University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
January 31, 2001 | Men's Basketball
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Date & Time: Thursday, February 1, 2001, 9 p.m.
Site: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Records: Carolina 17-2 overall, 7-0 ACC, Duke 19-1 overall, 7-0 ACC
Rankings: Carolina 4th in Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today, Duke 2nd in Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today
Series Record vs. Duke: Carolina leads, 121-85 overall, UNC is 29-34 at Cameron Indoor Stadium
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Radio Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play) and Mick Mixon (color) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on the University of North Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Television: Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot (Tim Brant, Billy Packer) and ESPN2 (Mike Patrick, Dick Vitale)
ACC UNBEATENS MEET IN TOP-5 SHOOTOUT
North Carolina brings a 14-game winning streak and a 7-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday to meet the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The Tar Heels, ranked No. 4 in the country in both the Associated Press and coaches' polls, are 17-2 overall. Carolina defeated NC State, 60-52, in Raleigh on Super Bowl Sunday in its most recent game.
The Blue Devils are 19-1 overall and 7-0 in the ACC. Duke's lone loss was against now top-ranked and unbeaten Stanford.
The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 and in the ACC area by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot. Carolina has won 14 games in a row since losing back-to-back decisions to Michigan State and Kentucky. The 14-game winning streak is UNC's longest since beginning the `97-'98 season 17-0. UNC's seven-game ACC winning streak is its longest since winning eight in a row in the ACC during the 1997-98 season.
Carolina's 14-game winning streak is currently tied for the second-longest streak in the nation. Stanford is the only school in the country with a longer current win streak than the Tar Heels. The Cardinal has won 19 in a row. Fresno State has also won 14 in a row.
UNC returns to action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it plays host to Georgia Tech in the Smith Center. Carolina leads the ACC and is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense. The Tar Heels have limited the opponents to 37.8 percent shooting from the floor. Duke is leads the ACC and is second in the country in scoring at 93.9 points per game.
Two previous UNC opponents, Maryland and Virginia, are ranked third and fourth in the country in scoring. The Terps average 90.2 points and the Cavaliers average 88.7 per game. The Tar Heels allowed 83 points to Maryland in an 86-83 UNC win. Virginia scored 81 points in an 88-81 UNC victory.
Thursday's game is worth 1.5 points to the winning team in the Carlyle Cup standings. The Carlyle Cup is an all-sports competition between Carolina and Duke sponsored by Carlyle Company in Greensboro. Carolina currently leads the competition, 16 to 2.5.
BATTLE OF ACC UNBEATENS
This is the first time Carolina and Duke have ever played when both schools were 7-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. It is the first time UNC has come into the first game against the Blue Devils with an unblemished league record since 1990-91 when the Tar Heels were 2-0.
This is the first time UNC and Duke have both come into the game with a perfect league mark since 1986-87. Both teams were just 1-0 in the ACC when they met for the first time that year, however.
CAROLINA AND THE BLUE DEVILS
The Tar Heels lead the series, 121-85, despite Duke's current five-game win streak. Carolina has won 29 times in 63 games played in Cameron Indoor Stadium, including a 10-10 record in Cameron against Mike Kryzyewski's Blue Devil teams. The Tar Heels are 28-20 against Krzyzewski's teams.
Duke's five-game win streak is its longest against UNC since the Devils won seven straight from 1962-64. Carolina had won seven in a row from 1993-96.
This is the ninth time in history both teams are ranked in the top five in the nation in the Associated Press poll. Carolina has won five of the previous eight Top-5 matchups, including the most recent one when No. 4 UNC beat No. 1 Duke, 83-68, in the 1998 ACC Tournament championship game.
Here is a list of UNC vs. Duke, Top 5 Meetings:
Feb. 4, 1961 - #4 Duke 81, #5 Carolina 77 in Durham
Jan. 18, 1986 - #1 Carolina 95, #3 Duke 92 in Chapel Hill (first game in Smith Center)
March 2, 1986 - #1 Duke 82, #3 Carolina 74 in Durham
Feb. 3, 1994 - #2 Carolina 89, #1 Duke 78 in Chapel Hill
March 5, 1994 - #5 Carolina 87, #2 Duke 77 in Durham
Feb. 5, 1998 - #2 Carolina 97, #1 Duke 73 in Chapel Hill
Feb. 28, 1998 - #1 Duke 77, #3 Carolina 75 in Durham
March 8, 1998 - #4 Carolina 83, #1 Duke 68 in Greensboro (ACC Championship Game)
Feb. 1, 2001 - #2 Duke vs. #4 Carolina in Durham
In addition to this being the ninth Top 5 matchup between Carolina and Duke, please note the following:
* this is the 107th consecutive meeting in which at least one school has been ranked in the AP Top 20 or AP Top 25
* this is the 127th meeting between the two schools since the ACC began play in 1953-54 and the 124th time at least one of the teams was ranked in the AP Top 20 or AP Top 25 (the only games in which both teams were not ranked were in 1955 and 1960)
* this is the 33rd meeting in which both teams were ranked in the AP Top 10 (the teams are 16-16 in Top 10 battles)
* the higher-ranked team has won each of the last five games (all won by Duke)
* the last time a higher-ranked team was upset was in 1998 when No. 4 Carolina beat top-rated Duke in the ACC Tournament final in Greensboro
LAST YEAR'S GAME RECAPS
DUKE 90, CAROLINA 86 - FEBRUARY 3, 2000 (in the Smith Center)
It was another Carolina-Duke classic as the Tar Heels rallied from 19 points behind with 14:41 left to force overtime on a three-pointer by freshman Joseph Forte. In overtime, Duke freshman Carlos Boozer scored seven of the Blue Devils' 17 points and Shane Battier hit a key three-pointer to lead Duke to the victory.
Duke led, 41-24, at halftime as Battier scored 14 points and Carolina committed 14 turnovers and shot just 38 percent from the floor. The Blue Devils led 50-31 with 14:41 left, but UNC cut it to a seven-point margin with 9:35 to play. The Tar Heels scored five field goals in the final 2:25 of regulation to force the overtime, including two layups by Kris Lang, a three-pointer and layup by Jason Capel and Forte's game-tying three with 5.2 seconds on the clock.
attier and Chris Carrawell led Duke with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Boozer (15) and Jason Williams (12) also scored in double figures. Williams added six assists and five turnovers.
Cota led the Tar Heels with 21 points and added eight assists and seven turnovers. Forte had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Lang had 15 points and eight boards (five offensive) and Capel scored 12 points, pulled down nine rebounds and had four assists. Brendan Haywood had nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Duke made only 5 of 23 from three-point range, but connected on 21 of 30 free throws. Carolina was just 7 of 16 from the free throw line.
It was the first overtime game between the two rivals since Carolina won, 102-100, in double overtime in 1995. It was Duke's first overtime win over the Tar Heels since 1981.
DUKE 90, CAROLINA 76 - MARCH 4, 2000 (in Cameron Indoor Stadium)
The Blue Devils built a 42-27 lead at halftime en route to a 90-76 win in Durham. Shane Battier led four Blue Devils in double figures with 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field, including six of nine from three-point range. Chris Carrawell added 21 points and four steals, Nate James had 19 points and was three of six from three-point land, and Jason Williams added 10 points and five steals.
Carolina trailed by just five points at 15-10 when senior point guard Ed Cota collided with teammate Jason Capel and was forced to leave the game to receive stitches to close a gash above his eye. Before Cota could return nearly eight minutes later, the Blue Devils had gone on a 21-8 run to extend the lead to 18. The Tar Heels committed six turnovers and made just four baskets in the eight minutes Cota was receiving treatment.
Freshman Joseph Forte led Carolina with 24 points, five assists and six rebounds. Capel scored 14, Cota had 11 points, 13 assists, seven turnovers, seven rebounds and three steals, and Brendan Haywood had 10 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Tar Heels committed 23 turnovers that led to 24 Duke points. The Blue Devils outscored UNC by 14 points off turnovers.
Carolina shot 69.0 percent from the floor in the second half, but trimmed only one point off Duke's halftime lead. UNC shot 58.2 percent from the floor for the game.
UNBEATEN IN JANUARY
Carolina's 60-52 win over NC State was UNC's eighth in as many games in the month of January. That was Carolina's first unbeaten month with as many as eight games played since going 8-0 in December 1997.
FIVE IN A ROW IN RALEIGH
Carolina has won five consecutive games against NC State in games played in Raleigh. The Tar Heels won their last three games in Reynolds Coliseum and are 2-0 in the Entertainment and Sports Arena. UNC has won five in a row at NC State now for the first time since the Tar Heels won five straight in Raleigh from 1967-71.
HAYWOOD'S FREE THROWS, BLOCK LEAD UNC PAST NC STATE
Brendan Haywood connected on a pair of free throws with 1:17 to play and blocked a potential game-tying three-pointer from the corner with 49 seconds to play to preserve a 60-52 Carolina win over NC State at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Haywood had 10 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots in the win, Carolina's fifth in a row on the Pack's home court.
Joseph Forte led all scorers with 21 points. He hit two key jump shots, including one three-pointer, late in the game. Forte also shared team rebounding honors with Kris Lang with eight and team assist honors with Ronald Curry with five.
UNC's defense limited the Pack to six of 31 shots from the floor in the opening half, a percentage of .194. For the game, NC State connected on only 31.3 percent from the field.
FORTE ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
Sophomore guard Joseph Forte and Georgia Tech center Alvin Jones shared ACC Player of the Week honors for January 22-28. Forte earned the award for his play in Carolina's wins over Virginia and NC State.
Forte scored 33 points on 13 of 23 shooting against the Cavaliers and had 21 points in the win at NC State.
This was the third time in the last six weeks that Forte received ACC Player of the Week honors. He was also honored by the ACC on December 25 (following the UCLA game) and January 1 (following his MVP performance in the Tournament of Champions in Charlotte).
Forte is the only player to have won the award three times this season. Duke's Shane Battier is a two-time recipient. Eight other players have been named one time this year. Last year, Clemson's Will Solomon was the only three-time recipient.
Forte is the first Carolina player to earn at least three ACC Player of the Week awards in one season since Antawn Jamison set the single-season record with seven honors in 1997-98.
CAROLINA LEADS ACC IN FIELD GOAL DEFENSE
Carolina's 14-game win streak coincides with the fact the Tar Heels have not allowed a team to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor in the last 14 games.
Over the last 14 games, UNC's opponents have made just 35.8 percent of their shots from the floor (324 of 905). By comparison, the Tar Heels have shot 48.6 percent from the floor in those 14 games.
Carolina leads the ACC and is fifth in the nation (through January 29) in field goal percentage defense. The Tar Heels have held their opponents to 38.2 percent from the field this season.
Field Goal Percentage Defense Leaders (through 1/29/01)
1. Georgetown, 36.9%
2. Illinois, 37.1%
3. Baylor, 37.4%
4. Kansas, 37.7%
5. North Carolina, 37.8%
Dating back to last season, Carolina has held its opponents to under 50 percent shooting for the game in 35 of the last 36 games (the only exception since last January was Kentucky).
NC State made only six of 31 shots in the first half of Carolina's 60-52 win in Raleigh. For the game, the Wolfpack shot 31.3 percent.
The Tar Heels have held two teams under 30 percent in the last 14 games. Miami shot just 23.4 percent to set a Smith Center record for lowest field goal percentage, and Marquette made only 29.5 percent.
In the 84-70 win at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets went 7 of 30 in the second half, a percentage of .233. Carolina held Wake Forest to 37.1 percent shooting from the floor in its 70-69 win. That was the Deacons' lowest shooting performance of the season. The Tar Heels followed that effort by holding Maryland to 36.4 percent shooting in an 86-83 victory. Clemson shot 37 percent in the first half and made just four of their first 20 shots in the second half.
Only three teams - Michigan State, Kentucky and Charleston - have shot better than 45 percent against the Tar Heels. Kentucky shot a season-high 50.7 percent in its win over UNC and the Spartans made 46.6 percent from the floor in their win at East Lansing, Mich. Charleston led the Tar Heels by a point at the half and had the game tied with less than a minute to play before Carolina pulled out the victory.
The opponents have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in five of 38 halves played this year. Kentucky and Michigan State shot 54.5 and 52.9 percent in a half, respectively, in their wins over the Tar Heels. Buffalo, Florida State and Virginia all shot at least 50 percent in a half in losses to UNC.
In 38 halves, the opponents have shot 50 or better five times, 40-49.9 percent 10 times, 30-39.9 percent 17 times and less than 30 percent six times.
CAROLINA NOW FOURTH IN MEDIA, COACHES POLLS
Wins over Virginia and NC State and a 14-game win streak has helped Carolina climb once again in the national rankings to No. 4 in The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' rankings on January 29.
UNC's No. 4 ranking is its highest of the season and its highest in the AP poll since being ranked No. 2 in the nation last season. The Tar Heels were No. 2 in the fourth poll last season, but lost to Michigan State and fell to No. 7 the following week.
This week marks the 498th alltime appearance in the AP Top 10 for the Tar Heels. That is the second-highest figure in NCAA basketball history (Kentucky is first with 520 Top 10s). Carolina has appeared in the AP poll 641 times, more than any other school in history.
DOHERTY OFF TO FASTEST ACC START IN CAROLINA COACHING HISTORY
Carolina head coach Matt Doherty is 7-0 so far this season in Atlantic Coast Conference competition. That 7-0 record is the best start ever in ACC play by a UNC head coach. Frank McGuire went 4-0 in his first season (1953-54), Dean Smith began his first season 2-1 in the ACC (1961-62) and Bill Guthridge went 4-0 to begin his first season (1997-98).
FORTE SHOOTING FOR 1,000 POINTS
Sophomore Joseph Forte has 993 points in his 55 career games at UNC. With seven more points, he will become the 51st player in Tar Heel history to score 1,000 career points.
Forte is on pace to reach 1,000 points faster than any Tar Heel player since freshmen became eligible in 1972-73. Phil Ford (57 games) currently is the quickest Carolina player since 1972-73 to reach 1,000 points, followed by Mike O'Koren (58) and Antawn Jamison (59).
Lennie Rosenbluth (40 games) reached 1,000 points faster than any player in Carolina history. Billy Cunningham (41), Bob Lewis (42), Larry Miller (46) and Charlie Scott (52) round out the top five fastest Tar Heels to reach 1,000 points.
THREE TAR HEELS REPEAT AS NBA ALL-STARS
For the second consecutive year, Carolina will be represented in the NBA All-Star game by a trio of former Tar Heel stars, Toronto's Vince Carter, Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse and Portland's Rasheed Wallace.
Carolina is the only school in the country to have three alumni on the NBA All-Star teams. Georgetown is the only other school at this time with at least two selections, although at least two players who were voted to start will have to be replaced by other NBA players.
Carolina has as many NBA All-Stars as does the rest of the ACC combined (Duke's Grant Hill, Georgia Tech's Stephon Marbury and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan).
Carter received more votes than any other NBA player in fan balloting for the second consecutive year. Carter will start for the East. Stackhouse and Wallace were selected to the teams by the NBA.
Antawn Jamison, who is averaging 25.1 poinst per game for Golden State, was named by ESPN as one of the "Most Notable Ommisions" from the NBA All-Star teams.
76ers forward George Lynch was named to ESPN.com's All-Unsung All-Star Team.
HAYWOOD NOW CAROLINA'S ALLTIME LEADING SHOT BLOCKER
Senior center Brendan Haywood is in the midst of his most prolific shot-blocking streak and became the University of North Carolina's alltime leader when he swatted away seven Florida State shot attempts in UNC's 80-70 win on January 20 in Tallahassee. Haywood moved past former All-America Sam Perkins in the UNC record book. Perkins blocked 245 shots in his 135 games as a Tar Heel. Haywood has now blocked 256 in 127 contests.
He also has moved into the Top 10 in ACC history in blocks, passing Maryland's Cedric Lewis and Georgia Tech's John Salley in the game at Florida State. Haywood is now ninth in ACC history. Clemson's Sharone Wright is eighth with 288. Only one other active ACC player has more blocked shots than Haywood. Yellow Jacket Alvin Jones is fourth alltime with 391.
The Greensboro, N.C., resident blocked 91 shots last year and 60 as a sophomore. He has 72 blocked shots in the first 19 games (including 33 in the last six contests) this season to lead the ACC. He had a then-career-high eight in the win over Tulsa, a school-record 10 versus Miami, six versus Clemson at home, seven at FSU and six at NC State.
He is tied for sixth in the country this year in blocks with 3.8 per game.
Haywood has blocked five or more shots eight times this year, including five of the last six contests.
Haywood twice this year set the Smith Center record for blocked shots in a game. The previous mark was seven by Clemson's Wright (February 17, 1993) and Rony Seikaly of Syracuse (March 17, 1988, in an NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina A&T).
SMITH CENTER VOTED NO. 1 ARENA IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In a recently published survey of Division I head coaches, The Sporting News ranked the Dean E. Smith Center as the No. 1 Game Venue in all of college basketball. The Smith Center beat out Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse and Madison Square Garden. The Sporting News wrote that "packing more than 21,000 people who bleed Tar Heel blue into the Smith Center is a sure thing for creating that warm glow that college sports fans flock to in the dead of winter."
Carolina also was selected by the coaches to have the best NBA Alumni Association of former players, the best two-sport athlete in the country in defensive end/forward Julius Peppers and the best rivalry in the country with Duke. Carolina's uniforms were voted the second-best in the country behind Cincinnati and UNC was tied with Duke for the third-best on-campus visit behind Pepperdine and UCLA.
PEPPERS GIVES BIG LIFT TO TWO SPORTS
Sophomore forward Julius Peppers joined the team at practice in time for the game at UCLA on December 23. Since then, the Tar Heels are 11-0, out-rebounded their opponents in eight of those 11 games (Massachusetts and Maryland out-rebounded Carolina by two and one, respectively, and Clemson tied UNC in rebounds) and the Tar Heels have allowed just four teams to shoot over 37.1 percent.
Peppers is averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He had a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds in the 84-54 win over Marquette. Last Sunday at NC State, he scored eight points.
Peppers was voted the No. 1 Two-Sport Athlete in the country in a recent survey of Division I men's basketball head coaches by The Sporting News.
In football this year, Peppers led the nation in sacks (15) and had a school-record 24 tackles for loss. He was second in the nation in sacks per game and third in tackles for losses per game. Peppers was a first-team All-ACC selection and was named a first-team All-America by CNNSI.com and CollegeFootballNews.com. He earned second-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Associated Press and Football News.
Peppers started every game in 2000 and finished with 64 tackles, 24 tackles for loss for 146 yards and 15 sacks for 117 yards. His 15 sacks were one shy of Lawrence Taylor's school-record of 16 set in 1980. He was twice named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performances vs. Wake Forest and Virginia. He scored two touchdowns this year, including a 12-yard fumble return at Wake Forest and a 27-yard interception return at Duke.
CURRY POINTS THE WAY TO VICTORY
In the last nine games, sophomore point guard Ronald Curry has played 273 minutes. In that time, Curry has handed out 38 assists and committed only 21 turnovers. That is one miscue every 13 minutes.
Curry is averaging 5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this season. He had a season-high 11 points in the win at Maryland and a season-best seven assists against both Wake Forest and the Terps.
Curry has made 42.9 percent of his three-point attempts this year, leading Tar Heel regulars. He is 12 for 28 from behind the arc. As a freshman, he went 6 for 42 from three-point range.
Curry joined the starting lineup in the Buffalo game. The Tar Heels are 12-0 with Curry in the starting lineup this year and 13-0 in his career.
FORTE IN THE ACC RANKINGS
Joseph Forte is on pace to become the first Tar Heel to average 20 points per game since Antawn Jamison averaged 22.2 en route to being named National Player of the Year in 1997-98. Forte is averaging 20.7 points a game through the first 19 contests this season.
Only five Carolina players have averaged 20 points a game in the last 30 years. (Phil Ford, 20.8 in 1978, Michael Jordan, 20.0 in 1983, Brad Daugherty, 20.2 in 1986, Hubert Davis, 21.4 in 1992, and Jamison, 22.2 in 1998). Forte is third in the ACC in scoring, fourth in steals, sixth in free throw percentage, 10th in assists, 12th in field goal percentage and 20th in rebounding.
The Greenbelt, Md., resident is 22nd in the country in scoring.
Forte's scoring is up this year from 16.7 to 20.7, his field goal percentage is up from .459 to .477, his free throw shooting is up from .752 to .826 and his assists have increased nearly one a game from 2.6 to 3.5 per game.
"Forte is a sensational player," John Kresse, College of Charleston's head coach. "He is very opportunistic. I would pay admission to see him play. He's a ballerina. He makes the game look easy. He's so smooth, he's poetry in motion. He has a mid-range game and a go-to-the-hoop game."
Said Virginia coach Pete Gillen: "Forte is an unbelievable player, a tremendous two guard, the best I have seen in college in a long time."
CAPEL TIED FOR 2ND ALLTIME AT UNC IN FT PERCENTAGE
Junior guard Jason Capel is third alltime at Carolina in free throw shooting at 83.6 percent. He trails only guards Shammond Williams and Jeff Lebo as UNC's best free throw shooter. This year, Capel is fifth in the ACC in free throw percentage at .828. He was second in the ACC in free throw percentage in each of his first two seasons.
He has made 34 of 39 free throws in the last 11 contests.
ON THE GLASS
Carolina is out-rebounding its opponents by 4.8 per game. However, over the last 14 games, all UNC wins, the Tar Heels have 103 more rebounds than the opponents (+7.4 rebound margin). Carolina has out-rebounded its opponents by at least 11 rebounds in six of those 14 games.
As a team, Carolina leads the ACC with 41.8 rebounds per game and is third in rebound margin (+4.8).
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