Heels turn up the defense in impressive victory over No. 7 Sooners

CHARLOTTE — No. 11 North Carolina finished a pre-Christmas gauntlet of challenges against highly ranked teams impressively against No. 7 Oklahoma, fueled by the Tar Heels’ best defense of the season. RJ Davis collected 23 points, four 3-pointers, five assists, three steals and no turnovers as UNC ended a two-game losing streak with an 81–69 victory Wednesday at the Spectrum Center at the second Jumpman Invitational.

Kelly heroically scores 21, despite throwing up during time outs, as UNC surges to win in second half

CHARLOTTE — The game started late, and No. 24 North Carolina found the offensive rhythm late. Despite being sick for three days and throwing up during time outs, senior Deja Kelly fixed that,and the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half for a 61–52 victory Tuesday night at the Jumpman Invitational in the Spectrum Center.

UNC falls in NET ranking after Kentucky loss, but has plenty of chances coming up to improve it

North Carolina’s trip to Atlanta didn’t help the Tar Heels’ NET ranking, but they’ll have plenty of chances to improve it in the next couple of weeks. No. 11 Carolina (7–3) has a NET ranking of 37, which is down five spots since Saturday’s 87–83 loss at the CBS Sports Classic to No. 9 Kentucky (NET ranking of 27), with all three losses in Quad 1 games.

Tar Heels fall in AP Top 25 men’s poll after second consecutive loss

Oklahoma will be ranked higher than North Carolina when the teams meet on Wednesday after the Sooners moved up four spots to No. 7 and the Tar Heels fell two spots to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday afternoon. The Sooners (10–0) and Tar Heels (7–3) meet at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center at 9 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN) in the final game of the four-game, two-day Jumpman Invitational.

UNC moves up in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after rolling to win

North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll after coasting to a 96–36 win Friday over Western Carolina in the Tar Heels’ only game last week. The Tar Heels (7–4) face Oklahoma (6–3) on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center in the second Jumpman Invitational. The Sooners have lost three of their last four, and haven’t played since losing 92–76 at home to UNLV on Dec. 9.