WASHINGTON — Few teams can beat No. 4 North Carolina when RJ Davis and Armando Bacot are at their best. They were in the second half, and Pittsburgh wasn’t up to the task.
Tag: NCAA
Unsatisfied, Trimble says Heels staying intense because, ‘We’re desperate’
WASHINGTON — Desperation isn’t an emotion you would expect from a No. 4-ranked team that just won the ACC regular-season championship. But Seth Trimble, Carolina’s indispensable sixth man, says that is exactly the Tar Heels mindset for March.
No. 4 Heels dominate FSU, roll into ACC semifinals with defense, rebounding
WASHINGTON — There were no struggles against Florida State the third time around. Only dominance. After rallying in Chapel Hill and battling in a close game in Tallahassee, No. 4-ranked UNC delivered the knockout punch in the first half. The No. 1-seed Heels took control with a 22–8 first-half run and coasted to a 92–67 victory Thursday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.
Nickel has big game, but frustrated he isn’t meeting UNC again
WASHINGTON — As Tyler Nickel walked from the postgame press conference to the Virginia Tech locker room, he greeted some Carolina friends. It was a brief and jovial exchange in the hallway at Capital One Arena with assistant coach Marcus Paige and director of operations Eric Hoots. Nickel hoped to spend much more time with them and his other UNC friends on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Bacot says he’s a 3-and-D guy; there’s no disputing the last part
WASHINGTON — Armando Bacot a three- and-D guy? The first part is debatable but there’s no doubting the last part. After making the ACC’s All-Defensive Team and sinking a pair of 3-pointers on senior night, he’s telling his teammates and the coaches that he is.
It’s a UNC Davis sweep of ACC player, coach of year honors
For the first time in 26 years and the fifth time in school history, the ACC’s player and coach of the year are Tar Heels. RJ Davis is the ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis is the ACC Coach of the Year, with the league announcing postseason awards on Monday. Armando Bacot made All-ACC second team and Harrison Ingram earned third-team honors.
Projections of UNC as No. 1 seed shoot up dramatically
North Carolina’s victory over Duke vastly improved the Tar Heels’ NCAA resume ahead of Selection Sunday this weekend. The proof is the dramatic rise in the number of bracket projections from Sunday to Monday that have UNC as a No. 1 seed.
UNC highest in NET since January after seventh Quad 1 win
One week away from Selection Sunday, No. 7 North Carolina has helped its NCAA tournament resume with six consecutive wins, including the Tar Heels’ seventh Quad 1 victory on Saturday.
Arizona upset on rough night for Love; Garcia scores 30 in loss; McKoy hits 23 on senior night
Caleb Love suffered the second-worst scoring and shooting night of his career as No. 6 Arizona got upset, while Dawson Garcia had a huge night in a Minnesota loss and Justin McKoy finished the regular season by leading Hawaii to a big senior night win.
Ryan shoots UNC to outright ACC title, sweep of Duke
DURHAM — No. 7 North Carolina was not in the mood to share, and graduate guard Cormac Ryan repeatedly shot down that possibility. Ryan scored a career-high 31 points, hitting four big free throws in the final 16.7 seconds, as the Tar Heels clinched the ACC regular-season title outright with an 84–79 victory Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.