month ago, was the Tar Heel responsible for sending the game into overtime. He first drew a foul inside with 19 seconds left and hit two free throws. After an aggressive Carolina defense forced a five-second call turnover, Trimble twisted and turned close to the basket finally scoring on a left-handed bucket with 13 seconds to go.
Carolina continued to hound BC, not allowing the visitors a last-second shot. In fact, Carolina forced a turnover with less than two seconds to go and were able to get off a long three by RJ Davis that didn’t go.
In overtime, though, Davis did get free for a three at the top of the key to break a 91-all tie but Boston College hung tough tying it at 96 with just over two minutes to play.
North Carolina went on to score the last six points of the game. First, Trimble, who was one of five Tar Heels in double figures with 18 points, scored in the lane on a contested layup. Then Davis connected on a pair of free throws and finally Drake Powell found an open Ven-Allen Lubin for a dunk with 27 seconds to go to finish off the scoring.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said his team “stepped up and executed in the latter part of the game” but he was not happy that BC, who have now lost six games in a row, shot almost 55 percent including 58 percent from the three-point line. Even without the overtime, the Eagles scored more points and more three pointers (14) than in any game this season.
“Boston College played at a high level today but they were allowed to get into rhythm,” Coach Davis said. BC’s Donald Hand Jr. was the most in rhythm as he hit five three pointers after halftime to lead all scorers with 26 points.
RJ Davis, who hit all eight of his free throws, finished with 22 points to lead the Tar Heels. Ian Jackson, who was benched to start the second half after scoring just four points in the first half, scored 15 after the break to finish with 19. Trimble and Jalen Washington each scored 18 while Eliot Cadeau tallied 13.
It was the first double-figure effort for Trimble since his injury earlier in the season. “His activity, his will, his want-to, his effort was just off the charts,” Coach Davis said. “We aren’t close to winning this game without Seth.”
The game was tied 16 times and there were 10 lead changes but Carolina controlled most of the first half, opening up a nine-point lead before leading 46-45 at halftime.
The Tar Heels, who managed just six three pointers, outscored the Eagles 58-42 in the paint including a 12-2 advantage in fast break points. BC falls to 9-11 overall and 1-8 in the ACC.
It gets tougher for North Carolina, now 13-8 and 6-3 in the conference, who travel to Pitt Tuesday night and then Duke next Saturday.
Belichick Adds 21 New Tar Heels To Roster
Following his hiring as the University of North Carolina’s new head football coach on December 11, Bill Belichick immediately hit the recruiting trail and has signed 21 new Tar Heels to the roster over the last month. Here’s a look at the players. Please click here.
UNC’s Ben Johnson, new Bears coach, “stole” NC State girl from country singer
UNC grad Ben Johnson recently made headlines for snagging the head coaching position for the Chicago Bears. While his journey from offensive coordinator to head coach is impressive, the story of how he met his wife, Jessica, is just as wild — and it even involves a country music star who also played for UNC. Please click here for more.