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CHAPEL HILL — In probably the last sure win on No. 25 North Carolina’s schedule, the Tar Heels took full advantage on a feel-good night full of holiday cheers and torrid defense. Eager to rebound from a short-handed loss to No. 17 UConn, the Tar Heels — with two players back who didn’t play in that game — dominated Western Carolina at Carmichael Arena. UNC led by 64 points late before finishing off a 96–36 win behind senior wing Alyssa Ustby’s 23 points.
Coby White continued his outstanding play on Thursday and helped Chicago jump out an early lead the Bulls haven’t seen since Michael Jordan led the way.
CHAPEL HILL — “Rebounding.” Carolina coach Hubert Davis, in lightning-fast fashion, provided that one-word answer Thursday afternoon when asked what his team had worked on — even before the reporter completed the question — since the No. 9 Tar Heels lost 87–76 on Dec. 5 in New York to No. 5 UConn.
This is the first episode of the “Bleav in Heels Hoops” podcast, presented by Tar Heel Tribune and Tobacco Road Sports Radio, with c-hosts Desmond Johnson and R.L. Bynum talking about Carolina basketball. In the first episode, they discuss this list of the top 10 UNC-Kentucky games, look back at the loss to UConn and ahead at Saturday’s game in Atlanta against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic.
It was an emotional return to Phoenix for Cameron Johnson, who played his first 3½ NBA seasons with the Suns before they dealt him to the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline last season.
With two more non-conference games before the No. 25 North Carolina women open ACC play on New Year’s Eve against Clemson, there’s a lot of frustration but also plenty of hope.
Big games are becoming routine of late for Coby White. White scored 27 points and five 3-pointers Tuesday and added eight assists and four rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Chicago to avoid its second loss in as many nights.
There was little reason for hope that Kerwin Walton would have much of a role at Texas Tech through the first six games, but he suddenly has become a key player for the Red Raiders. It all changed in the 87–58 victory over Omaha on Dec. 6 when Walton scored a career-high 22 points, and starter Devan Cambridge suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Since the iconic Luke Maye jumper shot down Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA Southeast Regional final, the Carolina-Kentucky matchups haven’t lived up to the high standard this rivalry has set. But there are plenty of battles between the college basketball blue bloods that fans will never forget in a rivalry that goes back to when both were in the Southern Conference.
DeMar DeRozan and Coby White did everything they could to extend the Chicago Bulls’ win streak to five but came up short in overtime at Milwaukee on Monday night. White, continuing to make a case for his first All-Star Game appearance, stayed hot with a season-high 33 points, making 6 of 10 3-point attempts to extend his franchise record of consecutive games with at least three 3-pointers to 11 games.
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