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FORT WORTH, Texas — When Hubert Davis said early in the season that the goal for his first North Carolina team was a national championship, it seemed a little far-fetched to many observers. After holding off reigning national champion and No. 1 seed Baylor in overtime 93–86 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday at Dickies Arena, his Tar Heels are making believers of the college basketball world.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Baylor coach Scott Drew is familiar with Brady Manek from the Bears’ battles with Oklahoma the previous four seasons. A lot has changed since his Big 12 days, though. Manek has gone from the clean-shaven Larry Bird look as a Sooner to a full beard and long, flowing hair. But there are plenty of much-more important differences this year at Carolina (25–9).
Many opponents thought they could apply pressure defense on Carolina’s women, force turnovers and dictate the play. That hasn’t worked out well most of the season. No. 12-seed Stephen F. Austin (28–4) is the latest team that will likely give that strategy a shot when it faces the No. 5-seed and 17th-ranked Tar Heels (23–6) at 7:30 Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz., (ESPN News) in the first round of the NCAA Greensboro Region.
By R.L. Bynum FORT WORTH, Texas — Carolina can beat anybody in the country when Caleb Love and Brady Manek…
While most men’s teams play their NCAA tournament openers a few days after their conference tournaments, most women’s teams don’t even know their tournament draw for a week afterward. It’s an odd dynamic that women’s coaches have to deal with on an annual basis and this is the 10th time for North Carolina’s third-year coach Courtney Banghart and the second time for most of her players.
Playing time with Brooklyn has been hard to come by lately for Day’Ron Sharpe, but he has made his mark in G League appearances with the Long Island Nets. On Wednesday afternoon, who collected 30 points and 20 rebounds in 36 minutes of Long Island’s 118–114 road loss to the Westchester Knicks.
Don’t let Coach Hubert Davis’ calm sideline demeanor. There is a lot of passion, and the first-year Carolina coach has a way of transferring that onto his team during pregame speeches. His players say that they are ready to run through a wall after those speeches. “You know you see him scowling before the games?” senior Leaky Black said. “Just imagine a pregame speech. It makes you want to run through a brick wall. That’s the message I get. I just try to go out there and play as hard as I can every time for him.”
Hubert Davis knows the pressure of an NCAA tournament game, specifically when facing a No. 1-seed, which is a situation he hopes his Carolina team faces Saturday. As a sophomore for a No. 8-seeded UNC team against a No. 1 seed in 1990, he wanted no part of taking a big shot in the final seconds.
Mitchell Trubisky reportedly has reached an agreement on a two-year deal with Pittsburgh, where he will likely replace Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. Trubisky’s competition to take over for the retired Roethlisberger will be Mason Rudolph.
CHAPEL HILL — All season, Coach Courtney Banghart has talked about her Carolina women’s basketball team’s connectedness, and the players’ enthusiasm for what’s ahead was obvious as they gathered at Top of the Hill restaurant to see where their March journey starts. Carolina’s breakout season will continue as the No. 5-seed in the Greensboro Region of the NCAA tournament, facing No. 12-seed Stephen F. Austin (28–4) Saturday in the first round in Tucson, Ariz. Should the Tar Heels advance to the second weekend, they would play in Greensboro. The top seed in the region is No. 1-ranked South Carolina.
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