ACC Tourney Media Notes

March 6, 1999

1999 ACC Tournament Game vs. Maryland
Saturday, March 6, 1999 - Charlotte, N.C.

Carolina advanced to the semifinals of the 1999 ACC Tournament with a 78-49 win over Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels, third seeds this year, have advanced to the semifinals for the third straight time and 36th time in history. Carolina has played in the ACC Tournament championship game 10 times in the last 12 years.

The Tar Heels are 23-8 overall, 10-6 in ACC regular-season play and 1-0 in the ACC Tournament. UNC is ranked No. 15 in the country in both polls and has won four of its last five games since an 81-84 loss at Maryland on February 13th.

Carolina is 25-10 alltime in ACC Tournament semifinals and has not lost in the semifinals since 1984 when the Tar Heels lost to Duke. Maryland beat the Blue Devils in the final that season. Carolina has won 11 straight times in the ACC semifinals.

Carolina has played 100 games in ACC Tournament history. The 29-point win over Georgia Tech was the 71st win for UNC in the event, a record. The Tar Heels have a 17-4 record in Charlotte in the ACC Tournament.

Overall, the Tar Heels are now 152-15 in Charlotte. Carolina has not lost two games in one year in Charlotte since 1969-70. UNC lost to Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Virginia (ACC Quarterfinal) that year. Earlier this year, the Tar Heels lost on a last-second to the College of Charleston, 66-64. The Tar Heels beat Old Dominion, 63-61, in Charlotte in December.

Head coach Bill Guthridge is 4-0 in the ACC Tournament. Last year, in his first year as UNC's head coach, Guthridge led the Tar Heels to wins over NC State, Maryland (in overtime) and Duke to win the title.

Bill Guthridge has won more games in his first two years as a head coach than any other coach in NCAA history. Guthridge is 57-12 in two years. Former NC State coach Everett Case won 55 games in his first two years.

Carolina is now 10-6 in ACC Tournament history as the No. 3 seed. UNC won the ACC Tournament as the third seed once, in 1997.

Carolina is 8-3 alltime against No. 2 seeds. The last time UNC beat a No. 2 was in 1997 when the Tar Heels defeated Wake Forest. The last No. 2 seed to beat Carolina was Maryland in 1974. The Terps beat the Tar Heels, 105-85, on March 8, 1974.

The Tar Heels have won seven consecutive ACC Tournament games. That is the first time UNC has won seven straight games in the Tournament since winning the championship in 1981 and 1982 and winning the opening round game in 1983. A win over Maryland would be the eighth win in a row, the longest streak by UNC since the Tar Heels won nine straight in winning the titles in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

1999 ACC Tournament Semifinals vs. Maryland

Carolina leads the alltime series against Maryland, 103-47. That includes a 10-3 record in the ACC Tournament and a 14-9 mark in the 1990s. The Terps have won two straight games and five of the last eight. The Tar Heels have won six consecutive games in the ACC Tournament against Maryland, including the 1987 quarterfinal, the 1988 semifinal, the 1989 semifinal, the 1993 quarterfinal, the 1995 semifinal, and the 1998 semifinal. Last year in the ACC Tournament semifinal, the Tar Heels beat the Terps, 83-73 in overtime (66 all at the end of regulation). Carolina trailed by nine points in the second half but rallied to force overtime. Senior guard Shammond Williams sent the game to OT with a pair of free throws (on a three-point shooting foul) with four seconds left in regulation. In overtime, Williams scored 10 points.

The Tar Heels have never lost three times in one season to the Maryland Terrapins. In fact, UNC has not been beaten three times in a row by the Terps since the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. The last time UNC lost three times in one season to an ACC opponent was in 1988 when UNC lost three times to Duke.

Carolina and Maryland have gone to overtime in four of the last 10 meetings, including the last two ACC Tournament matchups (1995 and 1998 semifinals, both won by the Tar Heels).

Carolina led 43-42 at halftime in the first meeting this year in Chapel Hill. In the second half, however, Maryland made 58.3 percent of its shots from the field and outscored the Tar Heels by 14 to win, 89-76. Brendan Haywood led the Tar Heels with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ed Cota had 17 points and 11 assists (the last time Cota had double-figure assists in a game.) The Tar Heels committed seven turnovers in the first five minutes of the rematch in College Park in February, but managed to take the lead midway through the first half. The Terrapins led by five at the break and extended their lead to 17, the final margin. UNC finished with a season-high 25 turnovers, the most UNC has committed in a game since it had 25 miscues at Duke on Jan. 29, 1997. Maryland blocked 14 shots in the game in College Park. Ademola Okulaja had 15 points and six boards, and Haywood added 13 points and six rebounds.

Last night, the Tar Heels held the Yellow Jackets to 30.0 percent shooting from the floor, the 18th time this year the opponents have shot under 40 percent from the field. In the last 104 games, Carolina has held its opposition under 40 percent shooting 54 times. The opponents have made 50 percent or better from the field seven times in that 104-game span. Maryland has accomplished the feat three of those seven times, including both encounters this season. The Terps shot 53.6 percent in the game in Chapel Hill and 50.0 in College Park.

In Carolina's 78-49 victory last night vs. Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels went on a 23-2 run (and 30-7) in the second half after Tech narrowed the score to 41-40. Carolina held Georgia Tech to zero two-point field goals in the second half. The Yellow Jackets were 5 of 21 from the field in the second half and all five field goals were three-point baskets. Five Tar Heels scored in double figures for just the second time this season. The other time was Jan. 31 vs. Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill. Cota led the team with 14 points and nine assists. Brendan Haywood scored 13 points, Ademola Okulaja and Brian Bersticker had 12 each and Kris Lang added 11. Bersticker's 12 points in 13 minutes of action were a season high. Bersticker scored six straight points after Jason Collier's three-pointer made it 41-40.

Point guard Ed Cota dished out nine assists last night versus the Yellow Jackets and moved into ninth place in ACC history with 716 career assists. He has 208 assists this year. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native had 234 assists as a freshman and a UNC record 274 assists as a sophomore in 1997-98. He and Kenny Smith are the only players in Carolina history to record 200-plus assists in three different seasons. 1999 ACC Tournament

Cota had nine assists and only one turnover in the quarterfinal. It was his best assist-turnover ratio in a game since he had nine assists and one turnover against Buffalo on December 8th. Cota moved ahead of former Duke guard Tommy Amaker into ninth place in assists in ACC history with 716. Georgia Tech's Drew Barry is eighth with 724. Cota is 38 assists shy of moving past Phil Ford into second place in UNC history. Kenny Smith is first with 768 assists. Cota's 208 assists mark the ninth-best single-season assist number in UNC history. He already owns the first and third highest figures.

Cota is averaging an ACC-leading 7.2 assists per game this year. Cota has led the ACC in each of his previous two seasons, as well. Only three other players in history have led the ACC three times in a row ' UNC's Phil Ford in 1976-77-78, Wake Forest's Tyrone Bogues in 1985-86-87 and Georgia Tech's Drew Barry in 1994-95-96.

Ed Cota was 4 for 7 from three-point range in the win over Georgia Tech. That matches Cota's career high for three-point baskets in a game. It was the second time in his career he made four in a game. He also had four in a 75-73 overtime win over UNC Charlotte on Dec. 12, 1998, in the Smith Center.

Brian Bersticker has scored in double figures in consecutive contests for the first time in his career. The 6-10 sophomore had 11 points in just nine minutes against Duke and had a season-high 12 points in 13 minutes against Georgia Tech. His career scoring high is 16 at Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 29, 1997.

Carolina committed just seven turnovers in the win over Georgia Tech last night, including three in the first half. The seven turnovers equal the season-low for the Tar Heels (also had seven against Clemson on January 2nd). The Tar Heels committed 11 turnovers in the loss to Duke on February 27th, giving UNC just 18 miscues in the last two games. Prior to the Duke game, Carolina had committed 17 or more turnovers in each of the last nine games. The Tar Heels are averaging 15.1 turnovers for the season.

Carolina had 18 assists and seven turnovers in the ACC Quarterfinal. The "plus 11" assist-turnover ratio was the second-best this year by UNC and the best since the fourth game of the season. The Tar Heels were "plus 14" in a win at Hampton on November 23rd. Carolina has had more assists than turnovers 14 times this year, including three times in the last four games. Against Maryland, the Tar Heels had 16 assists (on 28 field goals) and 18 turnovers in Chapel Hill, and 14 assists (on 21 baskets) and 25 turnovers in College Park.

After shooting a season-low 37.7 percent from the field against Duke, the Tar Heels answered by shooting 53.6 percent against the Yellow Jackets. That's the first time in seven games UNC shot 50 or better >from the field. It was the ninth time in 32 games UNC made at least half its shots from the floor.

The Tar Heels scored 78 points in the win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Quarterfinal. That was the first time in six games UNC scored in the 70s. UNC had not scored more than 68 points since beating Florida State, 98-64, on February 7th. The Tar Heels are averaging 70.8 points per game this year. That's the lowest scoring average by UNC since 1981-82 when the Tar Heels averaged 66.7 points per game en route to the national title.

Carolina held Georgia Tech to 49 points Friday. That's the second straight year UNC held its quarterfinal round opponent to less than 50 points. It was the second-lowest point total allowed by Carolina in its last 41 ACC Tournament games dating back to 1983. The Tar Heels have limited their opponents to under 50 points in three of their 11 wins against ACC foes this year (Virginia 47, Wake Forest 40 and Tech 49). The most points UNC allowed in any of its 11 wins against ACC competition this year was 66 (Georgia Tech and Virginia). UNC has not held the opposition under 70 points in all of its ACC victories since 1953-54, the inaugural season of the ACC. The Tar Heels have allowed 70 more points just seven times this season. No. 1 ranked Duke and No. 5 ranked Maryland account for four of the seven games.

Georgia Tech was 7 for 23 from three-point range against the Tar Heels last night. In Carolina's 11 wins against ACC opposition this year, the opponents are shooting 24.9 percent from three-point range. By contrast, in the Tar Heels' six ACC losses, the opponents are shooting 40.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc (47 of 117).

Freshman Jason Capel did not play against Georgia Tech due to a strained back. He fell in practice two days prior to the Duke game, but played against the Blue Devils and practiced on Tuesday, March 2nd. He has not practiced since then, however. The Tech game was the eighth game this year he has missed. He did not play at Dartmouth due to a family illness and missed six games in January-February due to mononucleosis. He returned to action in the Maryland game on February 13th.

First-team All-ACC forward Ademola Okulaja has played in all 136 games in his four-year career. The Tar Heels are 106-30 in his career. In fact, Okulaja has never even missed a practice in his career. He is the first UNC player to ever lead the team in scoring, rebounding, three-point baskets and steals. He was 2 for 4 from three-point range against the Yellow Jackets. Okulaja is among the ACC leaders in three-point accuracy at 43.4 percent (49 of 113) this year. He has made at least two three-pointers in eight of the last nine games. Okulaja is the first UNC senior to earn first-team All-ACC honors since George Lynch did in 1993 in leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA championship.

Center Brendan Haywood made five of his eight field goal attempts against Georgia Tech. That marked the 22nd time in the last 23 games Haywood has made 50 percent or better of his shots from the floor. He is converting 65.5 percent from the floor this year. That's the second-highest single-season percentage in Carolina history. Bobby Jones holds the UNC record at 66.8 percent in 1971-72. Haywood is second, just .001 ahead of Rasheed Wallace, who shot 65.4 percent in 1994-95. ESPN basketball analyst Brad Daugherty, who is covering the Tournament, made 64.8 percent in 1985-86, the fourth-highest mark in UNC history. Haywood is 22 for 30 (73.3 percent) in the last four games.

Carolina leads the ACC in rebounding margin at 9.6 rebounds per game. The Tar Heels grab 40.4 boards per game, while the opponents are pulling down 30.8 rebounds per game. UNC's rebounding margin is the highest since the ACC began recording the statistic in 1986. The Tar Heels have been out-rebounded four times this year (2-2 in those games). Carolina is 20-6 in games in which it out-rebounds the opposition.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

1999 ACC Tournament Semifinals vs. Maryland

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Players Mentioned

Brian Bersticker

Jason Capel

Ed Cota

Brendan Haywood

Kris Lang

Ademola Okulaja

Shammond Williams

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