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Playing at Florida State is like a trip to the dentist. You have to go periodically; it’s not enjoyable, you’ve had some bad experiences, and you just hope to get out of there without some bad news. Carolina headed to Tallahassee on Monday night for an all-loss, no-win game in which a victory did little to solidify their place on the right side of the bubble, but a defeat at the 9–20 Seminoles would just about doom their NCAA tournament chances.
Carolina has a history of nightmare games at Tallahassee, but Monday’s visit was more like a dream — although there were some restless moments in the last six minutes. Sure, the Tar Heels were too sloppy at times, and the near collapse with an 18-point lead cut to four was discouraging. But they further made their case to make the NCAA tournament field by snapping a three-game losing streak at the Leon County Civic Center with a 77–66 victory, their third in a row.
Cameron Johnson had his best game as a Brooklyn Net and hit a huge late 3-pointer, but it wasn’t enough to get a win at Atlanta. Johnson scored 27 points and tied the game on a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left, but Trae Young hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Hawks to a 129–127 victory Sunday.
Hear what UNC’s RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Caleb Love and Pete Nance had to say after the win over Virginia.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina may have shot itself off the bubble in one evening. Where the Tar Heels go from here, as always with this team, is hard to predict. But their 71–63 victory over No. 6 Virginia Saturday at the Smith Center for an elusive Quad 1 win that won’t get erased at least puts them in a better position to make the NCAA tournament.
Neither Harrison Barnes nor Coby White had their best games on Friday night, but both were on the right side as their teams made NBA history. Barnes scored 11 points on a tough shooting night, but his Sacramento Kings outlasted the host Los Angeles Clippers 176–175 in double overtime. It was the second game in league history with both teams scoring at least 170 points.
Hear what UNC coach Hubert Davis had to say ahead of the Tar Heels’ home game Saturday night against Virginia.
Nassir Little’s best game of the season wasn’t enough for his short-handed Portland team, as Harrison Barnes’ Sacramento Kings rolled to a 133–116 home victory on Thursday as the NBA returned from the All-Star break. Little started for the second time this season, scoring 26 points and five 3-pointers with four steals and a block.
Whew. For a team fighting for its postseason life, UNC showed a less-than-inspired effort for the first 20 minutes against Notre Dame in South Bend on Wednesday night.
Carolina coach Hubert Davis talks about where the season stands heading into Wednesday’s game at Notre Dame.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. In desperate need of a Quad 1 win, UNC builds a second-half lead only to fall apart down the stretch and fumble away yet another opportunity for a quality win in a season where opportunities are quickly running out. For the sixth time in nine Quad 1 games this season, the Tar Heels led in the final 20 minutes and, for the sixth time, Carolina was unable to finish the game and hold on for a victory.
RALEIGH — The questions keep coming for North Carolina’s men’s basketball team. There are no easy answers for the Tar Heels, who after this latest slippage might find that time is ticking a bit too fast.
Caleb Love and Hubert Davis give their thoughts on the loss to Miami and Sunday’s crucial game at N.C. State..
With a lot of help from a teammate who was traded along with him from Phoenix, Cam Johnson finally got a victory for Brooklyn in his third game since joining the Nets. Meanwhile, Coby White scored a season-high 25 points in his best game of the season one day before his birthday. Johnson scored 18 points and three 3-pointers while dishing out three assists as Brooklyn headed into the NBA All-Star break with a 116–110 home victory over the Miami Heat.
North Carolina’s men’s team hasn’t done much of late to help its NCAA resume, and factors that the Tar Heels can’t control are making it look even worse. There are now two wins that, on game day, were Quad 1 that are now Quad 2. For the second consecutive season, UNC is on the bubble in mid-February.
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