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Cameron Johnson continues to consistently play well, which has helped turn the Phoenix Suns’ season around. He’s combined for 34 points and five 3-pointers in the last two wins. The Suns have gone from losing 11 of 13 games before he returned to 9–2 since then to move up to fifth place in the Western Conference at 30–26. Johnson tore the meniscus in his right knee and missed nearly three months.
WINSTON-SALEM — A year after flipping the switch in February and going on a magical run, Carolina looked for most of Tuesday night like a team that doesn’t have the drive or the cohesiveness to flip this season around. It still could come if they can match the second-half energy. The Tar Heels scored 49 points in the last 14:36 and 60 in the second half. Most of it came without Armando Bacot, who was disgusted by the effort in their third consecutive defeat.
Armando Bacot gave an impassioned speech to the team after the game. Hear what he, Coach Hubert Davis, RJ Davis and Caleb Love had to say after UNC’s loss to Wake Forest.
The eye test tells you that Carolina needs to play a lot better and the numbers back up that the Tar Heels’ performances haven’t been as good as last season. Only one opponent has blown out Carolina’s men this season after Coach Hubert Davis’ first team dealt with several painfully one-sided losses. But the Tar Heels’ rank in many national statistical categories show plenty of significant drops from a year ago.
The opportunities for North Carolina to solidify its position in the NCAA men’s tournament will be there. But the Tar Heels, reeling after two consecutive close losses, will have to stack up some wins in their last eight games to avoid the bubble. The Tar Heels (15–8, 7–5 ACC), 44th in the NET rankings, are 1–7 in what the current rankings classify as Quad 1 games. UNC will get four — and possibly five — more chances for more Quad 1 wins, starting with Tuesday night’s visit to Wake Forest (69 in the NET).
Hear what Carolina coach Hubert Davis had to say during Monday’s weekly ACC press conference.
By R.L. Bynum The good news for Andrew Platek is that he has scored at least 18 points in consecutive … More
Leaning on No. 11 Carolina’s young talent, the Tar Heels showed resiliency playing without two starters. With fifth-year guard Eva Hodgson already out for three to four weeks with an upper-body injury, junior wing Alyssa Ustby also was out Sunday with a lower-body injury against a talented Louisville team in a tough road environment.
Imagine that some sportswriters wrote thought pieces wondering if the UNC-Duke rivalry would be the same without Coach K and Roy on the sidelines and after the Heels sent Duke packing not only in Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game, but in the Final Four as well. Imagine. There were lots of new faces, but plenty of the old-time energy as the Blue Devils outlasted Carolina in a 63-57 rock fight in a raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night.
DURHAM — There was no magic at Cameron Indoor Stadium for North Carolina this time, as the Tar Heels’ offense fell flat early in the second half and in the final minutes. The Tar Heels missed their last five shots, went scoreless for the last 3:57 and shot 28.6% in the second half as Duke pulled out a 63–57 victory on Saturday to end a two-game skid against Carolina.
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