By R.L. Bynum
It was a week full of ups and downs for former UNC players, highlighted by big games for Cade Tyson and Jalen Washington, but it also included a season-low game for Tyler Nickel, Elliot Cadeau’s fourth straight loss to Duke and an injury to Ian Jackson.
Tyson bounced back in a big way after tying his season-low with 12 points in Minnesota’s 61–44 Tuesday win at Oregon by scoring 27 points, seven 3-pointers and 10 rebounds for his third career double-double (second this season) in Saturday’s 80–61 home victory over Rutgers for the Gophers (13–14, 6–10 Big Ten).
It was the ninth game with at least three 3-pointers for Tyson, who is shooting 40.9% from 3-point range, one short of his season-high of eight in a Jan. 14 win against Texas Southern.
No. 19 Vanderbilt (21–6, 8–6 SEC) lost both games last week, falling 81–80 Wednesday at Missouri and 69–65 Saturday at home against Tennessee, with Washington and Nickel having very different performances.
While Nickel scored a season-low three points on 1 of 8 shooting against the Vols, Washington had a block party. The senior center, starting his seventh consecutive game, blocked a career-high six shots, scored eight points and tied his career-high with 10 rebounds.
In the loss to Missouri, Nickel had 11 points, three 3-pointers, five rebounds and three assists, while Washington contributed six points and four rebounds.
Cadeau’s trouble with Duke continued in an epic game in Washington on Saturday night. He dished out six assists against one turnover, but had eight points on 1 of 8 shooting. That one was a big late 3-pointer that wasn’t enough in a 68–65 loss to No. 3 Duke, which figures to supplant the Wolverines (25–2) as the No. 1 team on Monday.
In Cadeau’s four-game losing streak against the Blue Devils, his lone double-figure scoring game was 15 points in UNC’s 74–71 loss in last season’s ACC tournament. Cadeau fell to 2–4 against the Blue Devils, winning his first two matchups when Carolina swept Duke in the 2023–24 season. He scored seven points in both of those games.
Cadeau scored a team-high 17 points with three 3-pointers and seven in Tuesday’s 86–56 home blowout of UCLA.
No. 17 St. John’s (25–5, 15–1 Big East) rolled to its 13th consecutive victory without sophomore Ian Jackson. Jackson missed the Red Storm’s 81–52 home win Saturday over Creighton with a sprained right ankle suffered in the 76–70 Wednesday win over Marquette. In that game, Jackson had eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes.
Ven-Allen Lubin collected 12 points and six rebounds against his former team as N.C. State (18–8, 9–4 ACC) blew out No. 16 UNC 82–58 on Tuesday. He leads the ACC in field-goal percentage at 68.9%.
In other action in the last week:
— Trayanna Crisp combined for 16 points as Mississippi State (18–9, 5–8 SEC) beat Arkansas 76–66 on Monday but lost 71–56 to Florida on Thursday.
— RyLee Grays had two points and two assists on Friday as Tulsa (17–9, 9–5 American) beat UAB 59–55.
— Puff Johnson had four points in 17 minutes as Ohio State (17–9, 9–6 Big Ten) beat No. 24 Wisconsin 86–69 on Tuesday.
— Teonni Key had four points and five rebounds last Sunday as No. 16 Kentucky (20–7, 7–6 SEC) beat Ole Miss 74–57.
— Will Shaver was scoreless in Samford’s 78–75 Thursday loss at The Citadel and had four points and four rebounds in Saturday’s 89–86 loss to Mercer.
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 — 27 games, 27 starts, 10.0 points, 42.7 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 69.4 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.4 turnovers
Team record: 25–2, 15–2 Big Ten; Rank: No. 1
Tuesday: 86–56 win vs. UCLA — Started; 34:16, team-high 17 points, 6–12 FG, 3–5 3FG, 2–3 FT, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, +7
Saturday: 68–63 loss vs. No. 3 Duke in Washington — Started; 29 minutes, 8 points, 1–8 FG, 1–6 3FG, 5–6 FT, 2 fouls, 6 assists, 1 turnover
Next game — 8:30 Tuesday vs. Minnesota, Big Ten Network
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 26 games, 26 starts, 9.2 points, 39.4 FG%, 38.6 3P%, 88.1 FT%, 2.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 18–9, 5–8 SEC
Monday: 75–66 win at Arkansas — Started; 26:37, 11 points, 3–9 FG, 3–8 3FG, 2–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, +23
Thursday: 71–56 loss vs. Florida — Started; 26:37, 27 minutes, 5 points, 2–7 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 assists, 4 turnovers
Next game — 2 p.m. Sunday at No. 4 Texas, SEC Network
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 26 games, 2.1 points, 42.4 FG%, 4–10 3FG, 75.9 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 blocks, 9 steals
Team record: 17–9, 9–5 American
Friday: 59–55 win vs. UAB — 8 minutes, 2 points, 1–3 FG, 0–1 3FG, 1 rebound, 2 assists
Next game — 7:30 Tuesday vs. 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 — 26 games, 19 starts, 10.4 points, 43.0 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 90.2 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 22–5, 15–1 Big East; Rank: No. 17
Wednesday: 76–70 win at Marquette — Started; 23 minutes, 8 points, 3–6 FG, 2–5 3FG, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 3 turnovers
Saturday: 81–52 win vs. Creighton — Missed the game with a sprained right ankle suffered in the first half of the Marquette game
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday at No. 5 UConn, Peacock, NBCSN
Puff Johnson, Ohio State
6–8, 190 pounds | Graduate | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve
Team record: 17–9, 9–6 Big Ten
Season statistics — 6 games, 3.2 points, 54.5 FG%, 3–4 3FG, 4–7 FT, 1.2 rebounds
Tuesday: 86–69 win vs. No. 24 Wisconsin — 17 minutes, 4 points, 2–4 FG, 0–2 FT, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 1 turnover
Next game — 1 p.m. Sunday at Michigan State, CBS
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 19 games, 19 starts, 11.3 points, 52.8 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 64.7 FT%, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 20–7, 7–6 SEC; Rank: No. 16
Sunday: 74–57 win vs. Ole Miss — Started; 24:09, 4 points, 2–4 FG, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 2 blocks, +17
Next game — 3 p.m. Sunday at No. 5 Vanderbilt, SEC Network
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 27 games, 27 starts, 13.6 points, ACC-leading 68.9 FG%, 27.3 3P%, 70.2 FT%, 7.0 rebounds
Team record: 18–8, 9–4 ACC
Tuesday: 82–58 win vs. No. 16 North Carolina — Started; 28:23, 12 points, 5–6 FG, 2–4 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 assists, 1 turnovers, 1 steal, +20
Next game — 7 p.m. Tuesday at No. 14 Virginia, ACC Network
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 27 games, 27 starts, 14.3 points, 47.8 FG%, 42.9 3P%, 82.5 FT%, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 21–6, 8–6 SEC: Rank: No. 19
Wednesday: 81–80 loss at Missouri — Started, 35:28, 11 points, 4–11 FG, 3–9 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, +3
Saturday: 69–65 loss vs. Tennessee — Started; 29:56, season-low 3 points, 1–8 FG, 1–6 3FG, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal, -11
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. Georgia, SEC Network
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Season statistics — 20 games, 12 starts, 9.6 points, 39.9 FG%, 25.0 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 9–18, 2–13 ACC
Suffered season-ending left foot injury.
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 27 games, 2.8 points, 49.2 FG%, 36.4 3P%, 60.9 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 22 assists, 14 blocks, 4 steals
Team record: 16–13, 9–7 Southern Conference
Thursday: 78–75 win at The Citadel — 11 minutes, 0–1 FG, 0–1 3FG, 7 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 3 turnovers
Saturday: 89–86 loss at Mercer — 12 minutes, 4 points, 2–6 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist
Next game — 8 p.m. Thursday vs. VMI, ESPN+
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 25 games, 25 starts, team-leading 19.5 points, 48.9 FG%, 40.9 3P%, 81.1 FT%, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists
Team record: 13–14, 6–10 Big Ten
Tuesday: 61–44 win at Oregon — Started; 40 minutes, 12 points (tied for season-low; fourth game), 3–10 FG, 1–4 3FG, 5–6 FT, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal
Saturday: 80–61 win vs. Rutgers — Started; 39 minutes, 27 points (fourth game with at least 27), 10–18 FG, 7–9 3FG, 0–2 FT, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover; 2nd double-double (3rd of career)
Next game — 8:30 Tuesday at No. 1 Michigan, Big Ten Network
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 27 games, 8 starts, 8.8 points, 57.1 FG%, 28.6 3P%, 72.2 FT%, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 21–5, 8–5 SEC: Rank: No. 19
Wednesday: 81–80 loss at Missouri — Started, 21:06, 6 points, 2–7 FG, 0–1 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 steals, -11
Saturday: 69–65 loss vs. Tennessee — Started, 26:14, 8 points, 4–7 FG, 0–2 FT, 10 rebounds (tied career-high), 4 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, career-high 6 blocks, +3
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. Georgia, SEC Network
Photo via gophersports.com
