By R.L. Bynum
No. 14 North Carolina (3–1) at N.C. A&T (2–3)
When: 7 p.m. ET Thursday
TV: FloSports (a pay streaming service that, including tax, is $21.49 for one month; UNC’s three games in Cancun will also stream on FloSports.)
Radio: WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM (streams on the Varsity Network app): Matt Krause play-by-play
Massey Ratings: UNC No. 23, N.C. A&T No. 175
Bart Torvik: UNC No. 15, N.C. A&T No. 188
Warren Nolan NET rankings: UNC No. 15, N.C. A&T No. 188
Series: UNC leads 4–0 (see list below)
Coaches: Courtney Banghart (382–168 in 19 seasons; 128–65 in 7 seasons at UNC) and Tarrell Robinson (250–146 in 14 seasons, all at A&T)
Scouting the Aggies
Projected starters:
— Chaniya Clark (top photo) | 6–4 redshirt senior center | 10.6 points, 34.1 FG%, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 block, 1.0 steal (7 assists and 5 turnovers)
— Nicknamed “Baby Shaq,” she made the All-CAA Preseason First team
— Paris Locke | 6–0 junior forward | 9.2 points, 43.9 FG%, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals (10 assists and 12 turnovers)
— Locke was an All-CAA Preseason Second Team pick.
— D’Mya Tucker | 5–11 graduate wing | 8.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists (7 assists and 17 turnovers)
— Was an honorable mention pick in the preseason CAA voting
— Suffered a leg injury in a WNIT game on March 29, 2024, and missed all of last season
— Posted 21st career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in win over Shaw
— Elliott Jessup | 6–0 sophomore forward | 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds (4 assists, 13 turnovers)
— Jamyia Lindsey | 5–6 freshman guard | 2.8 points, 1.8 rebounds (7 assists, 14 turnovers)
N.C. A&T results:
— 79–40 Nov. 3 loss at Texas Tech
— 82–43 Nov. 6 loss at TCU
— 71–64 Nov. 9 loss at New Mexico
— 77–28 Nov. 12 win vs. Shaw (Division II)
— 74–43 Sunday win vs. Winston-Salem State (Division II)
Notes
— N.C. A&T’s Tarrell Robinson was the CAA Coach of the Year last season after the Aggies went 19–12 and 15–3 in the league, losing 61–45 at Virginia Tech in the first round of the postseason WBIT. The Aggies are picked third in the 13-team CAA.
— The Aggies’ only two wins have come at home against Division II competition (77–28 against Shaw and 74–43 against Winston-Salem State), with road losses against Texas Tech (78–40), TCU (82–43) and New Mexico (71–64).
— A&T has scored 29.5% of its points at the free-throw line but is shooting only 65.2% at the line.
— This is the second consecutive season UNC has played at A&T after winning 66–47 on Nov. 12 last season.
— There will likely be more fans at Thursday’s game than at either of the Tar Heels’ games in Las Vegas at the WBCA Challenge. While last season’s game in Greensboro drew 3,593 fans, the UCLA game last week drew 1,588 fans and the Fairfield game 2,116.
— This is Carolina’s first true road game of the season. Their second one is Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge against No. 4 Texas. UNC is 4–2 in road openers under Coach Courtney Banghart, with the four wins coming in the last four seasons.
— UNC senior Indya Nivar leads UNC in scoring at 11.8 points per game and redshirt sophomore Ciera Toomey is second at 11.0, while leading the team in rebounding at 8.5 per game.
— Five Tar Heels have scored in double figures in three of their four games and eight have double-figure-scoring games.
— Carolina, which has a 1.18 assist-to-turnover ratio with a +8.5 turnover margin (36th in the country), should create plenty of turnovers to fuel its transition game. UNC is forcing 21.25 turnovers per game, which is third in the ACC and 81st in the country, and scoring 21.75 points off turnovers. Through five games, A&T has 55 assists against 109 turnovers, a 0.50 ratio that is 314th out of 359 in the country. The Aggies’ turnover margin of -2.6 is 275th in the country.
Statistical comparison
| UNC | Statistic | N.C. A&T |
|---|---|---|
| 75.8 | Points per game | 59.6 |
| 42.20% | Field goal % | 34.90% |
| 27.90% | 3-point % | 34.90% |
| 64.60% | Free throw % | 65.20% |
| 40 | Rebounds per game | 41.8 |
| 15 | Assists per game | 11 |
| 3.5 | Blocks per game | 3.8 |
| 10.8 | Steals per game | 7.2 |
| 56.3 | Opponent points per game | 60.4 |
| 39.00% | Opponent FG% | 35.00% |
| 28.90% | Opponent 3-point % | 22.20% |
| 6.8 | Rebound margin | 1.8 |
| 1.2 | Turnover margin | 0.5 |
UNC statistical ranks
| Statistic | NCAA rank | ACC rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoring offense | 75.8 | 102 | 6 |
| Scoring defense | 56.3 | 81 | 10 |
| Scoring margin | 19.5 | 75 | 8 |
| Rebounds per game | 40 | 143 | 13 |
| Rebounding margin | 6.8 | 106 | 10 |
| Assist-turnover ratio | 1.18 | 63 | 4 |
| Assists per game | 15 | 122 | 9 |
| Turnover margin | +8.5 | 36 | 2 |
| Turnovers per game | 12.8 | 41 | 4 |
| Blocks per game | 3.5 | 135 | 13 |
| Steals per game | 10.8 | 94 | 4 |
| FG percentage | 42.2 | 160 | 13 |
| 3FG percentage | 27.9 | 245 | 11 |
| FT percentage | 64.6 | 254 | 15 |
| FG percentage defense | 39 | 189 | 14 |
| 3FG percentage defense | 28.9 | 174 | 11 |
| Offensive rebounds per game | 14.8 | 85 | 19 |
| Defensive rebounds per game | 25.3 | 199 | 14 |
| 3P FG per game | 7.3 | 111 | 5 |
Series: UNC 4, N.C. A&T 0
Nov. 12, 2024 — UNC 66, A&T 47 in Greensboro
Nov. 9, 2021 — UNC 92, A&T 47 in Chapel Hill
Nov. 21, 2000 — UNC 101, A&T 33 in Chapel Hill
Dec. 4, 1994 — UNC 113, A&T 58 in Chapel Hill
UNC statistics
N.C. A&T statistics
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Charleston Southern | ACCN Extra |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo via ncataggies.com
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