By R.L. Bynum
Carolina will get a chance to serve up a plate full of long-overdue revenge on Thanksgiving Day.
For the first time since a shot by Villanova’s Chris Jenkin in Houston gave the Tar Heels a heartbreaking 77–74 loss in the 2016 NCAA championship game, UNC finally gets a chance to avenge the defeat.
The only members of either staff who were part of that game were UNC head coach Hubert Davis, then an assistant coach, Marcus Paige and Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard. Roy Williams, however, will be in the stands for the game.
UNC (4–0) faces Villanova (4–1) play at 2:30 Thursday (ESPN) in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at the Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The winner earns a berth into Friday’s 3:30 championship game (ESPN). The Wildcats advanced with an 85–69 first-round victory over Texas Tech after Carolina’s 91–69 victory over Northern Iowa.
Paige, who had tied the game with an off-balance 3-pointer seconds before the game-winning shot, is in his first season on the UNC staff as Director of Team and Player Development.
Jay Wright, the coach of that 2016 championship team, retired after leading Villanova to the 2022 Final Four. The Wildcats are in their second season under Coach Kyle Neptune.
Carolina has a commanding 11–5 lead in the all-time series and had won the previous three meetings before that 2016 game, including an 83–69 national semifinals win in Detroit in the Tar Heels 2008–09 national championship season.
No players on either team had been born the last time the teams met in the regular season. Coach Dean Smith’s No. 10-ranked Tar Heels lost 76–56 on Jan. 20, 1996, to the No. 7 Wildcats at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
The teams have met twice in November tournaments, splitting two meetings in the Maui Invitational under Smith. No. 7 UNC beat Villanova 78–68 on Nov. 25, 1989, and No. 3 Villanova topped No. 20 UNC 77–75 on Nov. 22, 1995.
Villanova, which got the 33rd-most poll points in the latest AP Top 25 poll, is picked to finish fourth in the 11-team Big East after finishing last season at .500 overall (17–17) and in the league (10–10).
Redshirt senior 6–8, 255-pound center Eric Dixon, a second-team All-Big East selection last season who scored 19 points Wednesday, and fifth-year 6–5, 210-pound guard Justin Moore (top photo), who added 18 points, lead Villanova.
Dixon was Villanova’s leading scorer last season at 15.5 points per game and averaged 6.6 rebounds. Moore was an All-Big East pick two seasons but missed more than half of last season recovering from an Achilles injury. He averaged 13.5 points in 13 games last season and was leading the team in scoring heading into the tournament at 16 points per game.
Moore leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 16.4 points per game.
Also back are sophomore 6–2, 180-pound guard Mark Armstrong (named to the Big East All-Freshman team last year), junior 6–5, 215-pound guard Jordan Longino and fifth-year 6–4, 205-pound guard Chris Arcidicono.
NOTES — Jon Sciambi and Jimmy Dykes, the same crew that worked the Northern Iowa game, will be on the ESPN call of the game. … David Nathan and Adam Lucas will be on the Tar Heel Sports Network call, with Jones Angell hosting pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. … This is the second consecutive year UNC has played on Thanksgiving Day. The Tar Heels are 4–2 all-time on Thanksgiving day, including a win last season in Portland. … UNC is 5–2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis, playing in the event for the third time in 10 seasons.
Battle 4 Atlantis
At Imperial Arena
Paradise Islands, Bahamas
Wednesday’s first-round results
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Northern Iowa 69
Villanova 85, Texas Tech 69
Memphis 71, Michigan 67
No. 20 Arkansas 77, Stanford 74, 2 OTs
Thursday’s semifinals
Villanova 83, No. 14 North Carolina 81, OT
Memphis 84, No. 20 Arkansas 79
Thursday’s losers’ bracket results
Texas Tech 72, Northern Iowa 70
Michigan 83, Stanford 78
Friday’s results
Consolation
No. 14 North Carolina 87, No. 20 Arkansas 72
Championship
Villanova 79, Memphis 63
Fifth-place game
Texas Tech 73, Michigan 57
Seventh-place game
Northern Iowa 73, Stanford 51
Villanova 85, Texas Tech 69
UNC-Villanova series
FM — Frank McGuire; DES — Dean Smith; RW — Roy Williams; ^ — NCAA tournament game
KenPom.com comparisons
| UNC | Villanova | |
| Overall ranking | 16 | 20 |
| Offensive efficiency | 114.7 (16) | 115.4 (14) |
| Defensive efficiency | 93.2 (24) | 95.4 (45) |
| Effective FG% | 52.8 (102) | 53.8 (77) |
| Turnover % | 13.5 (31) | 15.0 (63) |
| Offensive rebound % | 33.8 (79) | 32.3 (111) |
| FTA/FGA | 41.2 (66) | 37.6 (118) |
| Strength of schedule | 301 | 231 |
UNC season statistics
Villanova season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. East Tennessee State | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @NovaMBB
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