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CHAPEL HILL — For one half, it looked like it might be a night where Carolina starts the early process of flipping the switch on the season. As one 3-point attempt after another rattled off the rim in the second half, it was apparent that Miami would have none of that.
By the time the Tar Heels tried to fight back in the last 10 minutes, it was too late as No. 15 Miami held on for an 80–72 victory Monday at the Smith Center.
Hear what RJ Davis, Armando Bacot and Caleb Love had to say after UNC’s rally against Miami falls short.
Carolina’s women’s sports programs continue to dominate nationally, and the women’s tennis team kept that going Monday. The Tar Heels won their fourth consecutive ITA national championship Monday to follow up the field hockey national title last fall and the women’s lacrosse championship last spring.
North Carolina and N.C. State both fell in the latest AP Top 25 women’s poll after losses last week ahead of Thursday’s big clash in Raleigh. The Tar Heels (18–7, 9–5 ACC), who rebounded from a 75–67 Thursday loss at Syracuse to roll past Boston College 73–55 at home Sunday, slipped five spots to No. 19. The Wolfpack (17–8, 7–7) lost 71–59 Sunday at Virginia, its third defeat in the last five meetings, to fall out of the poll after being ranked No. 22 a week ago.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 14 North Carolina’s numbers Sunday were daunting: three of eight available players were freshmen, three regular starters were out, and three Tar Heels were making their first career starts. It was easy to overcome all that against one of the worst teams in the ACC since one of those freshmen was guard Kayla McPherson, and UNC made an ACC-season-high 11 3-pointers.
Now that’s more like it. After a blech performance at Wake Forest on Tuesday night in a game where UNC was expected to play with some urgency, followed by Armando Bacot questioning his team, a players-only meeting, and a social media kerfuffle about possible issues on the squad, Carolina responded on Saturday with a 91–71 drubbing of formerly league-leading Clemson at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Before Pete Nance transferred to Carolina, Puff Johnson would likely have been penciled in to replace Brady Manek in the starting lineup. Coming to UNC from Northwestern for his fifth season, Nance automatically got that spot, and he’s had good games and big moments, most notably his shot to send the Ohio State game into overtime.
Armando Bacot, RJ Davis and Caleb Love talk about the blowout win over Clemson and how a players-only meeting after practice on Thursday helped going into the game.
CHAPEL HILL — The passion and energy that didn’t show up until it was too late against Wake Forest were there in heavy doses Saturday against Clemson. With the Tar Heels dominating inside and finding the shooting range from the perimeter, they earned a must win, knocking off co-ACC leader Clemson 91–71 to snap a three-game losing streak. After UNC’s best offensive game of the season, it will need to sustain that through its upcoming games to solidify its NCAA resume.
CHAPEL HILL — It’s a season of change for Carolina men’s lacrosse that the Tar Heels hope will produce more success after missing the NCAA tournament last year. Gone is attackman Chris Gray, the all-time NCAA points leader, but there’s still plenty of optimism. Six transfers with 219 combined career games — all playing their fifth college seasons — have injected plenty of experienced talent to mix with 15 freshmen.
UNC coach Hubert Davis talks about how his team has responded after the frustrating loss at Wake Forest and long discussions after the game.
Life on the road in the ACC is challenging enough to begin with, but the difficulty factor goes up without two starters. It can be downright tough when a third starter goes down in the third quarter. It’s even tougher when a fourth starter goes down late. Throw in Syracuse banking in 3-pointers and going 12 of 13 from the free-throw line, and it was a long night for No. 14 North Carolina in Syracuse’s cavernous dome, where the Tar Heels have lost five in a row.
Somewhere in America, someone woke up on Wednesday morning and saw UNC’s 92–85 loss at Wake Forest and said, “I’ll bet that was a competitive game, a decent loss for UNC since Wake plays well at home and it’s tough to win on the road in the ACC.” And they would be wrong.
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.
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.
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