Category: Men's basketball

Tar Heels in NBA: Sharpe starts, ties career-highs in points, rebounds with double-double as short-handed Nets win

Day’Ron Sharpe got a golden chance to show what he could do in the NBA and, despite playing for a short-handed team, he started and put up a double-double in an amazing Brooklyn Nets win. Sharpe tied his career-highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes as the Nets rallied to win Saturday at Indiana 136–133. They did it despite playing without Kevin Durant (knee), Kyrie Irving (adductor), Nic Claxton (hamstring), Joe Harris (ankle), Royce O’Neale (personal reasons) and Seth Curry (ankle), with only nine players available.

Tar Heels in NBA: Anthony efficient off bench in Magic win; Barnes scores 20 in big Kings road win; Sharpe back in NBA

Cole Anthony hasn’t started for Orlando since his return from injury six games ago, but he scored in double figures for the fifth time, and the Magic have won back-to-back games for the second time this season. Anthony collected 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes of the Magic’s 113–109 home victory Friday over the Toronto Raptors.

Hubert Davis suggests you’ll see more Trimble, trapping on defense

The last 10 minutes of the Virginia Tech loss could be a snapshot of a more aggressive defensive approach — and player usage — in upcoming games as North Carolina tries to shake itself out of a funk that has led to four consecutive losses. When Carolina (5–4, 0–1 ACC) rallied from an 18-point deficit to make a game of it, the Tar Heels did it by creating steals with full-court and half-court traps.

Platek hot from 3 early in loss at Georgetown; Francis has season-high; Walton’s playing time scarce

Andrew Platek hit three 3-pointers in the first 4:25 and scored all of his 12 points in the first half, but Siena couldn’t pull its third upset of a major conference opponent. The Saints (5–4), who have beaten Florida State and Seton Hall, had their two-game win streak snapped in the 75–68 Wednesday loss at Georgetown after blowing a six-point lead with 10:46 left.

Tar Heels in NBA: Barnes hits 17; consistency helps Kings to best start in 18 years

Harrison Barnes’ first four seasons in Sacramento were full of frustration as the Kings never were able to have sustained success. But, with his help, that’s changing this season. Barnes scored 17 points and three 3-pointers with six rebounds Sunday night as the Kings beat the Chicago Bulls 110–101 for their best 22-game start since the 2004–05 season when he was 12 years old.

UNC finally finds right combination without Bacot, but rally falls short at VT

Coach Hubert Davis has been hesitant to go very deep into his bench this season. Injuries forced him to do that in Carolina’s ACC opener, and it didn’t go well until the last 10 minutes. Without Armando Bacot and reserve D’Marco Dunn, Davis substituted more in the first half than he has done in most games trying to find the right lineup combinations. By the time a combination started to click, it was too late as Virginia Tech held on for an 80–72 victory Sunday at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.

Tar Heels in NBA: Anthony plays well again in second game back; Little out six weeks; Kessler has best game of rookie season

It’s only taken Cole Anthony two games to find a groove after missing 16 games with a right oblique tear. In his 25th NBA game, Walker Kessler had the best night of his rookie season. Anthony had a good all-around game with 19 points, three 3-pointers, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in the Orlando Magic’s 107–96 road loss Friday to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Assembly Hall special classic college hoops venue — like a bigger Carmichael

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — While the outcome of the games left much to be desired for North Carolina, it was interesting to experience gamedays at another school with a rich basketball tradition. Assembly Hall is one of several remaining classic college basketball venues that hasn’t been cast aside in favor of bigger arenas. The facility remains where Bobby Knight turned Indiana into a national power and famously threw a chair in disgust — along with UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse and Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium, to name a few.

Bacot says that the reeling Heels are ‘back to square one’

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After three consecutive losses and continued struggles to find the offensive rhythm that carried Carolina to the Final Four last season, senior center Armando Bacot knows something has to change. “We’re back to square one now. I guess our choice now is to fight,” said Bacot after battling through right ankle, right shoulder, collarbone and foul-trouble issues to contribute 12 points and 10 rebounds in No. 18 North Carolina’s 77–65 loss to No. 10 Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in an electric environment at Assembly Hall.