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The Chicago Bulls have won four straight and Coby White is looking comfortable and playing with confidence as a starter. White scored 24 points and five 3-pointers with five rebounds and six assists as he backed up the 40 points from DeMar DeRozan in Chicago’s 120–109 home win Monday over the San Antonio Spurs. The Bulls (37–21) are only a half-game back of the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat.
North Carolina, one of 10 ranked teams to lose last week, fell one spot to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll released Monday after beating Pittsburgh 64–54 and losing Sunday at Virginia Tech 66–61. The Hokies, who have played like a ranked team for a few weeks, finally debuted in the poll at No. 23 after also defeating Georgia Tech 73–63 to give the ACC six ranked teams.
For Garrison Brooks, Brandon Huffman and Walker Miller, their teams battled through rough weeks. Walker Kessler’s Auburn team dropped its first SEC game of the season but rebounded thanks to his second triple-double of the season. After collecting 16 points and 19 rebounds in No. 1 Auburn’s 80–76 Tuesday loss at Arkansas, Kessler had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks in Saturday’s 75–58 home victory over Texas A&M.
When North Carolina blew out Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill last month, the Tar Heels limited one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the ACC. On Sunday, whenever the No. 23 Tar Heels tried to make a run, big Virginia Tech 3-pointers kept them at arm’s length in a physical battle.
Six UNC alums scored in double figures on Saturday night, led by 21 from Harrison Barnes and 17 each from Cole Anthony and Reggie Bullock, with Day’Ron Sharpe producing his second NBA double-double. Sharpe collected 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in 27 minutes in Brooklyn’s 115–111 road loss to Miami. Sharpe, who had three assists and a steal, was a team-high +24 as the Nets (29–17) lost their 11th consecutive game and fell to eighth in the Eastern Conference.
CHAPEL HILL — All of the tough games and ugly-looking wins were a distant memory as Carolina played its best game of the season against depleted Florida State. There was so much to love for Tar Heels fans as they led by 40 points in the second half on their way to a Saturday’s 94–74 win in the Smith Center, starting with the return of consistent shooting from Caleb Love.
On a night when Chicago guard Zach LaVine was struggling, Coby White was there to deliver a big game in a Bulls victory on Friday night. White scored 22 points in 29 minutes and ignited a 15–2 fourth-quarter run for a 134–122 home victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves and back-to-back wins. His 3-pointer during that run gave Chicago the lead for good.
When Cam Johnson slipped past a Jrue Holliday for an impressive one-handed slam to give Phoenix a 20-point lead over the Milwaukee Bucks, it was an exclamation point on a small bit of revenge for the Suns. After losing to the Bucks in the NBA Finals last season, the 131–107 Phoenix win before a sellout crowd was as big as a regular-season victory can be for the Suns. They have the NBA’s best record at 45–10, by a 4½-game margin over Golden State.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina guard Eva Hodgson is the perfect example of a player who brings energy and versatility off the bench, and she’s done it all season. When she entered the No. 23 Tar Heels’ 64–54 Thursday victory over Pittsburgh late in the first quarter, she scored a pair of 3-pointers in 64 seconds. By the time she returned to the bench 11 minutes later, she already had nine of her 14 points, three of her five rebounds and a steal. When a 10–0 Panthers run cut UNC’s lead to seven in the fourth quarter, she shot down their chances.
While life on the NCAA tournament bubble is an annual routine for Syracuse, North Carolina rarely faces pressure to win in February just to make the field. In 2010 and 2020, the Tar Heels weren’t even playing well enough to ascend to the bubble. They had to settle for the NIT in 2010, one year after winning the 2009 NCAA title. It didn’t matter in 2020 because the NCAA tournament got canceled. But, other than those years, UNC hasn’t tasted life on the bubble since 2000, and that turned out pretty well.
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