By R.L. Bynum
UNCG (2–3) at No. 14 North Carolina (4–1)
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
TV: ACC Network: Beth Mowins play-by-play, Debbie Antonelli analyst
Radio: WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM (streams on the Varsity Network app): Matt Krause play-by-play
Massey Ratings: UNCG No. 251, UNC No. 19
Bart Torvik: UNCG No. 236, UNC No. 13
Warren Nolan NET rankings: UNCG No. 143, UNC No. 20
Series: UNC leads 14–0 (see list below)
Coaches: Trina Patterson (323–429 in 27 seasons; 148–133 in 10 seasons at UNCG) and Courtney Banghart (383–168 in 19 seasons; 129–65 in 7 seasons at UNC)
Scouting the Spartans
Projected starters:
— No. 22 | Makiah Asidanya (top photo) | 5–7 junior guard | 14.8 points, 36.7 FG%, 38.9 3P%, 72.7 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.8 steals (6 assists, 14 turnovers)
— Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team pick
— Scored a career-high 22 points in loss at Auburn
— Third in the Southern Conference in scoring
— No. 7 | Jeni Levine | 5–7 graduate guard | USC Upstate transfer | 12.4 points, 26.8 FG%, 21.9 3P%, 85.0 FT%, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists (8 assists, 13 turnovers)
— No. 15 | Rylan Moffitt | 6–0 senior forward | Appalachian State transfer | 7.2 points, 44.1 FG%, 20.0 3P%, 62.5 FT%, 6.4 rebounds, 0.6 of a block, 1.5 steals (4 assists, 7 turnovers)
— No. 4 | Jaila Lee | 5–10 senior guard | UNC Asheville transfer | 6.3 points, 27.3 FG%, 18.8 3P%, 57.1 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steal, (11 assists, 5 turnovers)
— Preseason All-Southern Conference Second Team pick
— No. 2 | Tasia Johnson | 5–7 senior guard | 2.6 points, 13.3 FG%, 21.1 3P%, 50 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steal (9 assists, 3 turnovers)
UNCG results:
— 87–42 Nov. 3 loss at Stanford
— 64–40 loss at San Francisco
— 64–57 loss at Auburn
— 57–53 win at Presbyterian
— 54–52 win vs. Gardner-Webb
Statistical comparison
| UNCG | Statistic | UNC |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | Points per game | 77.6 |
| 30.9% | FG% | 43.3% |
| 26.8% | 3P% | 29.7% |
| 70.8% | FT% | 65.3% |
| 28.4 | Rebounds per game | 39.6 |
| 8.8 | Assist per game | 15.8 |
| 1.2 | Blocks per game | 3.8 |
| 7.4 | Steals per game | 11.2 |
| 64 | Scoring defense | 55 |
| 44.5% | FG% defense | 38.5% |
| 36.1% | 3P% defense | 26.8% |
| -9.8 | Rebounding margin | +8.4 |
| 0.6 | Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.1 |
Notes
— UNCG coach Trina Patterson was the Southern Conference Coach of the Year last season after the Spartans won the Southern Conference title to earn the program’s first NCAA tournament berth since 1998. UNCG lost in the first round to Southern Cal 71–25.
— UNCG is picked second in the eight-team Southern Conference.
— The Spartans are playing in Carmichael Arena for the third consecutive season, losing last season 80–56.
— UNCG hasn’t beaten an ACC school since a 67–65 win at Wake Forest in 2019.
— Carolina senior guard Indya Nivar is on the longest double-figure scoring streak of her career, going five-for-five this season, and is third in the ACC with a team-high 3.4 assists per game. She collected season-highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s win at N.C. A&T and leads the team in scoring at 12.2 per game.
— At least five Tar Heels have scored in double figures in three of five games and eight have scored in double figures in at least one game.
— UNC is averaging only 13.8 turnovers per game but forcing 22.2, which is third in the ACC. The Heels are aveaging 24 points off turnovers and 16.6 fast-break points per game.
— This is UNC’s final tuneup before playing next week in Mexico at the Cancun Challenge, with games Thursday against South Dakota State, Friday against Kansas State and Saturday against Columbia in the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. All three made the NCAA tournament last season.
Series: UNC 14, UNCG 0
Feb. 11, 1975, at UNCG — W, 71–57
Feb. 17, 1976, at Chapel Hill — W, 66–45
Jan. 20, 1977, at UNCG — W, 95–75
Feb. 1, 1977, at Chapel Hill — W, 74–45
Feb. 14, 1978, at UNCG — W, 76–69
Feb. 25, 1978, at Chapel Hill— W, 92–68
Jan. 22, 1979, at UNCG — W, 99–40
Feb. 15, 1979, at Chapel Hill— W, 99–57
Nov. 30, 2006, at Chapel Hill — W, 103–48
Nov. 16, 2011, at Chapel Hill — W, 91–35
Dec. 14, 2019, at Chapel Hill — W, 83–62
Nov. 28, 2020, at Chapel Hill — W, 96–35
Dec. 6, 2023, at Chapel Hill — W, 81–66
Dec. 11, 2024, at Chapel Hill — W, 80–56
UNC statistics
UNCG statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Duke | 13–0 | 18–6 | 9 |
| No. 9 Louisville | 12–1 | 22–4 | 7 |
| N.C. State | 10–3 | 17–7 | 24 |
| No. 21 North Carolina | 9–3 | 20–5 | 19 |
| Syracuse | 9–4 | 19–5 | 37 |
| Virginia | 9–4 | 17–7 | 36 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–5 | 18–7 | 44 |
| Clemson | 8–5 | 17–8 | 39 |
| Notre Dame | 7–6 | 15–9 | 30 |
| California | 6–6 | 15–10 | 51 |
| Georgia Tech | 6–7 | 11–14 | 90 |
| Stanford | 5–7 | 16–9 | 42 |
| Miami | 4–9 | 12–12 | 55 |
| Florida State | 3–9 | 8–16 | 104 |
| Wake Forest | 3–10 | 13–12 | 131 |
| SMU | 1–11 | 8–16 | 191 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–11 | 8–17 | 256 |
| Boston College | 0–13 | 4–22 | 252 |
* — Through Sunday games
Sunday’s results
No. 21 North Carolina 84, Wake Forest 56
No. 9 Louisville 84, Syracuse 65
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 62
California 95, Pittsburgh 80
No. 11 Duke 95, SMU 36
Virginia 81, Notre Dame 70
Florida State 87, Miami 70
Georgia Tech 74, Stanford 52
Clemson 83, Boston College 59
Thursday’s games
SMU at No. 21 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 9 Louisville, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Pittsburgh at SMU, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
No. 21 North Carolina at No. 11 Duke, 1 p.m., ABC
Virginia at Stanford, 2 p.m., The CW
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at No. 6 Louisville, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| 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. 2 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 9 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 11 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. No. 11 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 uncgspartans.com
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