Maye, defense make huge plays but Heels can’t get one last big defensive stop

Drake Maye was back to his top-level self at the Holiday Bowl, and Carolina’s defense made game-changing plays. But they couldn’t come up with one last defense stop. An unlikely interception late in the first half, one of several big defensive plays, seized the momentum for North Carolina and gave the Tar Heels the lead until the final min

Davis’ nimble coaching, making changes on fly, comes from his approach as player

Hubert Davis has never hesitated to make changes on the fly when his initial game plan hasn’t worked or he has a gut feeling that a change would work better, and that’s made a difference during No. 25 North Carolina’s four-game win streak. That philosophy started when he was a player trying to figure out how to be successful on the floor, and that’s carried over since he became head coach and began making decisions instead of suggestions.

Tar Heels in NFL: Loss by Coach Jeff Saturday’s Colts caps a frustrating Week 16 that started with Carter’s 50 yards

Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was back on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ bench. The hopes of making the playoffs for Coach Arthur Smith’s Atlanta Falcons ended. Interim Coach Jeff Saturday’s Indianapolis Colts lost their fifth straight. Texans defensive back M.J. Stewart Jr. suffered a concussion. It was that kind of week with few highlights other than wins by the teams of two offensive linemen who played every offensive snap — Houston’s Charlie Heck and New Orleans’ James Hurst — and Michael Carter’s 50 totals yards to start the NFL week in the New York Jets’ 19–3 Thursday home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

UNC falls in AP Top 25 women’s poll ahead of ACC opener

North Carolina fell seven spots to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after the Tar Heels’ 76–68 loss to Michigan in Charlotte on Tuesday. The drop ended the Tar Heels’ streak of top-10 rankings at five weeks, the longest since the 2014–15 season when they had a six-week streak in the 2014–15 season (No. 6 Dec. 1–15, No. 9 Dec. 22, 29 and No. 8 Jan. 5).

Caleb Love drives for a dunk in UNC's victory over Michigan.

Streaking Heels back in men’s Top 25, seek 2nd Quad 1 win Friday

Carolina is back to playing well, has continued to improve during a four-game win streak, and now the Tar Heels are back in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after a three-week absence. UNC (9–4, 1–1 ACC) is No. 25 after following up its big 89–84 overtime victory Dec. 17 in New York over Ohio State with an 80–76 win Wednesday in Charlotte over Michigan. Losses by No. 21 Virginia Tech, No. 24 Marquette and No. 25 Arizona State dropped all three from the poll, aiding the Tar Heels’ return.

Tar Heels in NBA: Bullock’s best game of season comes in Mavs’ Christmas rout of Lakers; Green’s recovery progressing

Reggie Bullock played through a neck strain on Sunday, but that didn’t faze him before a national television audience in his best game of the season. Meanwhile, there was news about Danny Green’s recovery from offseason knee surgery. Starting his fifth consecutive game, Bullock scored a season-high 14 points, tying his season-high with four 3-pointers and dishing out a season-high four assists as the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 124–115 Christmas Day home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tar Heels in NBA: Anthony misses triple-double by one assist as Orlando earns 8th win in 9 games; Pinson hits 2 3s

One assist away from his first triple-double since high school, Cole Anthony dribbled out the final seconds of the Orlando Magic’s eighth win in the last nine games. Anthony scored a game-high 23 points and four 3-pointers as the Magic rolled to a 133–113 home victory Friday night over the San Antonio Spurs. Orlando’s 5–20 start to the season feels like a distant memory for the surging team.

Feeding ball to healthy Bacot frequently has UNC on impressive run

North Carolina learned a lot from a four-game losing streak that ramped up the frustrations and turned the Tar Heels from the No. 1 team to an unranked group looking for answers. All along, a couple of the big answers were there. Get Armando Bacot healthy and gear the offense around getting the preseason ACC Player of the Year and AP All-American the ball down low frequently.