Tag: North Carolina

Bill Belichick makes first major change as North Carolina head coach

Bill Belichick made his first major change at UNC

Bill Belichick made his first major change as head coach of North Carolina. The former New England Patriots coach reportedly had a lot to do with the decision for the field at Kenan Stadium to return to natural grass.

The project is expected to take about 12 weeks and 67,000 square feet of sod. The field will also have 36,000 square feet of turf around the perimeter of the field, per ON3.

It didn’t take long for Belichick to start putting his stamp on the program ahead of his scheduled debut against TCU on Monday, September 1. This will represent a new era for both Belichick and a Tar Heels program looking to get back to their winning ways.

Some wondered if Belichick would forgo college football and return to one of the head coaching openings in the NFL. However, the legendary coach appears to be locked in on his latest venture.

We’ll see if his NFL success translates to the collegiate level.

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Here’s when Bill Belichick will make college coaching debut

Bill Belichick will make his college debut in primetime

Bill Belichick will make his college football coaching debut on Monday, September 1 when the North Carolina Tar Heels take on the TCU Horned Frogs.

Kickoff for the game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Patriots legend will be entering his first season in Chapel Hill. There have been questions regarding his contract status with the team considering multiple NFL head coaching jobs have opened. However, he officially signed a five-year deal with the Tar Heels on Wednesday.

Now, he will be looking to shift his focus to college football and taking over a program coming off a 6-6 season and a loss to Connecticut in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

Belichick embarking on his first head coaching gig at the collegiate level will be a must-watch.

On the other end, the Patriots are undergoing a new chapter of their own with Mike Vrabel taking over as the head coach and lead decision-maker on personnel. It’ll be a new era for New England and North Carolina in 2025.

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Latest Bill Belichick report puts NFL return discussion back on table

Bill Belichick reportedly hasn’t signed his UNC contract yet

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick signed his term sheet to be the next coach at the University of North Carolina. However, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, he has yet to sign his final contract with the school.

Could Belichick be leaving the door open for a possible NFL return with multiple head coaching jobs opening across the league?

Jones wrote:

Presently, there is not a fully executed and signed contract between Belichick and UNC, sources told CBS Sports — and the school confirmed — this week. Industry sources say that could create to a legal gray area about how much, if any, of a buyout would exist if Belichick left for the pros.

According to Jones, it isn’t unusual to see such a large gap in time between a term sheet and the final contract in college football hirings. So Belichick could very well intend to coach at Chapel Hill in 2025.

But there is some major temptation on the NFL side of things, particularly with head coaching jobs for the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders opening. Belichick is only 15 wins away from surpassing legendary coach Don Shula’s all-time wins record. History is on the line for the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach.

But Belichick would have to make the tough decision to walk out on his commitment to North Carolina to chase that history. It would be a major disappointment for the program and the kids who have likely stuck around to be coached by the greatest of all time.

Belichick said it himself back in December, “I didn’t come here to leave.”

It would be quite the turn of events to see him walk back those words, shed the Carolina blue dream and resume chasing NFL glory.

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Notre Dame lands three transfers, two from ACC programs

When it rains, it pours.

Notre Dame is not in the ACC for football despite playing a certain number of opponents each year in exchange for keeping its independence.

But two players from programs in that conference have chosen to finish their college eligibility with the Irish in 2025. A third player arriving from the Irish’s big rival has multiple seasons of eligibility.

First is North Carolina kicker [autotag]Noah Burnette[/autotag], who will become the Irish’s fourth consecutive transfer at that position. He was successful on 38 of 39 extra-point attempts this past season and 15 of 21 in field-goal attempts. He kicked the extra points for both touchdowns the Tar Heels scored in their 2022 loss to the Irish.

Here’s one game this past season in which he was particularly clutch:

The Irish also landed Louisville defensive lineman [autotag]Jared Dawson[/autotag]. He’s coming off a season in which he established career highs in tackles (19), tackles for loss (7) and sacks (4). He had four tackles when the Cardinals lost to the Irish earlier this season. Here he is after that loss:

Finally, the Irish will welcome USC defensive lineman [autotag]Elijah Hughes[/autotag], who had 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1 1/2 sacks in two seasons with the Trojans. He played against the Irish in each of the past two seasons but didn’t register any statistics. Still, he’s happy about what’s to come:

https://www.instagram.com/elijah._hughes/p/DEs1rvsy9j5/?hl=en&img_index=1

Players are flocking to the Irish, and the program deserves it after what it has done this season even though there still is work to be done.

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Notre Dame falls to NC State in second straight tough defeat

Another win that should have been.

After Notre Dame lost in heartbreaking fashion to North Carolina at home, it hoped for a better outcome on the road at NC State. If these past two games are any indication though, Irish fans are going to experience a lot of pain during the ACC schedule.

The Irish held a 10-point lead late in the first half and a seven-point lead with 3:39 remaining. They stopped scoring field goals after that though, and the Wolfpack mounted their largest comeback win of the season, 66-65.

[autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] made two free throws with 2:06 left to give the Irish (7-8, 1-3) a 65-61 lead. But the Wolfpack (9-6, 2-2) cracked down defensively and shined in both the full-court and half-court offense until they tied the game up and then had a chance to take the lead after [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] fouled Ben Middlebrooks.

Middlebrooks split a pair of free throws, so a one-point game meant the Irish had a chance to salvage the victory. Out of a timeout with 8.3 seconds remaining [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] fired a shot that hit the room shortly before the clock hit zero and left the Irish wondering what could have been.

All five Irish starters scored in double figures, led by Burton with 15 points. Davis had 14 points and six assists, and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. That should have been enough to top the Wolfpack, who saw Marcus Hill score 15 points to lead four starters with double figures. And somehow, it wasn’t.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Irish, who now have to go to Duke after seeing two straight winnable games slip away. This season could get ugly fast if they let things spiral further.

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Notre Dame beats North Carolina for fourth win over ranked opponent

The Irish simply have more talent than the Tar Heels.

Typically, ACC play signifies tougher competition for Notre Dame. But the Irish have played so many quality teams already that they might be on the easy part of their schedule now.

That said, the Irish had to fight hard against North Carolina to earn their fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season, 76-66. Then again, that should be expected in such a game.

The Irish (12-2, 3-0) never trailed after the Tar Heels (13-3, 1-2) scored the first four points of the game, but even their biggest lead of 14 never truly felt safe. Perhaps energized by playing on their home court, the Heels went on a few second-half runs that prompted [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to call timeouts.

This game ultimately came down to talent, and the Irish have women’s basketball’s best backcourt in [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], who scored 24 and 19 points respectively with five 3-pointers apiece. Miles’ five 3s represented a career high for her.

[autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] scored nine points apiece, and [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] tied her season high with 15 rebounds while also collecting eight points:

The Irish also got a boost from the return of [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who made her season debut after recovering from a foot injury. She had one rebound, one steal and one block in 13 minutes off the bench.

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Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld makes season debut

Welcome back, Maddy!

As impressive as Notre Dame has been during the first two months of the season, it has been without a key contributor. In fact, the injury bug hit the Irish early and often. By Sunday’s game at North Carolina, only one player not already ruled out for the season had yet to debut. That no longer is the case.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who announced in September that she would miss the start of the season to deal with a lingering foot injury, entered as a substitute with 3:02 left in the first quarter against the Tar Heels. She now will try to make up for lost time coming off a 2023-24 season in which she averaged 14.4 points, 1.1 blocks and a career-high 8.7 rebounds.

Although the Irish have been able to offset Westbeld’s loss with the additions of transfers [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] as well as freshman [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag], they will be welcome to have this addition to their frontcourt. Irish fans undoubtedly will be, too.

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Notre Dame loses to North Carolina on four-point play in final seconds

Terrible way to lose.

With [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] back in the lineup from injury, Notre Dame had enough to beat North Carolina. This was an opportunity to let a network TV audience know good things were happening in South Bend. But all of it was undone by one ill-timed foul that led to a heartbreaking 74-73 loss.

The Irish (7-7, 1-2) had trailed the Tar Heels (9-6, 2-1) by as much as 12 earlier in the game and dealt with 27 points from Ian Jackson. Yet they held a 73-70 lead with 14 seconds left.

[autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] found himself in the corner guarding Elliot Cadeau, who put up a 3 and was fouled by Allocco while still in the active shooting. The game-tying 3 went through, and Cadeau hit the go-ahead free throw, prompting [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] to call a timeout and draw a game-winning play with 4.8 seconds remaining.

Burton drove the length of the court and put up a layup with time set to expire. Contact may have been made against him, but it wasn’t called, and the layup missed the rim. Although [autotag]JR Konieczny[/autotag] successfully put back the rebound, time already had run out, and the Irish were left to wonder what could have been:

Burton scored 23 points off the bench in his return. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] had 17 points, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 16.

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Reigning ACC Rookie of the Year returns from injury to Notre Dame

Welcome back, Markus!

When Notre Dame guard [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] went down with a knee injury right before Thanksgiving, Irish fans held their breath. Him being out for the season would have been devastating to a team that was hoping to take another step forward under second-year coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag].

Burton, who won ACC Rookie of the Year a season ago, ended up missing only seven games, which mostly consisted of the entire December schedule. The Mishawaka native finally suited up for the Irish’s home game against North Carolina, which was broadcast for a network TV audience.

Burton didn’t start the game but entered as a substitute with 12:19 left in the first half. If Irish fans had been told in the immediate aftermath of his injury that he would be back this quickly, they gladly would have taken it. Knee injuries in sports are no joke, especially for a player as explosive as Burton.

In six games before the injury, Burton averaged 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals. He scored on back-to-back possessions for his first four points against the Tar Heels in the first half.

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Former Wisconsin star continues torrid stretch in Louisville big win over North Carolina

Former Wisconsin star continues torrid stretch in Louisville big win over North Carolina

Former Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn had a terrific outing in Louisville’s 83-70 win over North Carolina on Wednesday.

The veteran point guard tallied a game-high 26 points, seven assists and two rebounds on five-for-eight shooting and a 16-for-20 effort from the free-throw line. That performance led the Cardinals to their ninth win of the season, this one over a high-profile conference opponent.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball entering 2025 Big Ten schedule

Hepburn excelled with the game in the balance. Louisville led 70-69 with three minutes remaining. The former Badger star led the team on a 12-0 run by scoring seven points and assisting on five more, single-handedly deciding the contest.

The performance continues Hepburn’s stellar stretch dating to the start of December. During those seven games, he is averaging 17.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 42% shooting. This has brought his season averages to 15.9 points, 5.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 47.4% shooting — all numbers that would set career highs.

Hepburn is excelling at Louisville while fellow transfer A.J. Storr is struggling to find his footing at Kansas. While Hepburn is on pace to set career highs in every statistical category, Storr is posting career-lows across the board. He’s averaging 7.3 points and 1.9 rebounds on 39.8% shooting. Those tallies have dipped after he totaled just 13 points and 10 rebounds over the last four games.

The play of Wisconsin’s two star transfers continues to be noteworthy. Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak to Michigan, No. 22 Illinois and No. 8 Marquette made it hard to argue against Hepburn being missed. His breakout as one of the best point guards in the country enforces that reality.

The Badgers have received strong play from starting guard John Blackwell (14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists on 48% shooting) to start the season as senior Max Klesmit (11.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists on 32% shooting) has struggled to find his shooting stroke. The Badgers’ biggest weakness exists on the glass and in the front-court. The team currently is No. 126 in rebound rate (51.4%). Hepburn would have provided a significant boost for the former, but not necessarily for the latter.

Wisconsin returns to the court on Jan. 3 against Iowa. The team’s backcourt play will continue to be watched closely as Hepburn continues his dominance.

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