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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The route to Mack Brown’s elusive first victory over Florida State was laid out by the elusive, relentless running of Omarion Hampton. North Carolina combined a versatile offense with solid defense, easing to a 35–11 victory Saturday at Doak-Campbell Stadium in a game that could have easily been even more one-sided given the statistical domination.
CHAPEL HILL — It’s not a stretch to say that the No. 15 North Carolina women will have players who can stretch the floor at nearly every position. One of the newcomers who adds to that dynamic, even though she’s the tallest player on the roster at 6–5, is Charlotte four-star freshman Blanca Thomas — the rare stretch five.
CHAPEL HILL — It took North Carolina 11 games last season to figure out that defense and rebounding were the catalysts for success. Coach Hubert Davis hopes that that message will come much quicker after the choppy first nearly 11 minutes of the No. 9 Tar Heels’ exhibition victory Sunday over Johnson C. Smith.
Coby White scored 20 points and five of Chicago’s franchise-record-tying 25 3-pointers as the Bulls rallied from a 20-point deficit in Memphis to beat the Grizzlies 126–123.
Belmont transfer Cade Tyson came to Chapel Hill with a reputation as a prolific 3-point shooter, and a noted college basketball statistical analyst projects him to be among the best in the country this season.
A huge day for Indianapolis wide receiver Josh Downs and a terrific start for rookie New England quarterback Drake Maye were overshadowed by a controversial hit that gave Maye a concussion.
CHAPEL HILL — This deep, talented Carolina team will be fun to watch. Against an overmatched Division II team, the No. 9 Tar Heels put on a show for the fans and a clinic in transition basketball, defensive pressure and the pick-and-roll game.
Playing at Virginia, wearing throwback uniforms which were the style that UNC wore in Charlottesville in 1996 for one of their most disappointing losses in program history, on the weekend before Halloween, was a set-up for all the “house of horrors” cliches. Yet in a college football world this season where up is down and down is up, Carolina turned Scott Stadium from a haunted house into a funhouse as the Heels romped to a 41–14 win.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — What can this Carolina team do with good defensive play? The answer Saturday gave the Tar Heels hope of turning the season around. UNC looked so close during its four-game losing streak but kept coming up short because of the sort of defensive lapses that were rare in an impressive 41–14 victory Saturday over Virginia at Scott Stadium as the offense keeps making strides.
If there were any doubts that Coby White is an integral part of the new-look Chicago Bulls, he shot them down on Friday night. White scored more than a point per minute, with 35 points and seven of the Bulls’ 21 3-pointers in 34 minutes, 22 seconds of the Bulls’ 133–122 victory.
CHAPEL HILL — The agonizing wait for five-star stretch-four Ciera Toomey is nearly over. Carolina’s Nov. 4 opener against Charleston Southern will come 592 days after Toomey led Dunmore High School to the 2023 Class 3A Pennsylvania state title. In between, there has been plenty of rehab, work and patience as the 6–4 former Miss Pennsylvania Basketball worked toward that day.
Harrison Barnes got off to a sizzling start in his debut with the San Antonia Spurs, but it wasn’t enough to win Wednesday night in Dallas.
As if No. 2 Alabama’s visit to No. 9 North Carolina on Dec. 4 for the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge wasn’t already big enough, it just got bigger when the Tide’s Mark Sears and the Tar Heels’ RJ Davis were named to the AP preseason All-America team.
In another rough Sunday for the New England Patriots, rookie quarterback Drake Maye continued to be their bright spot, setting the franchise record for touchdown passes in his first two starts.
Four former Tar Heels were waived on a tough day for UNC alums in the NBA as teams work toward reducing their rosters to 14 players.
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