Tag: north carolina tar heels

PHOTOS: Tar Heels fall in Massachusetts to Boston College

Check out the latest photos from UNC’s 41-21 loss at Boston College!

North Carolina went on the road for the last time this season taking on ACC opponent Boston College in Chesnut Hills, Massachusetts.

Things did not go UNC football‘s way. They found themselves down 24-7 at the halftime break, and they were down 41-7 before Davion Gause broke off two rushing touchdowns in the final 2:09 in the fourth quarter to make it a reasonable score.

Jacolby Criswell finished the game with 176 yards through the air and three interceptions. All-American running back Omarion Hampton had just 53 yards on 11 carries due to a poor rushing game script.

Here are the photos that capture the 60 minutes of play.

Tar Heels steamrolled by Boston College in final road game

It was a rough day for UNC football as they lost big to Boston College on the road.

North Carolina traveled to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, today to face off with Boston College in their last road game of the season. They took the field at Alumni Stadium and it didn’t take long for the Eagles to take the lead, keep the lead, and win the game by a wide margin, 41-21.

UNC was never really in the game, either.

Boston College dominated the entire way on both sides of the ball as UNC couldn’t stop them, allowing the offense to do what they wanted. UNC’s offense struggled, failing to get past the Boston College 30-yard line until late in the fourth quarter.

Boston College converted on 7 of 15 third-down attempts while UNC was just 3 of 13. That was pretty much the story of the game.

The Tar Heels fell behind on the opening drive, allowing a 49-yard field goal on Boston College’s opening drive. From there, it was all Boston College as they controlled the game not only with the clock but having the lead the entire way.

The second quarter is when things started to pick up.

Boston College scored on back-to-back drives while holding UNC to just 12 total plays in the two drives in between. Chris Culliver returned the ensuing kickoff from the second touchdown for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 17-7.

That was the lone highlight for UNC as Jacolby Criswell and the offense stalled out on all but one drive.

However, Boston College scored one more time at the end of the half. The Eagles saw just one field goal in the third quarter as well, with nothing getting done on either offense. Heading into the last quarter, Boston College scored quickly on a pick-six and followed it up with a rushing touchdown just a drive later.

After going down 41-7, North Carolina scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes, both from Davion Gause.

Criswell struggled to get any rhythm in the game, throwing for 176 yards and three interceptions while Omarion Hampton managed just 53 yards on 11 carries. With the Tar Heels playing down most of the game, it was hard to get the rushing attack going.

The defense finished with just one sack and four tackles for a loss.

They will have a chance to get back in the win column in their season finale back home next week against NC State.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

NC State QB ‘confident’ he will beat North Carolina in season finale

NC State’s quarterback might be a little too confident about taking on UNC next week.

North Carolina takes on Boston College this week on the road in the toughest test in their recent win streak. They became bowl-eligible with their win last week against Wake Forest and will have a postseason.

The same cannot be said for NC State, which is sitting at five wins after losing this week against Georgia Tech on the road. Quarterback CJ Bailey threw for 147 yards and three interceptions in that loss and had pretty strong words for UNC following his loss.

Bailey said this about his impending season finale matchup with the Tar Heels, which will determine NC State’s bowl eligibility, via 247sports.

We’re hurting ourselves. We’re having these self-inflicted wounds every time we take these losses. Our mindset every time is to try to bounce back and go out and get a win. North Carolina, we coming. We’re gonna win this game at North Carolina. We’re gonna get our win against North Carolina, because it means a lot to us. Things went wrong all year, but this game right here is our game.

The Wolfpack will head to Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill and take on North Carolina at home. The Tar Heels, prior to this week against Boston College, have won all three of their previous matchups and are now 6-4 on the season.

North Carolina will take on NC State in the season finale next week on Saturday, December 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET, airing on ACC Network.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Caleb Love manages just eight points in his final regular-season game against Duke

In what will likely be his last of nine career meetings with the Duke Blue Devils, Caleb Love failed to reach double-digits on Friday.

The Duke Blue Devils won’t avenge their 2022 Final Four loss with a regular-season game, but closing the lengthy rivalry against [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] with a victory probably still feels sweet.

Love, a former North Carolina Tar Heels star, scored just eight points in his ninth (and likely final) game against the Blue Devils on Friday, a 69-55 Duke victory.

Love made just three of his 13 shots for the game, including one 3-pointer on nine attempts. He added four rebounds and four assists, but he missed three straight triples in a 90-second span midway through the second half.

A three-year UNC starter who transferred to Arizona ahead of the 2023-24 season, Love won five of his previous eight battles with Duke. He averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in those games, but his eight points on Friday tied his lowest in any matchup with the Blue Devils.

Now a fifth-year senior with the Wildcats, Love is averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 32.0% from the floor and 21.4% from 3-point range this season. Arizona is 2-2 after back-to-back losses.

North Carolina, Michigan State to anchor Fort Myers Tip-Off in 2025

North Carolina men’s basketball early season tournament for 2025 announced!

College basketball season is one of the best of the year. It comes at a time when the weather is getting colder, Thanksgiving is approaching, and Christmas is on the horizon. There is no feeling like settling down and watching college hoops on a day off.

Next year, the holiday season will get even better as North Carolina will highlight the Fort Myers Tip-Off with Michigan State slated to play a game on Thanksgiving Day. Tar Heels and turkey — no greater pairing.

This year, the team is getting ready and settled in Hawai’i to take on the local university before taking part in the Maui Invitational as their early-season tournament. They could potentially face off against two top-5 teams in three days.

This year, the Fort Myers Tip-Off event features Michigan, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Xavier. The event is a single-elimination tournament that takes place over the holiday.

North Carolina has a history with Michigan State in early-season tournaments dating back to the Carrier Classic, including the PK80.

North Carolina is 6-3 against Michigan State and won the last contest between these two teams by 16 points in March of 2024. Michigan State won the previous game in 2017 by 18 points.

This UNC vs. Michigan State showdown will be held on November 27, 2025, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, in Cypress Lake, Florida. Tickets will go on sale in February.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Breaking down the UNC Women’s basketball Battle 4 Atlantis bracket

UNC women’s basketball will head to an in-season tournament this weekend with these teams.

The North Carolina women’s basketball team is 3-1 heading into this weekend, the third weekend of the women’s college basketball season.

They opened the season with a 30-point win over Charleston Southern, led by 18 points from Alyssa Ustby. They followed it up with wins over UNC Wilmington at home and North Carolina A&T on the road, both by 19 points or more.

Their only loss of the season before this tournament this weekend was against the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, UConn, by just 11 points.

This weekend, the UNC women’s basketball team will travel with seven other teams to Nassau in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

They are joined by Baylor, Southern Mississippi, Indiana, Columbia, Ball State, Texas A&M, and Villanova, in the eight-team single-elimination bracket.

Evaluating the bracket, there is no team in this tournament that is ranked higher than the Tar Heels, which puts them as the favorites to win.

Baylor is the only other ranked team in the tournament at No. 18, but UNC wouldn’t play them until the championship game if that were to happen.

North Carolina opens the tournament up with Ball State at 6:30 p.m. ET on November 23, 2024. If they win that game, they play the winner of the matchup between Texas A&M and Villanova, loser plays the loser as well.

With this being a single elimination, it is important that this team gets out to a fast start and opens up big. To win, they need to win three games in as many days, including the possibility of taking down a ranked opponent.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

How has Caleb Love played against the Duke Blue Devils across his career?

With one last battle against Caleb Love on the horizon, how has the former UNC star played against Duke in eight career games?

The Duke Blue Devils get one final chance at comeuppance against one of their most prominent rivals on Friday night. While the Arizona Wildcats are a worthy adversary, all of the attention in Durham will be focused on taking down former North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love.

Love spent three seasons with UNC before he transferred to Tucson ahead of the 2023-24 season, and he’s been a thorn in the Cameron Crazies’ side for years.

He played the villain in two of the biggest games in program history in 2022, scoring 22 points to defeat legendary coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] in his final home game before notching 28 points in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils just one month later. He returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium with his new school last November and once again emerged with a win, as he’s done in five of his eight career games against the Blue Devils.

Love averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in those games, but if Duke basketball fans want a silver lining, he’s been remarkably inefficient in those outings. He’s made just 11 of his 46 attempts (23.9%) from distance over the last seven meetings, and he’s shot a measly 29/84 (34.5%) from the floor in the last six. With the fifth-year senior shooting 35.1% this season and making just 26.3% of his 3-pointers, there’s little reason to think that trend changes on Friday.

No regular-season victory can erase the torment Love exacted on the Blue Devils a few years ago, but it would be undeniably sweet to end the rivalry with one last win.

Duke women’s basketball creeps closer to the top 10 in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Duke Blue Devils moved up two spots to No. 14 in the updated USA TODAY Sports Women’s College Basketball Coaches Poll.

After a road victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils shifted closer to the top 10 in the USA TODAY Sports women’s college basketball coaches poll on Tuesday.

Duke shuffled up two spots to No. 14 in the rankings, one spot ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels after UNC’s loss to No. 2 Connecticut. In fact, the Blue Devils are the highest-ranked team with a loss in this week’s rankings.

Head coach Kara Lawson has shown off the balanced scoring attack and harassing defense fans expected during the offseason. The Blue Devils have given up just 61.6 points per game, letting opponents make 39.1% of their shots, while five different players have averaged at least 9.0 points per game.

Sophomore Jadyn Donovan became the latest Duke player to step forward on Sunday, scoring 23 points and adding 23 rebounds in the road win. It was the second 20-point performance from the roster this season (Ashlon Jackson finished with 22 against Liberty).

South Carolina, the reigning national champions who haven’t lost since 2022-23, remained in the top spot with 28 of 30 first-place votes. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (fifth) are the only ACC team ahead of Duke.

How has Arizona basketball star Caleb Love performed ahead of Duke’s Friday matchup?

With Duke set to face Arizona this week, how has former UNC Tar Heels star Caleb Love performed to start the season?

On Friday, Duke basketball will face former North Carolina Tar Heels guard [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] once again in a road game against the Arizona Wildcats.

Love spent three seasons in Chapel Hill before transferring to the Wildcats, most notably scoring 28 points to send the Blue Devils home in the 2022 Final Four. He returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2023 with his new team, helping Arizona pull off a 78-73 victory.

In 2024, however, the matchup will be between two teams coming off of tough losses in the last week. For Duke, it was a Tuesday loss to Kentucky Wildcats, while Arizona lost to the Wisconsin Badgers.

Through three games this season, Love has averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 35.1% from the floor. Let’s break down his performance in the first three games.

Against the Canisius Golden Griffins to open the season, Love played 21 minutes, going 7/15 (46.7%) from the field to finish with 17 points. He was 3/8 (37.5%) from 3-point range and grabbed four rebounds with six assists, both season-highs.

Against Old Dominion, Love played 23 minutes and scored 10 points after he shot 4/9 (44.4%) from the field. He went 2/5 (40.0%) from deep with three rebounds and one assist.

Finally, against the Badgers, Love had the worst performance of his season thus far. He played 25 minutes, a season-high, but only managed six points after he went 2-13 (15.4%) from the field. He missed all six of his 3-point looks, but he did add two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Tar Heels stay even, Duke falls in Week 3 AP Poll Top 25

Tar Heels stay even, Duke falls in Week 3 AP Poll Top 25

After a slow week with just one game at the end of last week, North Carolina stayed as the No. 10 team in the country in Week 3 of the AP Poll Top 25 rankings.

North Carolina closed their first week of play with a rough loss to the top-ranked team in the nation, Kansas. However, they bounced back in mighty fashion in their only game last week beating American 107-55.

The first-half woes continued as the team took just a nine-point lead into the break before exploding in a huge second half. The Tar Heels eventually won by over 50 points and put up more than 100 points.

Jalen Washington walked away from that game dropping his career-high 18 points with three rebounds. Elliot Cadeau was one point shy of his career-high also with 18 points and eight assists.

RJ Davis continued to struggle shooting the ball with just 13 points on 5-of-13 from the floor and 1-for-7 from behind the arc. Some players entered the stat sheet for the first time this season including Dante Mayo Jr. and Russell Hawkins.

Even better news for UNC basketball fans is that Duke, their archrival in the ACC, has fallen to No. 12 on the AP Poll after suffering a loss to Kentucky, the new No. 9 team.

Most of the top 10 teams remained the same. Purdue joined Kentucky by  jumping into the top 10 while Duke and Arizona both fell out.

North Carolina will take on Hawai’i next on Saturday as it prepares for a rigorous Maui Invitational schedule at the beginning of next week.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.