By R.L. Bynum
Navy (2–2) at No. 17 North Carolina (4–0)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV: ACC Network: Wes Durham play-by-play, Dennis Scott analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app);
Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst
Officials: Lee Cassell, Jemel Spearman and Ryan Sassano
Line: UNC -25½
Moneylines: Navy +3,000; UNC -10,000
Over/under: 160½
UNC projected starters: Kyan Evans, Luka Bogavac, Jarin Stevenson, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar (none played for Carolina last season)
Series: Navy leads 14–6 (see list below)
Navy results
Nov. 3: 76–55 win at Presbyterian
Nov. 7: 97–68 loss vs. Yale
Nov. 11: 80–71 loss at Penn State
Friday: 97–64 win vs. Washington College (Division III)
Projected Navy starters
No. 1 | G | Austin Benigni (top photo) | 5–11, 171 | senior
— 12.0 points, 6.0 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 36.1 FG%, 2–4 3FG, 80 FT%
— Benigni earned All-Patriot First Team honors last season while leading the league in scoring (18.8 points per game) and finishing second in assists (4.3). He is third in league history in free-throw shooting percentage at 85.2% and is the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year.
— Second in Patriot League in assists at five per game.
No. 11 | F | Donovan Draper | 6–6, 207 | senior
— 12.8 points, 3.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds, 52.9 FG%, 2–11 3FG, 86.7 FT%
— Leads the Patriot League in rebounding (8.25 per game) and defensive rebounds (6.75)
No. 99 | C | Aidan Kehoe | 6–11, 246 | senior
— 12.3 points, 1.0 assist, 6.5 rebounds, 72.7 FG%, 1–8 FT
— Second in the Patriot League in field-goal percentage at 72.7%
No. 10 | G | Jinwoo Kim | 6–3, 195 | junior
— 15.5 points, 1.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 48.8 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 78.6 FT%
— xx
No. 30 | F | Mike Woods | 6–4, 211 | senior or No. 21 | G | Jordan Pennick | 6–0, 195 | junior
— Woods: 6.8 points, 2.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 47.1 FG%, 1–2 3P, 10–10 FT
— Pennick: 5.3 points, 0.75 of an assist, 1.3 rebounds, 31.6 FG%, 30 3P%, 85.7 FT%
— Navy’s big lead of 14–6 in the series with UNC includes only one game since 1959: an 88–52 victory in Hartford, Conn., by the No. 1 Tar Heels in the first round of the 1998 NCAA tournament. Antawn Jamison led five scorers in double figures with 17 points. That’s the only time Navy has faced a top-ranked team.
— UNC’s winning percentage against Navy is the lowest against any school that the Tar Heels have played at least 20 times.
— This is the second meeting in Chapel Hill, with the Tar Heels winning the other one 39–25 at Indoor Athletic Court in 1936. Navy is 24–36 in the state of North Carolina.
— Navy lost 80–72 at Virginia Tech last season and at Virginia 66–48, and Louisville 70–66 in the 2021–22 season.
— This will be Navy’s first game against a ranked team since that Nov. 9, 2021, loss at Virginia. The Midshipmen are 2–24 against ranked teams, winning 97–85 over No. 9 Syracuse on March 16, 1986, (behind 35 points and 11 rebounds from David Robinson) and 66–58 at No. 25 Virginia on Nov. 9, 2021.
— Navy is 10–41 on the road against teams currently in the ACC and 91–110 overall.
— Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Ben Carnevale was UNC’s coach when it made its first NCAA tournament championship appearance in 1946 (losing to Oklahoma A&M), then left to become Navy’s coach the following season. He coached the Midshipmen until 1966, compiling a 257–160 record after going 52–11 in two seasons at Carolina. His Navy team beat Coach Frank McGuire’s No. 9-ranked Tar Heels 76–63 in the first round of the 1958 NCAA tournament.
— Coach Jon Perry is in his first season as head coach after 13 seasons as an assistant coach under Ed DeChellis, who retired after last season, his 14th.
— The Midshipmen are the favorites in the 10-team Patriot League, and Navy guard Austin Benigni is the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
— Navy, which lists 25 players on its roster, leads the Patriot League in scoring (78 points per game), field-goal percentage (50.5%), defensive rebounding (29.25), assists (16.75) and steals (8.5).
— Navy reserve Cam Cole, a 6–2 junior guard, has made 5 of 8 3-point attempts.
— Freshman Navy guard Steven McLeod is from Durham and attended Grace Christian Academy.
— For the first time under Coach Hubert Davis, UNC has won the rebounding battle by double digits in each of its first four games.
— Carolina is 13–0 against Patriot League teams, including 8–0 at home.
— UNC is 4–0 for the third time in the last five seasons. The Tar Heels last won their first five in
2022–23, and started 5–0 in 42 previous seasons.
— Entering Monday’s games, the Tar Heels were eighth in the country in field-goal percentage defense, holding the four opponents to a combined 33.3% from the floor. Under Davis, UNC is 48–4 when opponents shoot under 40%.
— The Tar Heels are 15th in the country in rebounding (47.5 per game; tops in the ACC), 17th in rebound margin (+15; tops in the ACC), 20th in scoring margin (+ 28; 6th in ACC) and 24th in free throw attempts (30.8).
— UNC leads the ACC (15th in the country) in defensive rebounds per game (33.25) and is second in offensive rebounding percentage (40.6%).
— UNC is tied for 14th in the ACC (135th in the country) in turnover margin at +1.75.
— Carolina has attempted 27 or more 3-pointers in all four games and is averaging 28.8 (65th-most in the country). The program record average for a season is 23.94 by the 2018–19 team that included Cameron Johnson, Coby White, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye.
— Against N.C. Central and Central Arkansas, seven Tar Heels scored 3-pointers. In program history, UNC has done that in an entire season twice. No Carolina team has done it three times in one season. The program’s single-game record of eight players scoring 3-pointers occurred against Wake Forest on Feb. 16, 2019, in a 95–57 victory and N.C. A&T on Dec. 27, 2001, in a 104–66 win.
— Henri Veesaar leads the ACC in field-goal percentage (25th in the country) at 69.7%, and Caleb Wilson is fourth (41st in the country) at 66.7%.
— Luka Bogavac is seventh in the ACC (58th in the country) in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.33), and Kyan Evans is 13th (2.86; 149th in the country).
UNC season statistics
Navy season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | Navy | UNC |
| Overall ranking | 173 | 23 |
| Offensive efficiency | 105.5 (192) | 119.0 (23) |
| Defensive efficiency | 107.7 (179) | 97.7 (28) |
| Effective FG% | 51.9 (151) | 56.0 (71) |
| Turnover % | 20.6 (287) | 14.8 (71) |
| Offensive rebound % | 26.1 (282) | 40.6 (29) |
| FTA/FGA | 41.5 (106) | 49.0 (47) |
| Strength of schedule | 97 | 337 |
Series: Navy 14, UNC 6
Other ACC games Tuesday
Hampton at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
UT-Martin at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Georgia Southern at Georgia Tech, 7:30, ACC Network Extra
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at SMU, 8 p.m., ACC Network Extra
No. 24 Kansas vs No. 5 Duke at Madison Square Garden, 9 p.m., ESPN
Monmouth at Syracuse, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Louisiana at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Presbyterian at California, 10 p.m. ACC Network Extra
| 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. 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 | 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. 21 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. 6 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. 16 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. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
tarheeltribune.com 