By R.L. Bynum
In a shot at North Carolina during a preseason gathering of N.C. State fans, first-year Wolfpack coach Will Wade said that “the other school was too dumb” to play Ven-Allen Lubin.
Wade said that when Lubin played “28-plus minutes” for the Tar Heels, he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds.
Wade wasn’t far off: Lubin is averaging 14.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in those eight games. In 15 games overall for N.C. State, he’s averaging 26.7 minutes, 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds.
But when Lubin scored seven points in 30 minutes during the Wolfpack’s 76–61 home loss Saturday to No. 21 Virginia, it was his eighth game this season playing at least 28 minutes, dropping them to 3–5 in those games.
Lubin played 33 minutes in Wednesday’s 70–57 victory over Wake Forest with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
With Lubin’s 19 points in the two games this week he eclipsed 1,000 points for his career with 1,006, 322 of which came last season at UNC.
The most productive former Carolina player remains Cade Tyson, who scored 24 points while playing all 40 minutes as Minnesota (9–5, 2–1 Big Ten) earned an 84–78 win Saturday at Northwestern.
Tyson scored seven points in the last 1:19 to ensure the win for the Gophers.
Tyson, who pulled down five rebounds and dished out a career-high six assists, is second in the Big Ten and seventh in the country in scoring at 22.1 points per game. Tyson made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts to push his free-throw percentage to 82.4% after shooting only 56.3% at the line last season at UNC.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Michigan (13–0, 3–0 Big Ten) and No. 11 Vanderbilt (14–0, 1–0 SEC) kept rolling along.
Elliot Cadeau collected seven points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals Saturday as the Wolverines easily beat No. 24 USC 96–24.
In the Commodores’ 83–71 win Saturday at South Carolina in their SEC opener, Tyler Nickel scored 16 points and four 3-pointers, and Jalen Washington had 10 points and eight rebounds.
It didn’t go so well for Ian Jackson and St. John’s (9–5, 2–1 Big East) on Saturday, as the Red Storm dropped a home game to Providence 77–71. Jackson scored six points on 1 of 8 shooting, missing all six 3-point attempts while battling foul trouble and dishing out only two assists in his sixth consecutive start.
That was a big contrast for Jackson and St. John’s to Wednesday’s 95–83 win at Georgetown, when he scored 14 points and four 3-pointers in 24 minutes.
Teonni Key and Tray Crisp both scored 17 points as their teams won their SEC openers on Thursday.
Crisp scored three 3-pointers while dishing out three assists as Mississippi State (14–2, 1–1 SEC) rolled to a 75–53 win over Auburn. On Sunday, though, Crisp had seven points and four rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 95–43 loss at No. 8 Oklahoma.
Key pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in No. 11 Kentucky’s big 80–78 win at No. 5 LSU. On Sunday, she had five points and six rebounds as the Wildcats (15–1, 2– SEC) beat Missouri 74–52 at home.
Paulina Paris scored a season highs of 20 points and four 3-pointers Tuesday in SMU’s 91–58 loss at No. 13 Louisville. She had three assists for the Mustangs (7–9, 0–4 ACC). Sunday, she had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in SMU’s 67–59 home loss to Georgia Tech.
Elsewhere for former UNC players:
— RyLee Grays played 11 scoreless minutes as Tulsa (9–4, 1–0 American) beat Wichita State 74–58 on Tuesday.
— Will Shaver had two points in three minutes of Samford’s 78–58 win at VMI on Thursday but didn’t play Saturday as Samford (8–7, 1–1 Southern) lost 89–82 at UNCG.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting point guard ahead of sophomore L.J. Cason
Season statistics — 13 games, 13 starts, 9.6 points, 44.3 FG%, 44.2 3P%, 59.3 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.4 turnovers
Team record: 13–0, 3–0 Big Ten; Rank: No. 2
Tuesday: No. 2 Michigan 96, No. 24 USC 66 — Started; 28:30, 7 points, 2–8 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2–4 FT, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals, +25
Next game — 7 p.m. Tuesday at Penn State, FS1
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 8.7 points, 41.5 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Team record: 14–2, 1–1 SEC
Thursday: Mississippi State 75, Auburn 53 — Started; 32 minutes, team-high 17 points, 6–10 FG, 3–7 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 3 turnovers
Sunday: (at) No. 8 Oklahoma 95, Mississippi State 43 — Started; 28:39, 7 points, 2–11 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -39
Next game — 7:30 Thursday vs. No. 23 Tennessee
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 13 games, 2.8 points, 42.9 FG%, 1–3 3FG, 69.6 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 steals
Team record: 9–4
Tuesday: Tulsa 64, Wichita State 58 — 11 minutes, 0–2 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 1 block
Next game — 7:30 Tuesday at Tulane, ESPN+
Ian Jackson, St. John’s guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter, sharing time in a point-guard-by-committee mix
Season statistics — 14 games, 7 starts, 11.4 points, 44.6 FG%, 35.7 3P%, 89.7 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Team record: 9–5, 2–1 Big East
Wednesday: St. John’s 95, (at) Georgetown 83 — Started; 24 minutes, 14 points, 4–9 FG, 4–7 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 block
Saturday: Providence 77, St. John’s 71 — Started; 14 minutes, 6 points, 1–8 FG, 0–6 3FG, 4–4 FT, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, 2 assists, 1 steal
Next game — 7 p.m. Tuesday at Butler, Peacock, NBCSN
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 11.0 points, 54.9 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 70.7 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–1, 2–0 SEC; Rank: No. 11
Thursday: No. 11 Kentucky 80, (at) No. 5 LSU 78 — Started; 38:58, 17 points, 8–14 FG, 0–2 3FG, 1–1 FT, team-high 16 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, +1
Thursday: No. 11 Kentucky 74, Missouri 52 — Started; 22:10, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, +10
Next game — 7 p.m. Thursday at Alabama
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 12.7 points, 66.3 FG%, 3–8 3FG, 70.2 FT%, 7.0 rebounds
Team record: 10–5, 1–1 ACC
Wednesday: N.C. State 70, Wake Forest 57 — Started; 33 minutes, 12 points, 6–10 FG, 11 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 steals
Saturday: Virginia 76, N.C. State 61 — Started; 29:43, 7 points, 2–6 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, -10
Next game — 9 p.m. Tuesday at Boston College, ACC Network
Plays UNC —7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, ESPN or ESPN2
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 14.9 points, 53.0 FG%, 49.1 3P%, 78.9 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Team record: 14–0, 1–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 83, (at) South Carolina 71 — Started; 28:01, 16 points, 6–10 FG, 4–7 3FG, 0–1 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 2 assists, 1 turnover, +8
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday vs. Alabama, ESPN2
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting guard
Season statistics — 15 games, 9 starts, 11.0 points, 42.3 FG%, 27.1 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 7–9, 0–4 ACC
Tuesday: (at) No. 13 Louisville 91, SMU 58 — Started; 33:14, 20 points, 8–15 FG, 4–7 3FG, 0–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, -29
Sunday: Georgia Tech 67, SMU 59 — Started; 37:01, 12 points, 5–10 FG, 0–2 3FG, 2–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 4 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 steals, -3
Next game — 6 p.m. Sunday at N.C. State, ACC Network
Plays UNC — 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at Carmichael Arena, ACCN
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 13 games, 2.0 points, 47.8 FG%, 28.6 3P%, 2–6 FT, 2.3 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals
Team record: 8–7, 1–1 Southern Conference
Thursday: Samford 78, (at) VMI 58 — 3 minutes, 2 points, 1–1 FG, 0–1 FT, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers
Saturday: (at) UNCG 89, Samford 82 — Didn’t play
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday at Western Carolina, ESPN+
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 22.1 points, 52.9 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 82.4 FT%, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 9–5, 2–1 Big Ten
Saturday: Minnesota 84, (at) Northwestern 78 —Started; 40 minutes, 24 points, 6–13 FG, 1–4 3FG, 11–12 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, career-high 6 assists, 3 turnovers
Next game — 8 p.m. Tuesday vs. Iowa, Big Ten Network
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 14 games, 1 start, 10.1 points, 62.7 FG%, 29.4 3P%, 78.2 FT%, 5.31 rebounds
Team record: 14–0, 1–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 83, (at) South Carolina 71 — Didn’t start; 19:35, 10 points, 3–5 FG, 4–5 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, +3
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday vs. Alabama, ESPN2
Photo via gophersports.com
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