By R.L. Bynum
Boston University (3–5) at No. 11 North Carolina (8–2)
When: 12:02 p.m. Sunday
Where: Carmichael Arena
Officials: Rod Creech, Ryan Durham and Alexis Perez
TV: ACC Network: Angel Gray play-by-play, Kelly Gramlich analyst
Radio: WCHL AM1360, FM 97.9 (Also streaming on the Varsity Network app); Matt Krause play-by-play
Coaches: Melissa Graves (76–59 in fifth season at BU) and Courtney Banghart (387–66 in 19th season; 133–66 in seventh season at UNC)
UNC projected starters: Elina Aarnisalo, Lanie Grant, Indya Nivar, Nyla Harris and Ciera Toomey
Series: UNC won the only previous meeting 75–71 at Carmichael Arena on Jan. 11, 1981; UNC is 12–1 all-time against Patriot League teams.
NET rankings: BU 268, UNC 13
Massey Ratings: BU 300, UNC 22
Torvik rankings: BU 287, UNC 10
Boston University results
Nov. 3: 65–55 loss vs. Quinnipiac
Nov. 7: 52–50 loss vs. Dartmouth
Nov. 11: 61–57 win vs. Northeastern
Nov. 15: 65–58 win at New Haven
Nov. 19: 57–54 loss at Brown
Nov. 22: 50–47 win vs. UMass Lowell
Nov. 26: 83–56 loss vs. Bryant
Monday: 54–45 loss at Maine
Projected Boston University starters
No. 20 | C | Anete Adler (top photo) | 6–5 | senior | Rhode Island transfer in third season at BU
— Team-leading 12.2 points, 46.5 FG%, 78.3 FT%, 5.0 rebounds
— Physical inside presence
No. 12 | G | Bella McLaughlin | 5–8 | junior | Providence transfer in second season at BU
— 7.4 points, 38.2 FG%, 63.0 FT%, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.4 turnovers, 1.4 steals
No. 21 | G | Audrey Ericksen | 6–0 | junior
— 6.8 points, 38.1 FG%, 40.7 3P%, 73.3 FT%, 3.6 rebounds
— Was the all-time leader at Cary’s Green Level High School in points (1,086), rebounds (727), assists (250), steals (166) and blocks (144)
No. 18 | G | Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir | 5–10 | sophomore
— 5.4 points, 48.5 FG%, 38.9 3P%, 55.7 FT%, 2.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists
— Played on Iceland’s U18 National Team
No. 42 | F | Allison Schwertner | 6–3 | sophomore
— 5.2 points, 35.4 FG%, 57.1 FT%, 5.1 rebounds
Notes
— UNC guard Reniya Kelly wasn’t in uniform for pregame warmups.
— Boston University was picked eighth in the 10-team Patriot League after going 12–19 (5–13 in the league) last season. BU returned four starters.
— The Terriers are only making 33.6% of their 3-point attempts, but Aubrey Ericksen and Inés Monteagudo Pardo have both made 11 of 27 for 40.7% and Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir is shooting 38.9% (7 of 18) from outside the arc.
— This shapes up as a game that UNC can force lots of turnovers to create transition buckets. BU is averaging 16.3 turnovers per game.
— Carolina has won its last 31 home non-conference games against unranked teams and the last 12 home non-conference games against all teams.
— Senior UNC guard Indya Nivar is tied with Notre Dame’s Hannah Hildalgo for the NCAA lead in steals with 42. She’s averaging 4.2 per game (seventh in the country) and would need to average only 4.0 in the remaining 21 regular-season games to break Linda Matthews’ program record of 127 in 1979. She’s the first player under Banghart with at least four steals in three straight games.
— Louisville transfer Nyla Harris is second among active ACC players in rebounds with 583.
— UNC leads the ACC in field-goal percentage (48.2%; 22nd in the country), is second in 3-point shooting percentage (35.3%; 58th), second in 3-pointers per game (8.4; 44th), second in turnover margin (+6.7; 34th), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24; 31st), third in steals per game (11.4; 52nd) and fourth in assists per game (16.6; 49th).
UNC season statistics
Boston University season statistics
Statistical comparison
| Statistic | UNC | BU |
|---|---|---|
| Points per Game | 79.4 | 54.5 |
| FG% | 48.2% | 39.9% |
| 3PT% | 35.3% | 33.6% |
| FT% | 63.5% | 67.3% |
| Rebounds/game | 35.6 | 33.4 |
| Assists/game | 16.6 | 12.1 |
| Blocks/game | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Steals/game | 11.4 | 5.6 |
| Scoring defense | 58.6 | 59.1 |
| Opponent FG% | 40.3% | 39.3% |
| Opponent 3PT% | 31.3% | 31.0% |
| Rebound Margin | +4.4 | +0.4 |
| Assist/TO ratio | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 8 Louisville | 8–0 | 18–3 | 8 |
| No. 21 Duke | 8–0 | 13–6 | 17 |
| Syracuse | 6–2 | 16–3 | 40 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 13–6 | 26 |
| Virginia | 6–2 | 14–5 | 38 |
| North Carolina | 5–3 | 16–5 | 20 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–3 | 15–5 | 48 |
| Notre Dame | 5–3 | 13–6 | 27 |
| Stanford | 4–3 | 15–5 | 35 |
| Clemson | 4–4 | 13–7 | 41 |
| Miami | 3–5 | 11–8 | 47 |
| Georgia Tech | 3–5 | 8–12 | 97 |
| California | 2–5 | 11–9 | 59 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 12–8 | 116 |
| Florida State | 2–6 | 7–13 | 111 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–7 | 8–13 | 248 |
| SMU | 1–7 | 8–12 | 168 |
| Boston College | 0–8 | 4–17 | 257 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Thursday’s games
North Carolina 54, Georgia Tech 46
Notre Dame 74, Miami 66
Virginia Tech 71, Clemson 68
Virginia 84, Pittsburgh 46
Florida State 73, SMU 51
Saturday’s games
Boston College at No. 8 Louisville, 11 a.m., ACCN Extra
No. 21 Duke at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
N.C. State at Virginia, noon, ACC Network
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at North Carolina, 2 p.m., The CW
Clemson at Notre Dame, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at SMU, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Florida State, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday, Jan. 29, games
Virginia at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Boston College, 6 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 8 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 21 Duke at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 2 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. 3 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. 8 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, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–0 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–1 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–2 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–2 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–2 |
| 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 No. 21 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. 21 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 |
Photos via goterriers.com
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