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Without Phoenix’s All-Star backcourt, some would have figured that the Suns might have a tough time winning on Wednesday night. But they didn’t figure Cameron Johnson into the equation. After the Suns has lost two consecutive games with Johnson in the starting lineup, he came off the bench to score 20 points, four 3-pointers and dish out four assists as they blew out Portland 120–90 at home for their 50th win of the season.
CHAPEL HILL — Someone in the UNC basketball family had a decision to make. Will he return for another season or move on to a new chapter in life? Charlie Jones, the sentinel guarding the tunnel at Carmichael Auditorium and then the Smith Center for 38 years, had been mulling his future as the official monitor of the inner sanctum of Carolina basketball. Jones was still uncertain as he worked his last shift of the season Monday on senior night for Brady Manek, Leaky Black and Ryan McAdoo.
At ACC Tipoff in October, North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart told a group of ACC Network announcers before going on the air that people were underestimating the potential of her third Tar Heels team. “I said to the crew that was at the desk, ‘We’re better than y’all think,’ ” Banghart said, figuring that they didn’t know the impact of graduate transfer guards Carlie Littlefield and Eva Hodgson. ” ‘Y’all don’t know Eva and Carlie. Y’all don’t know how much better my sophomores have gotten.’ I did think we were better than the credit we were getting.”
North Carolina sophomore guard Deja Kelly made both 10-team All-ACC women’s teams announced on Tuesday. Kelly, an ACC All-Freshman Team pick a season ago, led the No. 16 Tar Heels (23–5, 13–5 ACC) in scoring and was sixth in the league at 15.8 points per game. She also led the ACC in free-throw percentage at 85.6%.
Harrison Barnes and Cole Anthony each have had plenty of nice games this season but, with their teams struggling, the wins haven’t come that often. Both played well in Monday night victories. Barnes collected 23 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while going 10 of 11 from the free-throw line in Sacramento’s 131–110 win at Oklahoma City that snapped a four-game losing streak. He was +23 for the game, which was his 21st with at least 20 points this season but only the ninth win in those games.
CHAPEL HILL — During Carolina’s pregame warmups, The Bangles’ “Manic Monday” played in the Smith Center. It wasn’t Brady Manek’s favored country music but was appropriate for his senior night and might just be profitable as well. He made it a Manek Monday with 12 of his team-high 22 points in the second half as UNC overcame big Syracuse runs to start each half and battled for an important 88–79 overtime victory over Syracuse.
Coming off two impressive victories to finish the regular season, North Carolina jumped two spots to No. 16 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. It’s the highest ranking for the Tar Heels (23–5, 13–5 ACC), the No. 4 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro, since they were No. 15 for the final four polls of the 2014–15 season. That team finished 26–9 and lost to South Carolina in the Greensboro Regional semifinal.
Without point guard Chris Paul, league-leading Phoenix is finding it tougher to win. Cameron Johnson is trying to do his part as a starter in Paul’s absence but it hasn’t been easy for the Suns. Johnson collected 23 points, four rebounds and five assists in Phoenix’s 118–114 Sunday home loss to Utah after the Suns lost at home to New Orleans on Friday. It’s the first back-to-back losses for the Suns since December.
Brandon Huffman and Seventh Woods didn’t put up good numbers last week but their teams each had two good victories. But it was an up-and-down week for Garrison Brooks, Walker Kessler and Walker Miller ahead of a week when former Carolina teammates will meet. Huffman’s Jacksonville State team finished the regular season at home with an 81–68 win over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday and a 69–52 victory Saturday over North Alabama to win the West Division and the top seed in the ASUN Tournament.
CHAPEL HILL — The No. 18 North Carolina women left little question that they have the momentum to put together a memorable March by finishing off their first regular-season sweep of Duke in eight years. The Tar Heels were already punishing Duke with their inside attack, so when a few perimeter shots finally fell, it became an impressive 74–46 senior day romp Sunday in front of a raucous, season-high 5,230 fans at Carmichael Arena.
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