By R.L. Bynum
It isn’t clear if guard Seth Trimble will return to action for North Carolina on Tuesday against SMU, but he’s making progress and Assistant Coach Sean May suggested he’ll play against the Mustangs.
Coach Hubert Davis said during the ACC Zoom press conference on Monday that Trimble, who has missed the last three games with a upper-body injury, practiced on Sunday.
“He did one full-contact drill,” Davis said. “But I haven’t spoken with him today. We practice at three, so I’ll have more of an update after practice [Monday], but he did practice yesterday.”
Carolina (9–6, 2–1 ACC) hosts SMU (11–3, 2–1) at 9 p.m. Tuesday (ACC Network).
May, substituting for Davis on “Hubert Davis Live” radio show Monday, after that Monday practice struck an optimistic tone.
“Seth had to get healthy, and I think the smartest thing for him was to take the time that he needed to get healthy,” May said. “We’re are glad we’re gonna have him back, no question. And we look for him to have a big game [Tuesday] so we come on top with a win.”
Trimble, a 6–3 junior, suffered the injury in practice the day before the 97–81 victory Dec. 29 over Campbell. He missed that game and, although he has traveled with the team, he also missed the road games against Louisville and Notre Dame.
“He kind of stabilizes you ,” May said. “He can go guard anybody. He can switch. You can put him on a big guy, and know that he’s okay. So for us not to have him, his ability to put pressure on the rim, another person that can can that has been making threes for us. So it was a void, and we did feel it.”
His return would be a big asset on defense. Trimble is UNC’s best on-ball defender and probably would have helped hold down Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn, who scored 27 points in the Cardinals’ 83–70 victory on Wednesday, and Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, who netted 23 points in the Tar Heels’ 74–73 victory on Saturday.
Trimble is averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, both career-highs, and has a career-high 21 steals through 12 games.
The big question is who will start when Trimble returns given that freshman guard Ian Jackson has scored at least 23 points in the last four games, three as a starter, including 27 points at Notre Dame.
That will be a good problem for the coaching staff to figure out.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 13–1 | 24–2 | 2 |
| No. 14 Virginia | 10–2 | 22–3 | 19 |
| Clemson | 10–3 | 20–6 | 31 |
| Miami | 9–3 | 20–5 | 35 |
| N.C. State | 9–4 | 18–8 | 29 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 8–4 | 20–5 | 25 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 8–4 | 19–6 | 12 |
| SMU | 6–6 | 17–8 | 36 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 61 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–7 | 17–9 | 58 |
| Syracuse | 6–8 | 15–12 | 69 |
| Florida State | 5–7 | 12–13 | 82 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 70 |
| Wake Forest | 4–8 | 13–12 | 64 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 87 |
| Boston College | 2–10 | 9–16 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–11 | 11–15 | 165 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 124 |
* — Through Sunday games
Monday’s result
No. 3 Duke 101, Syracuse 64
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 16 North Carolina at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 21 Louisville at SMU, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
Clemson at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 14 Virginia at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Florida State at Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 16 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 14 Virginia, 2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 21 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 3 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
Monday’s game
No. 21 Louisville at No. 11 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 23 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. 8 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. 15 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. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 14 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 3 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 21 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 courtesy of UNC Athletics
