Tag: Basketball

Newmark brings NASCAR mindset to UNC athletics, acknowledging it will make some ‘uncomfortable’

Steve Newmark grew up in Chapel Hill, rode his father’s shoulders during the 1982 NCAA championship celebration on Franklin Street, and once got permission to skip a college exam to watch the 1993 Final Four with his family. He says honoring the UNC athletics traditions will require bold changes that some Carolina fans might resist.

UNC projected for First Four, among ‘last 4 in’

Even after surviving what would have been a devastating home loss to Boston College, North Carolina’s NCAA tournament hopes are teetering after the Tar Heels began a tough four-game stretch with a Quad 1 loss. Only 50 of 86 bracket projections on Bracket Matrix have UNC in the field, with the average seed being the fourth-highest No. 11 seed. The Tar Heels (13–9, 6–4 ACC) were already in a bad position before Tuesday’s 73–65 loss at Pittsburgh dropped them from 40th to 42nd in the NET rankings.

‘Little things,’ defensive lapses costly in UNC’s damaging Quad 3 loss

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina couldn’t find that extra gear and the level of defensive intensity that carried the Tar Heels during their four-game win streak, and they didn’t do the little things needed to extend it. The result — a 72–71 loss to Stanford on Saturday after a step-back jumper from former Duke reserve Jaylen Blakes with 1.5 seconds left — gave UNC a damaging Quad 3 loss and led to much reflection about what went wrong.

UNC rises again in NET after win over SMU, gains another Quad 1 game on schedule

CHAPEL HILL — Quad 2 victories are never going to give a team’s NCAA tournament resume a huge boost, but they are still helpful. That was the case with Carolina’s 82–67 Quad 2 home victory Tuesday over SMU, which bumped up the Tar Heels (10–6, 3–1 ACC) three spots to 39th in the NET, which is five higher than they were the day after Saturday’s 74–73 Quad 2 victory at Notre Dame (7–7, 1–2; 100 in NET).

Ingram, Ryan inject intensity UNC lacked last season

CHAPEL HILL — Newcomers have injected some important intangibles missing last season into North Carolina’s roster. During the Tar Heels’ 2022 run to the national championship game, Brady Manek was fiery, didn’t hesitate to call out teammates or throw things in disgust. After nobody filled that role last season, transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan are bringing an intensity level and physical play to the team that’s making a big difference.