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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.
CHAPEL HILL — Anybody who thought that top-ranked South Carolina would roll into Chapel Hill and coast to victory didn’t know the character and resolve of No. 24 North Carolina. UNC has a history of giving the national power some of its toughest games, and that was the case again Thursday when the Tar Heels led by as many as 11 points in the first half. They battled admirably before losing 65–58 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge before a loud and sold-out Carmichael Arena.
CHAPEL HILL — Fans who screamed, smiled and enjoyed the show, particularly before halftime, were left to wonder what the ceiling is for Coach Hubert Davis’ fourth Carolina team. It could be much higher than the roof if the Tar Heels can avoid rough stretches like the one they endured late in the second half.
CHAPEL HILL — UNC coach Hubert Davis and Harrison Ingram talked at a Tuesday press conference about the Tar Heels’ performance in winning two of three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis and looked ahead to Wednesday’s home game against Tennessee.
Dontrez Styles had another big game for Georgetown in Saturday night’s 88–81 home victory over Jackson State in the Hoyas’ third straight win.
RALEIGH — There was lots of blame to go around for North Carolina’s latest November shortcoming. Coach Mack Brown wanted to accept all of it.
You kind of had a feeling that was coming. UNC really hasn’t been the same team since they started the season 6–0, rose to No. 10 in the polls, and then lost to a bad Virginia squad at home.
ESTERO, Fla. — Bad shooting finally caught up with No. 18 North Carolina on a day when that trend was almost as frustrating to the Tar Heels as the officiating and the frigid hockey arena.
North Carolina did so much with so little from some normal key sources of production that the third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis ought to make the Tar Heels feel pretty good if not fortunate. Headlining the performance was guard RJ Davis, who poured in 30 points as the No. 14 Tar Heels defeated No. 20 Arkansas 87-72 with a strong second half on the final day of the three-day tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.
As expected, the No. 18 Carolina women swept their four non-conference home games to start the season, but it didn’t always go smoothly for the Tar Heels.
Carolina will get a chance to serve up a plate full of long-overdue revenge on Thanksgiving Day. For the first time since a shot by Villanova’s Chris Jenkin in Houston gave the Tar Heels a heartbreaking 77–74 loss in the 2016 NCAA championship game, UNC finally gets a chance to avenge the defeat.
Cormac Ryan brought prolific perimeter shooting skills from Notre Dame when he transferred to Carolina, but struggled mightily to find the range in the Tar Heels’ first three games. As the second half started Wednesday afternoon in the Imperial Arena in the Bahamas, he found it. The 25-year-old fifth-year guard ignited a 16–1 run after No. 14 UNC trailed by six at halftime, as the Tar Heels rolled to a 91–69 victory in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Armando Bacot has fond memories of his 2019 trip to the Bahamas and, if he plays his cards right, he hopes to hit the blackjack table with Roy Williams after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis championship.
A former Carolina gymnast was forced to sign a contract promising to lose weight by a former head coach and former assistant coach that threatened her scholarship, according to an extensive story published Monday in The Washington Post about the “toxic” culture of college gymnastic
It’s a busy Thanksgiving week for Carolina athletics, and many fans will probably plan their holiday schedule around watching the Tar Heels play. Here’s a guide to when and where to watch.
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