By R.L. Bynum
There won’t be late-night Carolina basketball at the Jumpman Invitational this season.
One year after both Tar Heels teams played in the second game of the doubleheaders on both nights at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, they will play Florida in the first game each evening.
That’s bound to be a relief for UNC fans, who found out Tuesday that the men’s team’s first game of the Maui Invitational against Dayton on Nov. 25 will start at 11:30 p.m. ET, with a potential 11 p.m. game on Nov. 26.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Coach Hubert Davis’ men’s team will open the third annual Jumpman Invitational by playing the Gators at 7 p.m. (ESPN). Coach Courtney Banghart’s women’s team will play Florida on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU). Oklahoma and Michigan meet in the second game both nights, the women at 9:30 Tuesday and the men at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
This comes after both Tar Heels teams played in the second games of the doubleheaders last season, leading to a late night for players, coaches and fans.
The UNC women’s game against Oklahoma didn’t start until 10:06 p.m. after the 106–101 victory for Florida’s men over Michigan went into double overtime. After the Tar Heels’ 61–52 victory over Oklahoma, with Deja Kelly scoring 21 points despite battling flu symptoms, Alyssa Ustby quipped that it was fun to have a press conference after midnight.
North Carolina split with Michigan in the inaugural Jumpman in 2022 (men won 81–69, and women lost 76–68), and the Tar Heels swept Oklahoma last season (men won 81–69).
Carolina is the only men’s team that has won its Jumpman games in both seasons, while all four women’s teams are 1–1.
Next season will be the third for Florida’s men under head coach Todd Golden, who previously coached at San Francisco.
Florida’s women, who beat Michigan 82–65 in last season’s Jumpman Invitational, finished 16–16, losing to Ole Miss 84–74 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals and lost 79–60 to St. John’s in the first round of the WNIT.
Coach Kelly Rae Finley will enter her third season in Gainesville next season.
Jumpman Invitational
| Tue, Dec. 17 | 7 p.m. | North Carolina vs. Florida (men) | ESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | Michigan vs. Oklahoma (women) | ESPN2 | |
| Wed. Dec. 18 | 6:30 p.m. | North Carolina vs. Florida (women) | ESPNU |
| 9 p.m. | Michigan vs. Oklahoma (men) | ESPN2 |
UNC men’s schedule so far
Nov. 4 — vs. Elon (No. 309 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 310)
Nov. 8 — at Kansas (No. 21 preseason Bart Torvik; final AP rank No. 20; final NET ranking No. 19)
Nov. 15 — vs. American (No. 301 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 287)
Nov. 22 — at Hawaii (No. 175 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 172)
Maui Invitational:
Monday, Nov. 25 vs. Dayton (No. 47 preseason Bart Torvik; final AP rank No. 24; final NET ranking No. 23) , 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 26 vs. Auburn (No. 4; No. 18; No. 5) or Iowa State (11 p.m. ET with win over Dayton, 8:30 p.m. ET with a loss)
Wednesday, Nov. 27 vs. UConn (No. 1; No. 1; No. 2), Memphis (No. 90, unranked; No. 75), Michigan State (No. 18, unranked; No. 24) or Colorado (No. 23; unranked; No. 25)
Dec. 4 — vs. Alabama (No. 14 preseason Bart Torvik; No. 3 final AP rank, No. 9 final NET ranking) in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 14 — vs. La Salle (No. 174 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 195)
Dec. 17 — 7 p.m., ESPN vs. Florida (No. 22 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 29) in Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 21 — vs. UCLA (No. 88 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 107) in CBS Sports Classic, at Madison Square Garden, 3 p.m.
Dec. 29 — vs. Campbell (No. 305 preseason Bart Torvik; final NET ranking No. 304)
— Games home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh
— Home games vs. Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
— Road games vs. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Note: 2024 NCAA tournament teams are in bold.
2024-25 UNC men’s roster
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Freshman | James Brown (4 star) | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| 11 | Freshman | Ian Jackson (5 star) | 2 | 6–5 | 185 |
| 9 | Freshman | Drake Powell (5 star) | 2 | 6–6 | 195 |
| 3 | Soph. | Elliot Cadeau | PG | 6–1 | 180 |
| 1 | Soph. | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| — | Junior | Ven-Allen Lubin | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| — | Junior | Cade Tyson | 3 | 6–7 | 205 |
| 13 | Junior | Jalen Washington | 5 | 6–10 | 230 |
| 0 | Junior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| — | Senior | Elijah Davis (walk-on) | 2 | 6–4 | 197 |
| — | Senior | Tyzhaun Claude | 4 | 6–8 | 226 |
| 5 | Graduate | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 180 |
| 24 | Graduate | Jae’Lyn Withers | 4 | 6–9 | 215 |
UNC women’s schedule so far
Monday, Nov,. 4, 11 a.m. — vs. Charleston Southern
Thursday, Nov. 7 — vs. UNCW
Tuesday, Nov. 12 — at N.C. A&T
Friday, Nov. 15 — vs. UConn at Greensboro Coliseum
Saturday, Nov. 23–Monday, Nov. 25 — Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas (Baylor, Columbia, Indiana, Texas A&M, Ball State, Southern Mississippi and Villanova
Friday, Nov. 29 — vs. N.C. Central
Thursday, Dec. 5 — vs. Kentucky in ACC/SEC Challenge
Sunday, Dec. 8 — vs. Coppin State
Wednesday, Dec. 11 — vs. UNCG, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU — vs. Florida in Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
Saturday, Dec. 21 — vs. Norfolk State
Playing Duke home and away
ACC home opponents: Florida State, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Boston College
ACC road opponents: Cal, Stanford, SMU, Pitt, Miami, Clemson, Louisville and Syracuse
UNC 2024–25 women’s roster
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 0 | Lanie Grant (5 star) | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 34 | Blanca Thomas (5 star) | C | 6–5 | |
| Freshman | 3 | Jordan Zubich (4 star) | G | 5–11 | |
| RS Freshman | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS Freshman | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 10 | Reniya Kelly | PG | 5–7 | |
| Sophomore | 15 | Sydney Barker | PG | 5–6 | |
| RS Junior | 11 | Kayla McPherson | PG | 5–8 | |
| Junior | 24 | Indya Nivar | G | 5–10 | |
| Junior | 14 | Trayanna Crisp | G | 5–8 | |
| Senior | 5 | Maria Gakdeng | C | 6–3 | |
| Graduate | 2 | Grace Townsend | G | 5–5 | |
| Graduate | 20 | Lexi Donarski | G | 6–0 | |
| Graduate | 1 | Alyssa Ustby | F | 6–1 |
2023–24 UNC women’s players transferring
| Class | Player | Pos. | Height | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | Paulina Paris | G | 5–9 | Arizona |
| Graduate | Ali Zelaya | F | 6–4 | UNCW |
| Graduate | Anya Poole | F | 6–2 | Clemson |
| RS junior | Teonni Key | F | 6–4 | Kentucky |
| Sophomore | RyLee Grays | F | 6–3 | Virginia |
| Graduate | Deja Kelly | G | 5–8 | Oregon |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 