Tag: Wake Forest Basketball

UNC’s offensive struggles in ACC play continue in Tuesday’s loss at Wake Forest

UNC still can’t solve its struggling offense.

Offense. It’s what the North Carolina Tar Heels’ basketball program prides itself on.

Yet, since shifting to all-ACC play on New Year’s Day against Louisville, UNC’s offense is a shell of what we once enjoyed.

North Carolina’s offensive struggles came to a boiling point during Tuesday’s 67-66 loss at Wake Forest, highlighted by a second-half stretch without a point for five minutes. I’ll credit the Demon Deacons in being one of the ACC’s top defensive squads (65.7 opponent points per game), but even the country’s best offenses can crack strong defense.

According to the ACC’s official team stats page, the Tar Heels averaged 82.3 points per game heading into Tuesday, second-best in the conference behind SMU (84.8). UNC then turned in a 66 point-performance, its second-lowest total in conference play – and the larger season.

North Carolina also failed to reach the 70-point threshold nearly two weeks ago, when it snuck by NC State in a 63-61 victory. The Tar Heels’ defense carried them in that one, similar to large parts of the Wake game.

UNC scored a minimum 80 points on nine different occasions during non-conference play, highlighted by a 107-55 victory against American. The ACC, despite in the midst of another down year, presents better competition than playing the likes of Campbell and Elon.

Why can’t North Carolina score all of a sudden? I can think of two reasons why: inconsistent center play, plus an inability to drain perimeter shots.

Jalen Washington and Ven-Allen Lubin combined for just 12 points on Tuesday night. The Tar Heels shot an ice-cold 25 percent (8-of-32) from deep, with Elliot Cadeau and RJ Davis the only players making multiple threes.

UNC has plenty of scorers on its team, such as Davis (17.3 points per game), star freshman Ian Jackson (15.2 ppg), Seth Trimble (12.6) and Cadeau (10.4). North Carolina doesn’t need them all to play Superman each game, but the team needs to find broader offensive production, before even thinking about postseason basketball.

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Texas A&M earned Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins after past opponents rise in NET rankings

After defeating LSU, Texas A&M earned more good news after past wins against Creghton and Wake Forest resulted in Quad 1 & 2 wins

Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2 SEC) earned a much-needed victory over one of the bottom feeders in the SEC, holding the LSU Tigers (12-5, 1-4 SEC) to a season-low 57 points in one of the Aggies best defensive performances on the year.

Forcing 18 turnovers on the night, the offense also showed improvement in the second half, led by the return of star point guard Wade Taylor IV (12 points), who slowed things down and allowed the rest of the team, especially fellow senior guard Zhuric Phelps, who led the Aggies with 13 points including several late buckets to put the game away.

With the victory, Texas A&M is above .500 in conference play and should only improve with Taylor’s return. But before the Aggies hit the road to face Ole Miss on Wednesday night, coach Buzz Williams received good news after early-season wins over Creighton and Wake Forest resulted in Quad 1 and Quad 2 boosts.

Creighton’s win over Connecticut rose the Bluejays’ NET ranking to No. 44, making Texas A&M’s win over the program a Quad 1 victory. In contrast, Wake Forest’s win over Virginia Tech moved the Deamon Deacons to No. 76, which now qualifies as a Quad 2 win for the Aggies.

As TexAgs’ Luke Evangelist points out, Texas A&M’s combined Quad 1 and Quad 2 record, 8-4, is tied for the fourth-best record nationally.

Texas A&M will face No. 21 Ole Miss on the road on Jan. 22 at 8:00 p.m. CST. The game can be watched on ESPN2.

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Alabama Basketball guard Davin Cosby Jr. transferring to Wake Forest

Former Alabama basketball guard Davin Cosby has found his new home!

The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball program has seen six players transfer this offseason. Two have found where they will continue their college career. The most recent being former four-star recruit and guard Davin Cosby Jr. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Cosby Jr. will be transferring to Wake Forest.

Cosby Jr. spent one season in Tuscaloosa. The Virginia native played in 22 games for the Crimson Tide. He averaged 3.6 points per game while shooting 36.6% from the floor and 34.4% from beyond-the-arc.

Cosby Jr. had seen an increase in playing time toward the end of the regular season. However, he suffered a season-ending injury prior to the NCAA Tournament. It will be interesting to see how Cosby Jr. performs in Winston-Salem at full health. The Demon Deacons were on the fringe of reaching the NCAA Tournament last season. Cosby Jr. could be a key piece to the Demon Deacons backcourt next season.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama men’s basketball program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

Wake Forest fans stormed the court after Duke upset and seemingly injured Blue Devils’ Kyle Filipowski

Wake Forest fans storming the court on Saturday resulted in Duke’s Kyle Filipowski being injured.

An upset victory for the Wake Forest men’s basketball team against ACC rival Duke on Saturday quickly changed its tenor after a player was seemingly injured during the ensuing court-storming by Wake Forest fans.

Duke standout center Kyle Filipowski sprained his ankle, coach Jon Scheyer said, after he got caught in the large group of fans storming the court at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Demon Deacons fans stormed the court as soon as the clock hit zero, which did not allow for Filipowski to get off the court in time to avoid the rushing crowd. He was helped off by his Duke teammates after he got caught up in the mayhem.

An overhead video from ESPN shows that purposeful contact might’ve been made during the sequence where Filipowski was injured.

Scheyer lamented about Filipowski’s injury in his postgame press conference and called for court-storming to be banned.

Filipowski felt that the contact was intentional on behalf of Wake Forest fans.

Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes joined Scheyer in condoning the court-storming that left Filipowski injured.

Filipowski is the second high-profile college hoops player to be injured during a court-storming. Iowa women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark collided with an Ohio State fan storming the court in January.

If Filipowski misses significant time, it will only further the calls for the ACC (and the NCAA at large) to better regulate, or ban altogether, storming the court in college basketball.

College basketball analysts and fans had plenty of thoughts about this unfortunate incident.

UNC one of seven ACC hoops teams in NET Top 60

Seven ACC hoops teams are in the Top 60 of the latest NET rankings. Can you guess where the Tar Heels sit?

Saturday is going to be a day full of highly-anticipated, marquee college basketball matchups that carry massive implications.

Several games to watch include a ranked Big 12 battle between Houston and Baylor, a significantly-improved Wake squad hosting eight-ranked Duke in a battle that could determine the ACC’s first-place team, Alabama and Kentucky battling between ranked SEC teams and – the one we hope you’re watching the closest – 10th-ranked North Carolina traveling to UVA, where it hasn’t won in over a decade.

We’ll talk more about the Tar Heels in a second, but let’s not discount the fact that – despite UNC and Duke being the only two ranked ACC teams, seven conference programs are Top-60 in the latest NET rankings.

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That’s right – North Carolina leads the way at 10th, despite its recent hot-and-cold stretch. Duke is rightfully close to the Tar Heels at 12th, Clemson stands at 26th, Wake Forest jumped 10 spots to 27th, UVA sits at 48th, Virginia Tech rose 10 spots to 52nd after its huge win over UVA, while Pitt rounded out the ACC’s share of Top-60 teams at 58th.

There’s still two weeks left in the regular season and the ACC Tournament, which could drastically change these team’s NCAA Tournament outlook, but all seven being in the Top-60 of NET means there’s likely to be several ACC teams in the Big Dance.

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UNC WBB sets season-best shooting mark in win over Wake Forest

The UNC women’s basketball team won a close road game on Sunday at Wake Forest, but set a season-best mark in made shots while doing so.

Not a ton of time has passed since the UNC women’s basketball team was the ACC’s first-place team.

A 66-61 victory over Miami on Thursday, Jan. 25 moved the Tar Heels into a tie with Syracuse for first, with North Carolina holding the tie thanks to a head-to-head victory.

UNC then lost its next four games, falling down the ACC standings before righting the ship with consecutive wins against Pitt and Wake Forest, which bumped UNC back up to sixth.

Sunday’s road win at Wake Forest was anchored by a 25-point, 10-rebound double from star forward Alyssa Ustby.

The Tar Heels’ victory also saw them shoot a season-best 52.4 percent from the field, which was their best mark since last February.

Ustby shot a lights-out 10-of-11 on field goals, including her first made 3-pointer on the season, while Maria Gakdeng’s 4-of-6 field goal mark was second-best on North Carolina. Anya Poole, who tied a season-high with 18 minutes in her start, shot 3-of-6 from the field. Deja Kelly made 4-of-10 shots, while Lexi Donarski made one of just two attempts.

The Tar Heels have their toughest remaining regular-season test on Thursday night, as they welcome sixth-ranked rival NC State to Carmichael Arena for an 8 p.m tip.

Will UNC keep shooting lights out against one of the country’s best programs?

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PHOTOS: Tar Heels win streak extends behind RJ Davis’ career night

Photos from the UNC basketball’s home win over Wake Forest on Monday night in the Dean Dome.

It was another dominating night for the UNC men’s basketball program, beating Wake Forest 85-64 bringing their win streak to nine games.

The Tar Heels continue to use their offense as their driving force, utilizing their fast pace in the second half to run away with a lopsided victory despite being down 34-33 after the first half. A lot of what went right for the Tar Heels was their guard play, as the backcourt chemistry was oozing off the charts.

Elliot Cadeu showcased an aggressive decisive attack, while on the flip side, RJ Davis had a night to remember, ending in the Smith Center chanting his name after breaking his career high in points (36). This game was everything and more for UNC fans, and in case you missed it we got you covered with the best photos of the game.

Social media reacts to RJ Davis’ career-high 36-point outburst vs. Wake Forest

RJ Davis was Mr. UNC Basketball on Monday night against Wake, leading all scorers and setting a career-high point total in the process.

It’s been the RJ Davis show for UNC basketball this season, with Monday night being just another chapter in that storybook.

Davis is playing better than arguably anyone in college basketball right now, as he leads the ACC with 21 points per game. He’s near-automatic from the free-throw line and is one of the best perimeter shooters to set foot in Chapel Hill. Davis stands at just 6 feet tall, but drives the lane against the toughest of big men.

As good as Davis has played all year, he was at his best Monday night.

Davis scored a career-high 36 points – on a 14-of-23 performance from the field and 4-of-5 night from the line.

This isn’t just any North Carolina basketball team – it’s the best we’ve watched in years. With the exception of Kentucky, Villanova and UConn, the Tar Heels have been largely handling teams.

Armando Bacot has been playing solid under the basket, but it’s the veteran presence of transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan making the difference. UNC head coach Hubert Davis is playing more of his bench, something he caught a lot of heat for not doing this year.

But the main reason North Carolina is such a special team this season?

The senior shooting guard from White Plains, New York who could very well be National Player of the Year when the season ends.

Check out what Tar Heel nation had to say about RJ’s big night:

Social media reacts to UNC’s domination of Wake Forest

UNC pulled away in the second half for a dominant, 85-64 victory over Wake Forest that kept it undefeated in ACC play. How’d fans react?

UNC basketball fans knew that tonight’s North Carolina-Wake Forest battle was going to be a close one, as it would prove crucial in the ACC standings.

It was anyone’s game in the first half. The Tar Heels looked as if they were going to pull away early, only for Wake Forest to catch a hot hand late and take a 1-point lead into halftime.

You never would’ve guessed what happened out of the break.

Carolina ran past the visiting Demon Deacons, making virtually every shot and playing its newly-discovered brand of suffocating defense, to help it pick up an 85-64 win and stay undefeated in conference play.

RJ Davis stole the show again, scoring a career-high 36 points on 14-of-23 shooting and four made free throws. Elliot Cadeau, Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram combined for 35 points, while the Tar Heel defense limited Wake Forest to just a 3-of-20 mark from downtown.

Carolina held an opponent to under 70 points for the ninth-consecutive game – all victories. Wake Forest had three guys reach double-digit point totals, but no one scores 20.

Let’s take a look at what social media had to say about yet another dominant UNC victory, which will surely keep it in the AP Poll’s Top 3:

UNC Basketball rolls over Wake Forest to ninth straight victory

The North Carolina Tar Heels snag their ninth straight victory as RJ Davis delivers career night, improving to 16-3.

The No. 3 UNC men’s basketball program was in action Monday night, taking on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

It was a slow start to the game, as both teams struggled to find a rhythm, going a combined 5 for 23 in the first seven minutes of action. However, it didn’t take long for the shots to start falling as UNC and Wake Forest traded buckets.

In the first half the Tar Heels leaned on their guard play, with [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Elliot Cadeau[/autotag] wowing the crowd. Davis drives to the buckets resulting in tough finishes, while Cadeau’s defense and ankle tanking boosted cheers in the Dean Dome.

Unlike the recent ACC teams UNC faced, Wake Forest didn’t need physicality to keep pace. Instead, they matched their offensive output. The second half continued to about the guard play as Cadeau and Davis kept attacking Wake’s defense, slowly creating separation in the process.

What was a close game, quickly ballooned to a sizable lead in the Tar Heels favor mid-way through the second period after a 26-11 run. Wake Forest’s attempt at any runs was quickly squashed, as the home crowd gave UNC everything and more, pushing the Tar Heels to their ninth straight win.

Player of the Game

There’s no question Davis is the player of the game after another remarkable scoring output. Davis finished with a career-high 36 points while breaking Justin Jackson’s record for most consecutive games (16) with multiple three-pointers. Davis’s impressive outing echoes the belief that he should be in the running for player of the year.

What’s Next 

UNC will enjoy a four-day break before their ACC road matchup against FSU on Saturday. The Tar Heels already claimed a victory over the Seminoles earlier in the season, winning 78-70 in Chapel Hill. FSU has shown to be beatable at their house with a 7-4 home record, giving UNC a good chance at extending their win streak to 10 games.

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