North Carolina expects to have its full complement of players when it opens conference play Sunday at Virginia (8 p.m., ESPNU).
Aside from Duke’s remarkable non-conference season, it’s been another year of mediocre results for the ACC heading into league competition, which begins this weekend.
North Carolina’s tough defense snared its biggest opponent yet. The 15th-ranked Tar Heels held No. 8 Maryland to two field goals in the first 14½ minutes of the second half and hung on for a 60-57 win Thursday at Carmichael Arena.
Jonathan Tsipis was in high school when his family moved from Ohio to Hillsborough in 1989, and he quickly learned how the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina works in college basketball.
James Michael McAdoo said that North Carolina’s first practice after the Christmas break was the hardest one of the season — and not just because junior Reggie Bullock collided into McAdoo and suffered a mild concussion while trying to break up a long pass.
Xylina McDaniel scored 19 points and had six steals as No. 16 North Carolina used a key 19-2 second-half run to come back and beat Clemson 65-58 Sunday in each team’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
North Carolina celebrates big wins by turning its locker room into a mosh pit and jumping up and down as a group.
North Carolina has one last chance to get a signature non-conference win when the Tar Heels host No. 20 UNLV today at the Smith Center (2 p.m., ESPN2).
East Tennessee State coach Karen Kemp’s voice was hoarse during her postgame comments Friday, and it wasn’t because she was sick.
Starting as a freshman in the most difficult position in North Carolina’s system, point guard Marcus Paige has taken some time to get acclimated.
After a motivational chat with coach Roy Williams last Friday and a stellar game the next day, Paige may finally be turning a corner heading into UNC’s matchup with No. 20 UNLV Saturday at the Smith Center (2 p.m., ESPN2).
North Carolina never attempted more than 22 three-pointers in a game last season. The Tar Heels are almost averaging that number of attempts this season, and UNC coach Roy Williams isn’t happy about it.
One of North Carolina coach Roy Williams’s favorite sayings is that everything looks better when the ball goes in the basket.
The 23rd-ranked Tar Heels illustrated that on Saturday at the Smith Center, hitting 13 of 28 shots (46.4 percent) from behind the arc en route to a 97-63 win over McNeese State.
UNC coach Roy Williams on Texas loss: “We had so many things that it was like a comedy of errors, except it wasn’t very blankety-blank funny.” Now the Tar Heels (8-3) have just two games remaining before conference play, including today’s home game against McNeese State (12 p.m., ESPNU).
Chicago prep phenom Jabari Parker’s announcement Thursday that he will play at Duke next season sets up an intriguing head-to-head scenario for the 2013-14 season with Oxford Webb’s Isaiah Hicks, North Carolina’s top recruit.
Sheldon McClellan scored 18 points and struggling Texas upset No. 23 North Carolina 85-67 on Wednesday night.