Tag: UNC Basketbal

‘College GameDay’ expert Jay Bilas weighs in on the UNC vs. Duke X-factors.

College GameDay expert Jay Bilas weighs in on the UNC Basketball vs. Duke X-factors.

We are just moments away from college basketball’s biggest rivalry, UNC vs. Duke, tipping off.

To nobody’s surprise, the event brought high ticket prices and welcomed ESPNs’ “College GameDay” to Chapel Hill. The crew is in town, giving predictions on UNC tournament hopes while signs are displayed behind them, and Tar Heel chants echo.

Before the crew gave their picks on live TV, I had the opportunity to speak with [autotag]Jay Bilas[/autotag], and he gave me his key players to watch in the rivalry showdown.

Bilas opened up with Duke’s X-factor first and whom he believes UNC will need to stop.

“For Duke Derek Lively II,” Bilas said. “He had his best game overall of the season against North Carolina. He had a double-figure rebounding game (14) and controlled the paint, blocking eight shots and changing a fair amount of others. So I think he is a wildcard and an X-factor if North Carolina can get into his body a little better instead of trying to avoid getting your shot block.

Bilas then offered who he believed were the X-factors for UNC.

“There are two guys, Pete Nance, I think, has been playing at a higher level over his last several games. I don’t know how much these cookies have to do with it, but keep eating them and Leaky Black. Duke helped off of certain players in the last game between Duke and North Carolina. When you have those kinds of open shots, you gotta make some of them, and you know Leaky Black has proven to be a good corner shooter.”

The first meeting saw Duke take it 63-57. However, with home-court advantage and backs against the wall, the Tar Heels need to come out with better energy and secure a big win late in the season.

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Pete Nance does it all in UNC win over UVA

Following UNC’s 71-63 win over UVA, players spoke up about Pete Nance dominating the game.

This season has not been kind to North Carolina’s [autotag]Pete Nance[/autotag], but the shooting woes were quickly forgotten Saturday night after a blockbuster performance from the transfer.

Nance dominated against the Virginia Cavaliers. He led all scorers with a season-high 22-points while turning into Dikembe Mutombo on defense with four blocks.

Since Nance’s game-tying shot that sent UNC into overtime against OSU during the CBS sports classic, the transfer has seen his fair share of criticism. However, through all the memes and noise outside the locker room, Nance stayed competing, using his defense as an anchor.

Saturday’s performance was the perfect game for Nance and significantly boosted UNC. When the shots fall, Nance becomes one of the most dangerous players on the court with his ability to stretch the floor and defend.

Following North Carolina’s win over Virginia, I got to speak with some players about Nance’s colossal performance.

UNC big man Armando Bacot was all vibes after the win, and when asked about Nance’s impact, he echoed what everyone else saw.

“I thought he was amazing today,” Bacot said. “Scored from all over the floor. Shot the ball well, and he was aggressive. That is the main thing when Pete is aggressive and tries to look for a shot and score. He is huge for us, and that was huge for us today.” ‘

North Carolina guard Caleb Love shared the same thoughts while telling me why it was so good to see Pete dominate in the win.

“He put so much work in and is hearing a lot of stuff.” Love said. “The outside noise about he is not this, and he is not that. So for him to go out there and have that game and the mental toughness to block out all the noises is great.”

When Nance came out of the locker room to speak, he was bombarded immediately with mics and cameras as he spoke about what stood out the most from his performance following the win.

“I am most happy with the blocks, for sure. Nance said. “Defense is something you can do if shots aren’t going in. So that is the main thing I was happy about for sure.”

Nance followed up by describing North Carolina’s shift in the last two games.

“I think a lot of credit to each other,” Nance said. “We are boosting each other with confidence and sticking together through what we know is a hard time with our backs against the wall. There is no choice but to come together or go fast downhill. I think these last two games, we’ve really brought it together and are looking to build some good momentum heading into the last stretch of the season.”

A big quad one win is the ingredient North Carolina has been searching for in their NCAA tournament recipe. UNC has a chance to finish the season strong as they fight for a chance to dance.

The Tar Heels will be back in action Monday as they travel to take on Florida State University.

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2023 ACC Tournament seeding, schedule, info (Feb. 26)

We take a look at where things stand in the Atlantic Coast Conference going into the final week of the regular season.

We have just one week left in the 2022-23 ACC basketball season and the standings are going to come down to the wire.

After a wild Saturday in which Clemson routed NC State and Florida State erased a 25-point deficit to stun Miami, Pitt stands atop the conference standings going into the final week. Miami dropped to second, and Virginia fell to third after losing to North Carolina.

The biggest winners might have been Clemson and Pitt.

As for the blue bloods, North Carolina earned a big Quad 1 win over Virginia to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, and Duke stayed hot by beating Virginia Tech big at home.

It’s another full week of action in the conference as the regular season wraps up Saturday. There are some big games left this week, including NC State at Duke, Clemson at Virginia, Pitt at Miami and, of course, Duke at UNC.

Let’s take a look at how the conference stands going into the final week with the schedule, standings and current bracket.