After tough loss to No. 1 Gamecocks, Banghart says growth comes from being ‘uncomfortable’

CHARLOTTE — Elite programs always deliver tough lessons if you aren’t on your game, and No. 12 North Carolina got a few of those on Sunday. The Tar Heels are 0–2 for the second time in program history, after only hanging with No. 1 South Carolina for the first 11 minutes. The Gamecocks, deep with talent, kept pouring it on in an 84–39 victory in the Spectrum Center at the Ally Tipoff.

Tar Heels in NBA: Sharpe dishes out 13 assists in his first career triple-double

By halftime, Day’Ron Sharpe had already matched the career-high in assists he had set three nights earlier. By the end of the game, the former Carolina center had his first NBA triple-double and a Brooklyn Nets record. Sharpe finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, the most in a game by a Nets center, in a 124–121 road loss Saturday to the Atlanta Hawks. He went 4-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line and blocked a shot in 32 minutes.

Pick-six, ‘snatched’ ball: Hickman-Collins steps up as UNC’s linebacker rotation shifts

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — When North Carolina lost linebacker Jonathan Agumadu to injury a few weeks ago, the Tar Heels needed someone to take more snaps in the middle of their defense. Redshirt sophomore Timir Hickman-Collins answered that need in a rainy 38–21 win at UConn on Saturday at Rentschler Field, with an interception returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery that led to another. He led the team in Pro Football Focus defensive grade (93.7) and pass-rush grade (80.8) in 15 defensive snaps.

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The “Tar Heel Tribune Podcast,” with hosts Britt Whitmire and R.L. Bynum, gives Tar Heel Tribune readers a conversational companion to the site’s written coverage of Carolina athletics with interviews, opinions and insights.

Heels finish off UConn with strong defense, big late plays

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Putting teams away has been a season-long problem for North Carolina, but the Tar Heels finally solved it in at least one game. On a rainy afternoon at Rentschler Field, UNC did the job with strong defense and a big late fourth-down conversion. The Tar Heels held UConn scoreless for the last 25 minutes in a 38–21 victory Saturday and are a win away from bowl eligibility with their third straight road win.

Stevenson throws down the opening statement in UNC’s rout of Wofford

Jarin Stevenson knew exactly what he wanted the first possession against Wofford to look like. He found an open lane, threw down a two-handed dunk and got the Smith Center crowd roaring on a dark, rainy Friday night. The play set the tone for North Carolina’s 109–70 win, and it was the kind of aggressive start Michael Malone has pushed for since he got the job.

Malone says Heels showed maturity in blowout of Wofford

CHAPEL HILL — That roller coaster that Michael Malone used as an example of the early going for North Carolina ran much more smoothly for the second outing of the season. A fast start against Wofford on Friday night led to a convincing 109–70 triumph at the Smith Center. It gave the Tar Heels their second straight victory against the Southern Conference, in which they were once a member before the ACC was formed and lured them away. The first one was Monday’s nail-biter against Western Carolina.