Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
No, the seven continents are not breaking apart and re-forming. But the nation’s big-time college sports conferences are, wrecking to shreds the Pac-12 and putting into doubt the long-term future of the Atlantic Coast Conference. What if football were to break away entirely, and become literally its own thing, with its own organizational and competitive structure?
North Carolina and N.C. State may not agree on much, but appear to have the same opinion on expansion. Carolina and State are reportedly two of the four schools opposing the addition of Cal and Stanford into the ACC, leaving the league one vote short of adding those two schools.
After making the ACC tournament and NCAA tournament championship games a year ago, No. 2-ranked North Carolina is the favorite to win the ACC women’s soccer title and has three players on the preseason All-ACC team.
For years, Mike Krzyzewski never scheduled true road non-conference games, only playing them in the defunct ACC/Big Ten Challenge. His Duke teams still faced tough opponents away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, but at neutral sites. Many wondered why Krzyzewski didn’t schedule road tests for his team before ACC play. Part of his strategy seemed to be to simulate an NCAA tournament game atmosphere.
Coach Hubert Davis’ reshaped team will get plenty of non-conference tests over a schedule North Carolina announced on Wednesday, including facing UConn, the reigning NCAA champion, and Kentucky in two of five neutral-site events.
Carolina and Kentucky, two of men’s college basketball’s best programs, will meet again next season. The teams will tangle for the 43rd time, playing in Atlanta at the 10th annual CBS Sports Classic. The game will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game between UCLA and Ohio State, which starts at 3 p.m.
Cameron Johnson is off to an excellent start playing for the United States basketball team that is preparing for the World Cup. Johnson came off the bench to share team-high scoring honors with 15 points in his debut in a USA uniform, a 117–74 victory over Puerto Rico on Monday night in Las Vegas in an exhibition game.
The No. 2 North Carolina women’s soccer team rolled to an 8–1 victory over College of Charleston in the first of two preseason exhibition games. Redshirt sophomore forward Ally Sentnor and freshman forward Olivia Thomas each notched two goals at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill on a steamy day as the Tar Heels outshot Charleston 36–9.
Unlike some recent seasons, the non-conference women’s basketball home schedule for North Carolina has some sizzle. UNC released its non-conference women’s basketball schedule Monday, and it’s one of the most challenging in years, dotted with national powers.
The reported UNC men’s basketball matchup with reigning national champion UConn became official on Monday. The Tar Heels and Huskies will play on Dec. 5 at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Men’s Classic, with Florida Atlantic meeting Illinois in the other matchup. ESPN will televise both games but start times haven’t been announced.
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