Tag: UNC vs. Miami

Tar Heels stay put in NET rankings after close call against Miami

After escaping Miami with a 75-72 win on Saturday, the UNC men’s basketball team didn’t see its NET ranking outlook change.

UNC’s close call against Miami (75-72) on Saturday is the type of game that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also the type of game that good teams find a way to win.

If it weren’t for Cormac Ryan’s clutch deflection and Armando Bacot’s discipline with his fourth foul, the mood might shift from relieved to concerned in Chapel Hill.

UNC head coach Hubert Davis cooked up a starter-heavy recipe, with four of five Tar Heel starters scoring in double-figures. RJ Davis led the way with 25 points – he shot just 6-of-19 from the field, but made all eight free throws.

With all that being said, North Carolina didn’t move a spot in the latest NET rankings.

Beating Miami by more could’ve improved UNC’s number, but it wouldn’t have been any drastic change. The Hurricanes, who were ranked earlier in the year, have drastically fallen off,

It makes me wonder that if North Carolina had beaten Clemson and Georgia Tech, it’d be higher in the NET rankings. The Tar Heels beat Duke, who is ranked ninth in the latest AP Poll.

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Tar Heels weather late Miami charge, Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan help seal win

Miami came close to tying Saturday’s game late against UNC. Tar Heel stars Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan ensured that didn’t happen.

As has been the case recently, no game is easy for the UNC men’s basketball team.

The Tar Heels rode a seesaw like they were on the playground Saturday afternoon – bursting out to a huge lead in the opening minutes, trailing at halftime, enjoying a second-half surge and enduring multiple second-half runs by Miami, including one that cut its deficit to two in the final minute.

Cormac Ryan and Armando Bacot ensured the Hurricanes wouldn’t send UNC to a second-consecutive loss.

Ryan deflected a crucial, potential game-tying pass in the final 30 seconds then hit a clutch free throw in the final 10 seconds, Bacot’s solid defense on Miami star Norchad Omier prevented another game-tying basket and North Carolina escaped Coral Gables with a much-needed, 75-72 win that kept it atop the ACC.

The Tar Heels (19-5, 11-2) cooked up a starter-heavy gameplan against the pesky Hurricanes (15-9, 6-7), with Bacot (10), Harrison Ingram (13), Elliot Cadeau (19) and RJ Davis (25) all scoring in double-figures. Zayden High was the only UNC bench player to score, making one free throw.

North Carolina looked plenty more alert and ready to play throughout Saturday’s game. Miami came back throughout points of Saturday’s game, but the Tar Heels never wavered. I imagine UNC head coach Hubert Davis was pretty ticked off after the Clemson loss – the Tar Heels didn’t want a repeat of that.

Up next for North Carolina is Syracuse – on Tuesday evening at home. This is a game UNC should easily win, but we said the same thing about Georgia Tech and Clemson.

For now, let’s enjoy this hard-fought victory.

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Armando Bacot becomes the first-ever Tar Heel to do THIS

UNC basketball star Armando Bacot has been on a tear recently, recording double-doubles in UNC’s past three games. He now has a new record.

An aggressive, determined Armando Bacot has paid dividends for the UNC men’s basketball team this afternoon against Miami.

Bacot has yet another double-double, his third-consecutive game with one. He’s been easily able to get position in the paint, even against a fellow star ACC center in Miami’s Norchad Omier, plus is just two points away from yet another double-double.

It was Bacot’s first-half block, however, that cemented his place in ACC history.

Bacot is now the ONLY player in program history to have 2,000 points, 1,500 rebounds, 200 blocks and 100 steals in a career.

After a recent cold stretch, Bacot seems to really be turning on the jets at a crucial time. He notched a double-double in both the Duke and Clemson games, plus has drastically improved his free throw shooting from last year.

With Cormac Ryan struggling to shoot and Seth Trimble being injured, Bacot’s recent explosion is even more crucial. RJ Davis has been North Carolina’s leading scoring option, but opposing teams are starting to double-team him now, freeing up additional room for Bacot.

Can UNC ride Bacot’s hot hand to another NCAA Championship?

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Seth Trimble NOT suiting up for game at Miami

Part of why UNC’s been so successful this year is due to its guard play. One of UNC’s key reserves will miss a second-straight game.

Seth Trimble provides valuable reserve minutes for the UNC men’s basketball team, giving starters RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau some much-needed rest at guard.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, Trimble was ruled out before Tuesday’s loss against Clemson with an upper-body injury. This forced heavy usage on Cadeau and Davis, with the latter – despite scoring 22 points, setting a personal season-high in 3-pointers and passing Michael Jordan on the all-time UNC scoring – suffering one of his worst shooting nights on the campaign.

North Carolina also put reserve guard Paxson Wojcik on the court for a season-high 22 minutes, which paid off with a season-high seven points.

UNC will once again rely on its guard trio of Davis, Cadeau and Wojcik, as Trimble was ruled out for Saturday’s game at Miami with the same upper-body injury.

Missing Trimble, who is known particularly for his defense, could prove troublesome for the Tar Heels. Three of Miami’s top four scorers – Matthew Cleveland, Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar – are all guards.

Cormac Ryan is technically listed as a small forward for UNC, but he could bring some much-needed production at the guard spot. Ryan’s been ice-cold recently, making just 13 field goals in his last five games combined, but he’s due to break out at some point.

Who will step up in Trimble’s absence?

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How to watch Saturday’s late afternoon UNC-Miami basketball tilt

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game between the UNC basketball program and Miami.

The Miami Hurricanes might not be the same team they were during last year’s Final Four run, but they’re still not to be taken lightly.

The North Carolina Tar Heels, who are two days removed from a disappointing home loss against Clemson, need to beat Miami on Saturday afternoon. Every good team has bad games, but it’s concerning when that team loses on consecutive Tuesdays.

Not only will UNC be away from home on Saturday, but it’ll also be playing in front of a sold out crowd in Coral Gables. North Carolina is 5-1 on the road in ACC play, but a sold-out, weekend crowd hits different.

I expect the Tar Heels to play much better basketball, but the Hurricanes are also fighting for a spot in March Madness. Saturday will be a battle of an NCAA Tournament favorite vs. a 2023 Final Four team. There’ll be jubilation for one program when the final buzzer sounds, but a sense of sadness on the other side.

Don’t have any Saturday afternoon plans and in the mood for some college basketball? We highly recommend you turn your TVs and mobile devices at ESPN at 4 p.m. ET.

UNC AT MIAMI TV, RADIO AND STREAMING INFORMATION

WHAT: North Carolina (18-5, 10-2 ACC) at Miami (15-8, 6-6)

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. ET

LOCATION: Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

TV: ESPN (Watch and stream the game live on ESPN)

SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM (81 or 193)

WEBSITE: ESPN

UNC at Miami (FL): Game preview, prediction and more

If UNC wants to maintain positioning atop the ACC, it has to beat Miami on Saturday. What do the Tar heels need to do exactly to win?

The UNC men’s basketball team looked sluggish, slow and unprepared during Tuesday’s rare home loss to Clemson.

North Carolina star center Armando Bacot and power forward Harrison Ingram even said so in Tuesday’s postgame presser. Head coach Hubert Davis highlighted the practices between the Duke win and Clemson loss weren’t great.

It’s tough to think of many positives, but despite the letdown, UNC still is first place in the ACC. There’s much less margin for error, but all is well again if the Tar Heels beat the University of Miami (Florida) on Saturday afternoon.

The Hurricanes were one of March Madness’ greatest surprises last year.

After winning the ACC regular-season title for just the second time, Miami lost in its second game of the ACC Tournament to eventual champion Duke. The Hurricanes hit the reset button en route to an historic run, making their first Final Four appearance in school history.

Miami still has stars Norchad Omier, Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar from last year’s run, but it hasn’t played at the level many expected. Wins over a formerly-ranked Clemson and a tough Kansas State squad will certainly help its case come NCAA Tournament time, but a win over North Carolina Saturday is likely needed, too.

How can the Tar Heels avoid yet another letdown?

RJ Davis sets career high in 3-pointers during Clemson loss

UNC basketball star guard RJ Davis didn’t shoot the ball great against Clemson, but he shot well enough to break one of his own records.

Another Tuesday, another disappointing loss for the UNC men’s basketball program.

Exactly a week after losing by one on the road to Georgia Tech, which is one game out of the ACC’s cellar, the Tar Heels dug themselves into an early deficit they never climbed out of in an 80-76 loss to Clemson.

The Tigers were led by 46 combined points from their two stars, PJ Hall and Joe Girard, who seemingly couldn’t miss a shot in the opening minutes. North Carolina, on the other hand, was struggling to make its most open opportunities, which were few and far between against a well-prepared Clemson squad.

While Armando Bacot’s performance is likely the most talked about amongst a Tar Heel on the loss, it was star guard RJ Davis who achieved a career milestone.

Despite finishing just 7-of-22 from the field, Davis ended his night with a career-high 70 3-point makes this season.

To give you an example of how well Davis has played this year, five of his seven makes against Clemson were from deep. He was only aided in the perimeter shooting department by Harrison Ingram (3-of-5) and Paxson Wojcik (1-of-2), while Cormac Ryan suffered through yet another cold shooting night (1-of-10 overall).

UNC will need more of Davis’s trifectas on Saturday afternoon, as it heads to Coral Gables, Fla. for a 4 p.m. matchup with Miami. The Hurricanes (15-8, 6-6), who made a Final Four last year for the first time in program history, have slipped a bit since starting the year ranked.

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UNC Football: Helmet stickers for statement victory over Miami

The UNC football team made a statement with its 41-31 home victory over Miami last night. Which players stood out in the convincing win?

How about them Tar Heels?

The 12th-ranked UNC football team is still loving life, this time after a convincing, 41-31 primetime victory over Miami Saturday night in Kenan Stadium.

Trailing by three at halftime, Carolina star receiver Devontez Walker caught his second of three touchdowns and gave his team the lead for good (20-17). Despite allowing 31 points and nearly 500 yards, the Tar Heel defense didn’t allow a second-half score until just over the fourth quarter’s halfway mark. Omarion Hampton enjoyed his first 100-yard outing since Week 2 against App State, as the sophomore from Clayton, N.C. torched the Hurricane defense for 197 yards.

In a larger outlook, UNC’s win might just move it into the AP Poll Top 10. It beat a ranked team, in rather dominating fashion, while 11th-ranked Alabama barely squeaked by a struggling, unranked Arkansas squad and 10th-ranked USC was spanked by Notre Dame.

The AP Poll won’t come out until later today, but it’s always fun to speculate how far up the rankings Carolina moves. Do they even jump an Oregon team that Washington took care of yesterday?

While we wait to find out, let’s take a deeper look into which Tar Heels earned our Helmet Stickers for this week’s victory:

Tar Heel Football gets comedic shoutout on Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost mentioned the Tar Heels when talking about undefeated CFB teams in a skit with Kenan “Deion” Thompson.

If your adrenaline was still pumping last night from the UNC’s thrilling, 41-31 victory over a ranked Miami squad, chances are you stayed up late.

The story of the night was new Tar Heels wide receiver Devontez Walker, whose family was on hand to watch him deliver the best game of his college career (six catches, 132 receiving yards, three touchdowns). Carolina’s defense, despite allowing 31 points (14 of those were in garbage time), sacked Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke three times and shutout the Hurricanes in the third quarter.

Not too long after the game, UNC got a shoutout on a pretty well-known late night show.

On Saturday Night Live, while Kenan Thompson appeared on set as Deion Sanders, anchor Colin Jost gave the Tar Heels a comedic mention. while explaining to “Deion” college football’s remaining undefeated teams.

At the 1:31 mark, while “Deion” highlights that no team is perfect and asks Jost to name an undefeated team, Jost goes into highlighting several squads.

He leads off with UGA, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Washington.

Right after Washington, Jost mentions the Tar Heels.

Granted, it was in a humorous fashion, but pretty cool that our favorite school was briefly talked about on America’s favorite late night show.

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Devontez Walker put the college football world on notice with his standout performance vs. Miami

UNC wide receiver Devontez Walker showed out in his second game back from ineligibility, catching six passes for 132 yards and three scores.

It’s been a whirlwind of a season for UNC wide receiver Devontez Walker.

The West Charlotte High product, in his first season as a Tar Heel after transferring from Kent State, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA in August. This was initially thought as a massive setback for UNC, who was counting on Walker to be their new top receiver.

Whether it was J.J. Jones, Kobe Paysour or someone else catching Drake Maye passes, the Carolina wide receiver room exceeded expectations sans Walker.

Last week, the NCAA finally reversed its decision on Walker, allowing him to immediately step in and make the UNC passing attack that much more dangerous.

Walker caught six passes for 43 yards in the Heels’ 40-7 domination of Syracuse, showing Chapel Hill he had no signs of rust from lack of game action.

The Tar Heels hoped for, but maybe didn’t see coming, what Walker did for an encore on Saturday, Oct. 14 against Miami.

Walker made an otherwise Hurricanes defense look silly, catching six Maye passes for 132 yards and a game-high three touchdowns.

Yes – three touchdowns in his second game back from ineligibility. THREE.

Walker’s first score was the only one in the opening quarter, as he leaked behind Miami safety Te’Cory Couch for a 6-0 UNC lead.

With UNC facing a 17-14 deficit, Walker caught his second touchdown, a 56-yarder in which he got behind the Hurricanes defense once again, to give his team the lead for good just 1:48 into the second half.

You though Walker was done? Think again.

For his third and final touchdown of the night, just under seven minutes into the second half, Walker caught a Maye pass at the 10 yard line and broke a tackle en route to the end zone.

Kenan Stadium got louder with each succeeding Walker score. He was happy as a kid in a candy store postgame, with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath immediately finding him after the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Walker’s career performance came in front of his biggest fans, as his family made the two-and-a-half hour trip up from Charlotte.

A statement UNC win against a ranked team, a three-touchdown performance and family on tap to watch.

There’s no doubt tonight has to rank among Walker’s top lifetime moments – both in and outside of football.

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