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CHAPEL HILL — The story of North Carolina’s football season isn’t one game or one call. It’s the accumulation of small edges lost and big moments missed, all after a massive offseason roster turnover and a highly paid head coach and staff trying to install new standards and a new identity. Coach Bill Belichick and his staff have fallen well short of whatever identity he or Tar Heels fans expected.
Cade Tyson learned Saturday night what life is like when you’re at the top of an opponent’s scouting report. After leading Minnesota in scoring in each of its first five games, Tyson was held to a season low of 14 points in a season-high 39 minutes as the Gophers lost to San Francisco 77–65 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
For the third time this season, just like the games against California and Virginia, the Tar Heels found ways to lose the game. In a season of what might have been, this one will particularly sting in how it all fell apart.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s small margin of error to beat Duke got thrown away in the form of repeated damaging penalty flags. Despite all that, the Tar Heels had a fourth-quarter lead and a shot at victory before the Blue Devils perfectly executed a fake field-goal attempt that led to the game-winning touchdown in a 32–25 victory Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
DURHAM — It was national semifinal heartbreak for the second straight season for No. 1 North Carolina, this time delivered in agonizing fashion.
In a Thursday night blowout win, Ian Jackson looked like the freshman who went on an epic seven-game mid-season run for Carolina last season and has the confidence to match. Jackson came off the bench to score 20 points in 21 minutes with four rebounds and three assists as No. 14 St. John’s rolled to a 97–49 home win over Bucknell after averaging 12.7 points in the Red Storm’s first three games.
GREENSBORO — No. 14 North Carolina turned the Corbett Sports Center court into a runway for the transition game to take off and the perimeter shots to fly. After averaging 26 3-point attempts in the first four games, the Tar Heels put up 22 by halftime. When they started falling, so did the Aggies in an 85–50 victory Thursday night as UNC scored a season-high 12 3-pointers.
Coby White is off to a sensational start for the Chicago Bulls. He followed up his 27-point performance in his season debut on Sunday with 25 points, five 3-pointers, seven assists and two steals in Wednesday’s 122–121 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bill Belichick didn’t hesitate to identify the biggest challenge UNC faces against Duke: quarterback Darian Mensah, who reportedly is the highest-paid quarterback in the country and has put up the numbers to back that up.
Here’s a look at Thursday’s matchup as No. 14 UNC visits N.C. A&T.
Cade Tyson has more field goals in five games at Minnesota than he scored in 31 games at Carolina last season. The senior wing kept his early-season momentum going Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 22 points and three 3-pointers in the Gophers’ 66–54 home victory over Chicago State, his fourth time with at least 20 points in five games, to push his average to 23.4 points per game.
CHAPEL HILL — There wasn’t much joy for Carolina’s players after a tougher-than-expected victory over Navy. The Caleb Wilson Show was electrifying, as always, but Navy’s late 17–3 run had the team looking within after the 71–63 victory Tuesday at the Smith Center.
It’s clear that North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson is one of the best players in the country. The analytics confirm it.
North Carolina remained No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday.
The long-awaited season debut for Coby White was one to remember. Not looking at all rusty after missing the preseason and the first 11 games while recovering from a right calf strain, White collected 27 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the Chicago Bulls’ 150–147 double-overtime road loss Sunday night to the Utah Jazz.
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