By Tom Foreman Jr.
CHAPEL HILL — That roller coaster that Michael Malone used as an example of the early going for North Carolina ran much more smoothly for the second outing of the season.
A fast start against Wofford on Friday night led to a convincing 109–70 triumph at the Smith Center. It gave the Tar Heels their second straight victory against the Southern Conference, in which they were once a member before the ACC was formed and lured them away. The first one was Monday’s nail-biter against Western Carolina.
“I thought tonight, something we talked about, just to keep playing the right way, keep building habits and play as close to 40 minutes as possible,” Malone said. “And I was proud of our guys. I kept on reminding them in the huddle, even as the lead was getting bigger. We’re building habits. This is not just tonight’s game. This is going to help us in a game down the road, and I thought I guys showed maturity in that regard tonight.”
It was a wire-to-wire win in which the Tar Heels made strides after their struggles with Western Carolina. Five players scored in double figures, led by Terrence Brown’s 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Jaydon Young scored 15 on a 4-for-8 effort and Alex Samodurov was 4-of-5 in his 13-point performance. Maximo Adams had 11 (5-for-10) and Jarin Stevenson added 10 (3-for-6).
North Carolina, which hit 52.1% from the field, also improved its 3-point shooting, going 10 for 25, but Wofford won the offensive boards, one of the talking points Malone brought up this week.
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“Well, the reality is we have a long laundry list,” he said. “But I think the one thing we’ve improved by far the most is in our ability to value the basketball.”
“You know, in three exhibition games, that was a huge concern,” Malone said. “Good teams don’t beat themselves and we were beating ourselves every night in our first two games, we’ve had a positive assist-turnover ratio, 18 to 8 tonight is outstanding, and so that allowed us to get a quality look every time down the floor.”
Wofford has given the Tar Heels fits in the Smith Center prior to this visit. In 2017, the Terriers took a 79-75 victory over the then-fifth-ranked Tar Heels. Two years later, Wofford took out the then-17th-ranked Tar Heels, 68-64, in Carmichael Arena.
The Tar Heels indicated they weren’t up for a three-peat in the opening minutes of the first half. Stevenson opened with a driving dunk and later added a pair of free throws. Combine that with a defense that was limiting Wofford to one shot on many of its possessions and a 5-for-21 start from the floor, and North Carolina was up 33–15 at the eight-minute media timeout.
“Yeah, that was fun,” Stevenson said. “Coach Malone, I feel like he had a great play to get me downhill to my right hand, and I had an open lane. So, from there, I just try to attack the rim and make a play.”
The Terriers didn’t help themselves when Cam Lowe committed a flagrant-one foul by sending Alex Samodurov flying out of bounds near the Carolina basket.
Samodurov hit the two free throws, then got additional revenge by canning a 3 for a 45-28 advantage with 4:32 left before halftime. When the teams went to the locker room, Carolina held the 51–34 edge.
But unlike the Western Carolina game, when the Catamounts whittled the gap to one, the Tar Heels never let the Terriers get anywhere close to striking distance. The only suspense remaining was whether the Tar Heels would reach 100 points, a number they hadn’t posted since a 107–55 victory over American on Nov. 15, 2024.
Sayon Keita brought Carolina to the century mark — and the free biscuits — on an alley-oop with 4:41 left to set a 100–60 lead.
The final score represented the most the Tar Heels had scored since hanging 113 on NC State in a 17-point victory in 2019 at the Smith Center.
North Carolina is opening the season with a six-game home stand. The third game comes on Tuesday against Wyoming.
Tom Foreman Jr., a member of the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame, is a veteran journalist who wrote for The Associated Press 43 years and, more recently, served as sports editor for the Winston-Salem Journal and the Greensboro News & Record.
UNC 109, Wofford 70
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 6 | W, 109–70 | Friday | vs. Wofford | 2–0 |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo by Drew Horwitz
