University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Hoops Makes Final Road Trip of Regular Season
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
February 19, 1999
NOTING THE TAR HEELS
Carolina makes its final road trip of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 20 when the Tar Heels play at Virginia at 3:30 p.m. The Tar Heels, who won their 20th game of the season on Wednesday with a 62-53 victory over NC State, are 20-7 overall and 8-5 in the league. Virginia lost at Clemson on Wednesday and is 14-13 overall and 4-10 in conference action.
Carolina clinched at least a tie for third place in the ACC standings for the 35th consecutive season with its victory on Wednesday. The Tar Heels, who finish the season at home vs. Wake Forest and Duke following Saturday's road game, can finish no worse that 8-8 in the league and would have to lose all three games to do so. Wake Forest (5-8), Georgia Tech (5-8) and Florida State (5-8) are tied for fourth place and would have to win their remainining three games to tie UNC.
The Tar Heels can clinch third place outright with a win over Virginia.
Freshmen Kris Lang and Jason Capel led the Tar Heels with 15 points apiece in Carolina's win over NC State. Lang, who is making a late-season push for ACC Rookie of the Year honors, scored 12 points in the second half, including a dunk of a missed free throw to give Carolina a five point lead with less than a minute remaining. Lang also made 6 of 7 free throws in the second period, including two with 28 seconds remaining. Lang was 4 of 5 from the field.
In ACC games only, Ademola Okulaja leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.441), is third in rebounding (8.5), sixth in three-point field goals per game (2.0), 10th in free throw percentage (.768) and 11th in scoring (14.5)
Carolina leads the ACC and is second in the nation in rebounding with a 10.1 margin. The Tar Heels have outrebounded 23 of their 27 opponents this season. The Tar Heels are second in the league in scoring defense (62.7), third in field goal percentage (.476), second in field goal percentage defense (.387) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.379).
Freshman Ronald Curry was named the Tar Heels' defensive player of the game against NC State. It was the first time this year Curry won the award. Brendan Haywood has won it 10 times.
21 WINS
Carolina extended its NCAA record of at least 20 wins to 29 seasons with its victory vs. NC State on Feb. 17. However, the Tar Heels have actually won 21 games a record 28 consecutive years. Carolina can extend that streak to 29 seasons with a win over Virginia. The Tar Heels' streak of 28 straight 20-win seasons began with a 26-6 record in 1970-71.
Carolina and Kentucky have the most 20-win seasons in NCAA history with 44.
CAROLINA-VIRGINIA SERIES NOTES
UNC leads the alltime series with Virginia, 112-40, including a 21-12 record at University Hall. In the series, Carolina has won five in a row, seven of the last eight and 17 of the last 21.
Last year in Charlottesville, Carolina trailed Virginia by as many as 14 points in the first half, but came back to post a 60-45 victory. Virginia's Curtis Staples made six three-point first-half baskets to give the Cavaliers a 33-26 lead at the break. Antawn Jamison scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels. Carolina allowed just 12 points in the second half, the fewest points allowed in a half by UNC since the 1979 Duke game in which the Blue Devils led 7-0 at the half.
The last time Carolina lost at Virginia was during the 1997 season when Carolina dropped a 75-65 decision to fall to 0-3 in the league for the first time ever.
OWENS DOUBTFUL, BROOKER CLEARED
Shooting guard Max Owens, who missed his first game of the year on Wednesday because of a left groin strain, is doubtful for Saturday's game at Virginia. Owens strained the muscle on Monday in practice and did not work out with the team on Tuesday or Thursday.
Michael Brooker, who has not played since the Florida State game on Jan. 6., has been cleared to play. Brooker tore cartilage in his left knee in practice two days prior to Carolina's Jan. 13 game vs. Maryland. Brooker had surgery on the knee on Jan. 14. It is the same knee in which he tore his ACL while playing in a high school physical education class in May 1996. He received a medical redshirt in 1996-97 because of that injury.
ACC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE KRIS LANG
ACC Rookie of the Year candidate Kris Lang is shooting 59.0 percent from the field and is averaging 10.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures 14 times this year, including seven of the last eight games.
In the last four games, Lang is shooting 74.5 percent (35 of 47)
A native of Gastonia, N.C., Lang shot 84.2 percent from the field (16 of 19) and averaged 18.5 points and seven rebounds to earn ACC Rookie of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 1-7. Lang was 7 of 7 from the field in the loss at Clemson and scored 16 points and had eight rebounds. In the Tar Heels 98-64 win over Florida State, Lang matched his career high with 21 points and also had six rebounds.at Duke 5-6 .833 12 points vs. Georgia Tech 7-11 .636 17 points, 11 rebounds at Clemson 7-7 1.000 16 points, 8 rebounds vs. Florida State 9-12 .750 21 points, 6 rebounds at Maryland 3-6 .500 8 points, 5 rebounds vs. NC State 4-5 .800 15 points, 5 rebounds
Lang recorded his second career double-double in the January 31st win over Georgia Tech. He led UNC with 17 points and led all players with 11 rebounds.
Lang posted his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in Carolina's 82-68 win at Dartmouth. He made a career-best nine field goals in 12 attempts and blocked a career-high three shots.
Lang scored a career-high 21 points in Carolina's 65-58 win over Georgia in the Preseason NIT quarterfinal. With just 40 seconds remaining in the game vs. UGA, Lang scored one of the game's biggest buckets dunking Ed Cota's perfect pass for a four-point UNC lead. Lang played great defense and had seven rebounds in the Tar Heels' 57-49 victory over Stanford in the Preseason NIT final.
Lang converted two important three-point plays late in regulation and in overtime of Carolina's win over UNC Charlotte. With 1:17 remaining in regulation and Carolina trailing by three, Okulaja fed Lang a perfect baseline bounce pass which Lang converted into a layup. Lang was fouled on the play and completed the traditional three-point play to tie the game at 64. In overtime, Lang put the Tar Heels up by three with 4:23 left on another conventional three-point play.
UNC WINS VS. LOSSES - OVERALL
Comparison Category 20 wins 7 losses FG Percentage 49.1% 43.7% Opponents' FG Pct. 35.7% 47.2% 3pt. FG Pct. 40.6% 31.8% Opponents 3pt. FG Pct. 28.6% 42.4% Free Throws 325 of 446 (72.9%) 99 of 145 (68.3%) Opponents Free Throws 135 of 213 (63.4%) 87 of 135 (64.4%)UNC WINS VS. LOSSES - ACC GAMES
Comparison Category 8 wins 5 losses FG Percentage 46.9% 43.4% Opponents FG Pct. 35.0% 49.3% 3pt. FG Pct. 39.1% (39 of 100) 30.3% (27 of 89) Opponents 3pt. FG Pct. 23.0% (37 of 166) 42.6% (40 of 94) Free Throws 121 of 164 (73.8%) 61 of 93 (65.6%) Opponents Free Throws 49 of 76 (62.0%) 65 of 104 (62.5%)
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
Carolina is second in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 38.7 percent shooting. Last year, UNC opponents shot just 38.4 percent from the field.
Since the 1961-62 seasons (37 years), UNC's opponents shot less than 40 percent from the field on just two occasions. In 1993-94, UNC held the opposition to 39.5 percent shooting and last year opponents shot 38.4 percent.
THE TAR HEELS AT HOME
Carolina is 11-1 at the Smith Center this season and 156-19 (.891) overall. The Tar Heels are 92-17 (.844) in ACC games at the Smith Center.
Carolina has two home games remaining and could post 13 wins at the Smith Center for the first time since 1995.
Carolina has not lost more than one game at the Smith Center in a season since posting a 9-3 record at home in 1995-96.
In the last three home games, Carolina has out-rebounded the opposition by 67 rebounds, an average of 16.8 per game (Virginia, 61-32; Georgia Tech, 47-34; FSU, 43-20; and NC State, 38-36).
NBA ROSTERS A FAMILIAR SHADE OF BLUE
Opening day NBA rosters were released on Feb. 4 and 16 former Tar Heels have made an NBA team, the most of any college team. Arizona is second with 13, followed by Georgetown, Kentucky, Kansas and Georgia Tech with 10 each. Those totals include players on the injured reserve list.
In the ACC, Carolina leads the way with 16, followed by Georgia Tech (10), NC State (6), Duke (6), Wake Forest (5), Florida State (5), Clemson (4), Virginia (4) and Maryland (4).
GUTHRIDGE NEAR BEST TW0-YEAR RECORD IN HISTORY
Bill Guthridge is 54-11 in two years as North Carolina's head basketball coach. No other head coach who began his career in the ACC (after 1953-54) has ever reached 50 wins as quickly.
Last season, Guthridge became the alltime winningest first-year head coach with 34 victories. He is already tied for second place nationally with former UNC coach Ben Carnevale for most wins after two years. See chart below.
Top 10 Best Career Starts by Wins
(2 Seasons)
Coach, School Record Pct. 1. Everett Case, NC State 55-8 .873 2. Bill Guthridge, North Carolina 54-11 .831 3. Ben Carnevale, North Carolina 52-11 .825 4. Bill Carmody, Princeton 51-6 .895
OVER 300 STRAIGHT GAMES AS RANKED TEAM
North Carolina's game vs. Virginia is the Tar Heels' 308th straight game as an Associated Press ranked team. The ACC record for most consecutive games played as an AP-ranked team is 319 set by UNC between Dec. 5, 1973 and Dec. 20, 1982.
The last time Carolina was not ranked was during the 1989-90 season. That year, Carolina was ranked in five weekly polls, but fell out of the poll in late January. Since the start of the 1990-91 season, Carolina has been ranked in 158 consecutive polls. That is the nation's longest current streak and the fourth-longest alltime.
Since Dec. 5, 1973, Carolina has been left out of the weekly AP poll just 15 times. In that time, Carolina has been ranked in 435 of a possible 450 weeks, a percentage of .967.
ACC Opponents' three-point Percentage
In Carolina's eight ACC wins, opponents are shooting 23.0 percent (42 of 183) from three-point range. In the Tar Heels' five ACC defeats, opponents combined to hit 40 of 94 from behind the three-point line (42.6%).
In the eight ACC wins, UNC's opponents are averaging 5.3 made three-pointers in 23 attempts.
COTA DOES IT ALL
Point guard Ed Cota is having a remarkable season averaging 10.4 points, 7.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds. He has improved his averages in two of the three categories from last season when he averaged 8.1 points, 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and set the school record with 274 assists.
Cota has 31 three-point field goals this year. Entering this season, he had made just 18 in his career.
OKULAJA - ALL-ACC CANDIDATE
"I think they've got an all-conference player. If I had to vote for a player, and I think there are a lot of good players on their team, I think Okulaja is one of the five best players in this league. He's had that kind of season...14 points, nine rebounds, and he's the prototypical North Carolina senior. He's the guy who's taken over the leadership and he's the rock of the team." -- Dave Odom, Wake Forest Head Coach.
OKULAJA ADDS TO UNC'S 1,000-POINT LIST
Ademola Okulaja scored his 1,000th point in Carolina's 72-54 victory at Florida State on Jan. 6. Okulaja is the 48th Tar Heel to score at least 1,000 career points. No other school has as many 1,000-point scorers as Carolina. Kentucky is second with 47.
Carolina has had at least one 1,000-point scorer on its roster every year since 1964.
OKULAJA CLIMBS THE UNC CHARTS
Okulaja is 38th in career scoring at Carolina with 1,152 points. Matt Doherty (1980-84) is 37th with 1,165 points and Jerry Vayda (1952-56) is 36th with 1,187 points.
Okulaja ranks 11th in UNC history with 836 career rebounds. Pete Brennan (1955-58) is 10th with 854 boards.
OKULAJA'S BEST SEASON
Okulaja is having his finest statistical season as a Tar Heel.
Ademola Okulaja
Category 1998-99 First 3 Years Points 13.8 7.4 Rebounds 8.5 5.8 Field Goal Pct. .444 .437 3FG Pct. .421 .343 Free Throw Pct. .746 .642
Okulaja leads the team in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), three-point field goals (40) and steals (38). No other player in Tar Heel history has led the team in those four categories. In fact, only three players, including Rick Fox on two occasions, has led the team in three of the four statistical categories. Jerry Stackhouse led the 1995 team in scoring, rebounding and steals. Rick Fox led the 1990 and 1991 teams in scoring, steals and three-point baskets. Kenny Smith led the 1987 team in scoring, steals and three-pointers.
Okulaja has had double figures in rebounds nine times this year. He had a career-high 17 against Florida International, 13 vs. Old Dominion, 14 vs. Buffalo, 15 vs. Louisville, 11 at Georgia Tech, 13 at Florida State, 11 vs. Virginia, 10 at NC State and 10 at Wake Forest. He came into the season with a career-high 12 rebounds on two occasions in his first 105 games.
Okulaja has never missed a game in his four years as a Tar Heel. He has played in 132 consecutive games at UNC. The Tar Heels are 103-29 in his career. With at least five games remaining this year, Okulaja has a chance, depending on postseason play, to break the school record of 140 games played which is held by five players.
He has scored in double figures in 22 of the 27 games this season, including 15 of the last 16 games. Last year he scored 10 or more points 16 times in 38 games. He had a streak of 15 games in double figures snapped Feb. 17 vs. NC State when he scored nine. The 15-game streak in double figures was the longest streak of his career. He netted 10 or more points in each of the first five games in 1997-98.
OKULAJA'S HIGHLIGHTS
In Carolina's 98-64 win over Florida State on Feb. 7, Okulaja scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists. His seven assists were one shy of his career high set earlier this year at California.
Okulaja was 4 of 5 from three-point range in UNC's 72-54 win at Florida State on Jan. 6. His four three-pointers were the most since he set his career high with five three-pointers against Bethune Cookman on Dec. 2, 1996. Okulaja also had four three-pointers in a loss against Clemson on Feb. 4.
Okulaja was everywhere in Carolina's 75-66 win over Georgia Tech as he had 11 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists in 32 minutes. He did not commit a turnover. Late in the game, with UNC ahead 67-61, he stole an outlet pass after a Tech rebound and converted two free throws to seal the victory.
In Carolina's 89-77 loss at Duke, Okulaja was outstanding, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He had 14 points in the first half on 5 of 7 shooting.
Okulaja recorded his third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in UNC's 52-40 win at Wake Forest on Jan. 23. Okulaja and Kris Lang led Carolina in scoring as each netted 10 points. The double-double was the 13th of his career.
Okulaja led Carolina with 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 71-47 victory vs. Virginia on Jan. 21.
In Carolina's 59-56 win at NC State on Jan. 16, Okulaja was 4 of 6 >from the field, including 2 of 2 from three-pont range, and scored 13 points and snared 10 rebounds. It was his 11th double-double of his career.
Okulaja recorded his 10th career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds against Florida State on Jan. 6. He was 4 of 5 from three-point range and scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half as Carolina rallied from a four-point halftime deficit.
In Carolina's 69-53 win over Clemson on Jan. 2, Okulaja did a little of everything as he scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists and one blocked shot. He was 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 7 from three-point range.
Okulaja dished out a career-high eight assists against California on Dec. 29. His previous high was seven on four occasions, the most recent coming against Seton Hall in November 1997.
Okulaja was outstanding in Carolina's 77-72 win vs. Louisville on Dec. 17. He scored a career-high 23 points on 5 of 10 shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds (second-most in his career) and was a career-best 12 of 15 from the free throw line.
Okulaja played a remarkable game against ODU on Dec. 4, especially when you consider he was playing despite a stomach illness. Okulaja grabbed 13 rebounds, scored nine points and had two steals in 38 minutes of playing time.
In Carolina's 65-44 win vs. Florida International in the first round of the Preseason NIT, Okulaja grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. He also added 15 points.
HAYWOOD SHOOTING OVER 60 PERCENT FROM THE FIELD
Haywood is shooting 64.4 percent from the field this season and would be the ACC leader if he had enough made field goals (he is three shy). He has shot less than 50 percent from the field only five times this year.
In his last four games, Haywood is 21 of 29 from the field (.724). He was 3 of 4 at Clemson, 7 of 7 vs. Florida State, 5 of 7 at Maryland and 6 of 11 vs. NC State.
In the Tar Heels' 98-64 win over Florida State on Feb. 7, Haywood was 7 of 7 from the field and scored 18 points and had eight rebounds.
He has made at least half his field goal attempts in 18 of the last 19 games. He was 3 of 9 at Duke.
Haywood scored the first six points of the game and grabbed four offensive rebounds before the first TV timeout in Carolina's 71-47 victory vs. Virginia on Jan. 21. He finished with a career-high 16 rebounds, including a career-best seven offensive boards. He also scored 12 points to post his seventh career double-double.
Against NC State on Jan. 16, Haywood came off the bench to score 16 points on a variety of post moves, leading the Tar Heels to a 59-56 victory. Haywood did not start for just the second time this season because of poor practice performances the previous week. Haywood also had six rebounds and four blocked shots against the Wolfpack.
In a home loss to Maryland on Jan. 13, Haywood was superb on offense scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. It was his sixth double-double of the season.
Haywood posted a career-high 24 points and had 12 rebounds in the loss to California on December 29th. His previous high was 21 points against Purdue.
Haywood scored 20 or more points in a game for the third time in his collegiate career (all this season). He had 21 against Purdue and 20 against Buffalo earlier this year.
The 24-point career scoring high came one game after he netted a season-low four points in the loss at Georgia Tech.
Haywood scored a team-high 20 points against Buffalo on 8 of 9 shooting. He was also 4 of 5 from the free throw line and grabbed five rebounds.
Haywood scored a then-career-high 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Carolina's 54-47 win over Purdue in the NIT semifinal. Haywood made 8 of 10 shots from the field and was five of seven from the free throw line against the Boilermakers. He also blocked two shots, one of which was a critical block at the end of the game that resulted in a shot clock violation by Purdue with 1:19 to play.
In the NIT final victory over Stanford, Haywood had six blocked shots and seven points. He helped hold Stanford's starting frontcourt to 7 of 27 from the field.
In the Tar Heels' opening win vs. Appalachian State, Haywood was 6 of 11 from the floor and had a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds. He followed that performance with his first career double-double, registering 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida International. He was held under double figures for the first time this season with nine points at Hampton.
COTA'S THREE-POINT RANGE
Cota entered the season shooting just 31.0 percent (18 of 58) from behind the three-point arc in his career, but this year he is shooting 41.9 percent (31 of 74). He has already made more three-point shots (31) this season than he did in his first two seasons combined (18). He is second on the team behind Ademola Okulaja's 38.
Cota has made at least one three-point basket in 12 of his last 16 games and has made four of his last six three-point attempts.
Against UNC Charlotte, Cota was 4 of 6 from three-point range, including a clutch three-point basket with 27.8 seconds remaining in overtime which gave Carolina a 73-70 lead. His four three-point field goals were a career high. His previous high was two on several occasions.
COTA'S ASSISTS
Junior point guard Ed Cota leads the ACC with 7.2 assists per game.
Cota is third on the team in points (10.4), first in assists (7.2), sixth in rebounding (4.7) and second with 31 three-pointers.
Cota has 687 career assists, which is 11th-best in ACC history and third in UNC history. He needs six assists to pass Georgia Tech's Travis Best (692) for 10th place on the ACC career chart.
In 96 career games, Cota is averaging 7.16 assists per game. That is the third-highest average in ACC history behind N.C. State's Chris Corchiani (8.37 from 1988-91) and Duke's Bobby Hurley (7.68 from 1990-93). The previous career assist per game high by a Carolina player was 6.1 by Phil Ford.
Cota set a UNC record in game at Georgia Tech in December when he handed out 12 assists. It was his 17th career game with 10 or more assists. He went into the Tech game sharing the record at 16 with Phil Ford.
Cota had 11 assists in a home loss to Maryland on Jan. 13 and now has 18 double-figure assist games. He has posted double-figure assist games six times as a freshman, eight times as a sophomore and four this year.
Last year, Cota set the single-season school record with 274 assists, passing Kenny Smith's record of 235 in 1984-85.
COTA'S REBOUNDS
Do-everything point guard Ed Cota is the best rebounding point guard in UNC history according to available records. Since the Dean Smith-Bill Guthridge era began in 1961-62, no other point guard has averaged more rebounds in a single season that Cota's 4.7 average this year. Cota's career average of 3.6 also ranks as the best ever by a Tar Heel point guard.
Against No. 2 Stanford on Nov. 27, 1998, Cota pulled down a career-best 11 caroms, including 10 defensive boards. He had eight rebounds in the 71-47 victory over Virginia on Jan. 21.
COTA HIGHLIGHTS
Cota directed Carolina's highest scoring output of the season in a 98-64 win over Florida State. He was 4 of 6 from the field, connected on both three-point attempts, scored 10 points and dished out nine assists.
Despite playing just 25 minutes due to the lingering effects of a left calf strain, Cota came off the bench to dish out seven assists against just one turnover. He also scored seven points in the loss at Clemson.
Cota was sensational in UNC's 63-61 win over Old Dominion on Dec. 4. He hit the game-winning basket on a left-handed drive with 1.5 seconds to play. Cota scored a career-high 20 points, had six assists, six rebounds and three steals. He made 7 of 12 shots from the floor, including both of his three-point attempts and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in 39 minutes of action.
Cota's 20-point game topped his previous career scoring high of 17 he had accomplished three times. He scored 17 at Florida State last year and 17 against Appalachian State and Stanford earlier this year.
Cota averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists to earn MVP honors and lead North Carolina to the NIT Championship with wins over Purdue and Stanford. Cota scored 11 points and had eight assists to help Carolina overcome a 7-point halftime deficit to Purdue. He then posted his eighth career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against No. 2 Stanford. It was the first time Cota had ever posted a points-rebounds double-double. He has seven career double-doubles of points and assists.
Cota had a season-high 13 assists (just one off his career high) and just one turnover in 37 minutes in Carolina's 86-75 victory at Hampton on Nov. 23. Cota also had eight points and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Against Georgia, Cota recorded his seventh career double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.
COTA EARNS RECOGNITION
Point guard Ed Cota was named to the 1998 preseason All-ACC team along with Duke's Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon, Maryland's Laron Profit and Clemson's Terrell McIntyre. UNC forward Ademola Okulaja was named honorable mention all-conference.
Cota was a preseason candidate for the John Wooden Award, which is presented to the nation's best collegiate player.
The Sporting News named Cota the ACC's Best Playmaker in its 1998-99 preseason publication.
In Dick Vitale's February 1st report on ESPN, he listed Cota among his four top lead guards in the country. Vitale selected Cota along with Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin, Arizona's Jason Terry and Utah's Andre Miller.
TAR HEEL TRENDS
The Tar Heels are averaging 71.1 points per game through 27 games. That is the lowest season average since the 1981-82 team averaged 66.7 points. Carolina had James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan that year, went 32-2 and won the national championship. The last two times Carolina averaged less than 70 points per game were 1982 (66.7) and 1957 (65.5). Both seasons resulted in NCAA titles for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels are holding their opponents to just 62.7 points per game, the lowest opponent average on record since 1981-82 when Carolina allowed 55.4 points a game.
Carolina allowed a season-high 89 points in a loss to Maryland on Jan. 13 and Duke on Jan. 27. Only seven teams, including Maryland on two occasisons have scored over 70 points against UNC this season.
Carolina is shooting 47.6 percent from the field this season. That is Carolina's lowest team field goal percentage since UNC shot 45.5 percent in 1968. Carolina, who has led the ACC in field goal shooting in each of the last five seasons, is ranked third this year.
UNC opponents are shooting just 38.7 percent from the field. Fifteen of the 27 opponents have shot less than 40 percent, including Florida International who shot a season-low 26.5 percent.
In the last 100 games (beginning with the first game of the 1996-97 season), only seven opponents have made 50 percent or better from the field against the UNC defense. Maryland has done it three times. The Terps shot 51.5 percent against Carolina in College Park, Md., last January, shot 53.6 percent this season in an 89-76 win on Jan. 13 and shot 50.0 percent in an 81-64 win on Feb. 13, 1999.
In the last 100 games, Carolina has limited its opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field on 52 occasions (52 percent of the time).
Carolina has made 424 of 591 (.717) free throws this year. The opponents have made 222 of 348 (.638). Carolina has made 76 more free throws than its opponents have attempted.
The Tar Heels are averaging 16.0 turnovers per game. Last year, a veteran UNC squad averaged 13.0 turnovers per game.
HEAD COACH BILL GUTHRIDGE
Guthridge is 54-11 (.831) as the Tar Heels' head coach. No other UNC coach has reached 50 wins faster than Guthridge. He is in his second year as head coach, but 32nd as part of the UNC program. He was an assistant coach for Dean Smith for 30 seasons before taking over last year following Smith's retirement.
Guthridge, the 1998 National Coach of the Year, has been a part of 841 wins as a member of the Tar Heel staff. Including 93 wins as an assistant coach at Kansas State, Guthridge has been on the sidelines for 934 collegiate victories.
Last year, Guthridge set the NCAA record for most wins by a first-year head coach with 34 and was named the National Coach of the Year by NABC, the Atlanta Tipoff Club, CBS/Chevrolet and The Sporting News. He was also selected the ACC coach of the Year after leading the Tar Heels to a 13-3 regular-season record and the ACC Tournament title.
