In many NCAA tournament matchups, neither team is familiar with the other. On Saturday, former Pittsburgh star Jayla Everett will know No. 20 Carolina and the No. 6-seed Tar Heels will know the talented forward, who led No. 11 seed St. John’s to its first NCAA tournament berth in seven years.
Category: Basketball
UNC women shrug after NCAA slight, determined to meet challenges ahead
While the loyal Carolina women’s basketball fans were outraged and surprised that the NCAA didn’t make the Tar Heels a host school in the NCAA tournament, the players and the coaching staff shrugged and looked ahead. Juniors Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby admitted at a press conference Friday in Columbus, Ohio, that they were bummed because projections suggested that the No. 20-ranked Tar Heels would be able to play the first two rounds at Carmichael Arena.
UNC sophomore Styles reportedly entering transfer portal
After playing sparingly in his sophomore season at North Carolina, wing Dontrez Styles is entering the transfer portal to find a new basketball home, according to On3. It was always going to be a tough decision for the 6–6, 210-pound former Kinston High School star, who grew up as a UNC fan and with his room decorated with Carolina items. When he committed to the Tar Heels, he said it was something that he had been “dreaming of since I was a little kid.”
Tar Heels in pros: Jackson gets 32 points, 8 3-pointers, career-high 15 rebounds in OT G League win; Barnes, Kings clinch winning season
Justin Jackson has put up a lot of big numbers in the G League since joining the struggling Texas Legends on Feb. 24 and did that again on Thursday night, finally in a victory. He had that sweet jump shot going that Carolina fans know so well, and put together an outstanding overall game.
Tar Heels in NBA: Mavs win without two stars, thanks to Bullock’s 20 points, 6 3-pointers, first career double-double week after missing game
Without Kyrie Irving and Luca Dončić, the Dallas Mavericks needed some big performances to win at San Antonio, and Reggie Bullock came through with his best game of the season. Bullock, a 10-year veteran who turned 32 Thursday, produced his first career double-double with 20 points, six 3-pointers and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson scores 23 in Nets loss; Jackson has 24 points, 7 3s in G League; consistent games from Barnes, Anthony
Cameron Johnson is producing the consistent effort that most expected from his first season as an NBA starter. But, instead of doing it for a solid NBA title contender in the Phoenix Suns, it’s for a rebooted Brooklyn Nets team trying to find a rhythm. Johnson, traded from the Suns to the Nets along with Mikal Bridges at the trade deadline, scored 23 points and three 3-pointers Tuesday night. But Brooklyn, which got 34 points from Bridges, blew a 10-point halftime lead and lost at Oklahoma City 121–107.
Styles, still debating future, wanted to play in NIT, says Coach Davis made decision
Dontrez Styles, who still is deciding whether he’ll return to Carolina next season, said Tuesday that Coach Hubert Davis told the team after the NCAA selection show that the Tar Heels wouldn’t accept an NIT invitation. “It was the coach’s decision,” Styles said during his weekly “Tuesdays with Trez” segment on “The Bryan Hanks Show” on WRNS 960 AM in Kinston.
Carolina’s roster reboot begins: Nickel and McKoy enter the transfer portal
The shuffling of the Carolina men’s basketball roster is under way. With several reserves getting little playing time, some of them figured to move on. That started Monday when Tyler Nickel and Justin McKoy entered the transfer portal. Nickel has three years of eligibility left, and McKoy would play a fifth season as a graduate transfer.
UNC women drawing No. 6 seed, a road trip only latest egregious NCAA decision the program has dealt with in last 20 years
CHAPEL HILL — The NCAA women’s basketball tournament selection committee egregiously underseeded North Carolina for the second consecutive season, but it’s just the latest of a few curious decisions the program has endured in the last 20 years.
UNC women draws surprisingly low No. 6 seed, headed to Columbus, Ohio
CHAPEL HILL — A year after the NCAA selection committee denied North Carolina’s women a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and the perk of hosting most thought was deserved, the Tar Heels were again underseeded. Most projections had the Tar Heels a No. 4 seed, but they will be a No. 6 and play first-round games in Columbus, Ohio, with a trip to Seattle following that if they get two wins in Columbus.