University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
February 27, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2001
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No. 4/4 North Carolina Tar Heels
vs. NC State Wolfpack
Date & Time:
Wednesday, February 28, 2001, 9 p.m.
Site: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Records:
Carolina 22-4 overall, 12-2 ACC, NC State 13-13 overall, 5-9 ACC
Rankings:
Carolina 4th in Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls
Series Record vs. NC State:
Carolina leads 127-70 overall, 11-3 in the Smith Center,
61-20 in Chapel Hill.
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:
ESPN (Mike Patrick, Dick Vitale)
TAR HEELS BATTLE LOCAL RIVALS IN FINAL TWO REGULAR-SEASON GAMES
Carolina plays host to NC State and Duke in the final week of the regular season. UNC
enters the week tied for first place in the league with the Blue Devils. Both Carolina and
Duke are 12-2 in the ACC.
This is the first time in Carolina basketball history the Tar Heels have closed out regular-season play with consecutive home games against NC State and Duke. It is the first time Carolina has played the Wolfpack and Blue Devils in the final two games prior to the ACC Tournament since 1980.
On Wednesday, the Tar Heels meet the Wolfpack in a 9 p.m. matchup at the Smith Center. On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., UNC plays host to Duke. The UNC-NC State game will be televised by ESPN, Sunday's ACC finale will be on ABC.
UNC is 22-4 overall. The Tar Heels lost to Virginia, 86-66, on February 25.
NC State is 13-13 overall and 5-9 in the ACC. The Wolfpack is coming off a 71-46 win over Florida State in Raleigh last Sunday. The Pack closes out its regular season this Sunday afternoon at home against Wake Forest.
UNC has now won at least 21 games for the 31st straight season, extending its own NCAA record for consecutive 20-win seasons.
DOHERTY NAMED NAISMITH NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR FINALIST
Carolina head coach Matt Doherty has been named a finalist for the Naismith Men's
College Basketball Coach of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Feb.
22.
Doherty is one of 20 finalists. Other finalists coaching at ACC schools are Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech), Pete Gillen (Virginia) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke).
Other finalists include Rod Barnes (Mississippi), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Billy Donovan (Florida), Lefty Driesell (Georgia State), Craig Esherick (Georgetown), Larry Eustashy (Iowa State), Mark Gottfried (Alabama), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Phil Martelli (St. Joseph's), Mike Montgomery (Stanford), Lute Olson (Arizona), Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma), Bill Self (Illinois), Al Skinner (Boston College) and Roy Williams (Kansas).
18-GAME WIN STREAK WAS SECOND LONGEST THIS SEASON
Carolina won 18 games in a row from December 4 (vs, Miami) to February 10 (vs.
Maryland). The streak was snapped with a loss at Clemson on February 18. The 18-game
winning streak was UNC's longest since 1985-86, when the Tar Heels started the season
21-0. It also was the second-longest in the nation this year. Stanford had a 20-game streak
snapped on February 3 by UCLA.
UNC's 11-game ACC winning streak was its longest since winning 16 consecutive ACC contests over a two-year period in 1987-88 (Carolina went 14-0 in 1986-87 and won its first two ACC games in 1987-88).
The 22-4 Tar Heels have matched their win total from the 1999-2000 season. Carolina entered the 2000 NCAA Tournament with a record of 18-13 and finished the year 22-14.
FORTE LIGHTING IT UP IN ACC PLAY
Joseph Forte is averaging 23.6 points in 14 ACC games this season. He leads all players
in scoring in all games (by 0.8 points per game) and in ACC games. Duke's Jason Williams
is second in all games and in ACC games only.
Forte's margin of 2.5 points per game would be the largest margin in ACC games since 1996-97 when Wake Forest's Tim Duncan led Georgia Tech's Matt Harpring by 3.1 points a game.
Forte's average of 23.6 points per ACC game is the most by any ACC player since Walt Williams of Maryland averaged 29.6 points per ACC game in 1991-92.
Here's how Forte stacks up in ACC games only against Duke forward Shane Battier and Williams, each of whom, like Forte, is receiving significant media consideration for confer-ence and national player of the year honors.
Carolina went 6-2 on the road in ACC play this season. This season marks the 29th time that UNC has had a record of BETTER THAN .500 on the road in conference play and the 39th time that the Tar Heels have a record of either .500 OR BETTER. UNC has had a los-ing road record in ACC play only nine times in 48 years of ACC competition.
The 2000-01 season is Carolina's ninth straight with a record of .500 or better on the road in ACC play.
12 ACC WINS FOR THE 15TH TIME
The Tar Heels are 12-2 in ACC action. This is the 15th time Carolina has won at least
12 ACC games and the first time UNC has won at least 12 ACC games since going 13-3 in 1997-98.
The Tar Heels have now won at least 12 ACC games twice in the last six years and at least 10 ACC games in eight of the last nine seasons.
FORTE, HAYWOOD AMONG NAISMITH FINALISTS
Joseph Forte and Brendan Haywood are among the 15 finalists for the 2001 Naismith
Collegiate Player of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Feb. 12.
Former Tar Heel winners of the Naismith Award include Michael Jordan (1984) and
Antawn Jamison (1998).
Carolina is one of four schools to have two Naismith Award finalists this season. Stanford's Jarron Collins and Casey Jacobson, Michigan State's Charlie Bell and Jason Richardson and Duke's Shane Battier and Jason Williams are also finalists.
Other finalists include: Troy Bell (Boston College), Michael Bradley (Villanova), Eddie Griffin (Seton Hall), Terence Morris (Maryland), Troy Murphy (Notre Dame), Jamaal Tinsley (Iowa State) and Michael Wright (Arizona).
Selection for the award is based on a nationwide poll of the Naismith Selection Committee, consisting of Atlanta Tipoff Club National Advisory Board members, NCAA Division I coaches, former Naismith Award winners, NCAA Division I conference commis-sioners and selected media representatives. The winner of the award will be announced in Atlanta on April 7.
21 WINS, AGAIN
Carolina's 96-82 victory over Maryland on Feb. 10 ensured its 31st 21-win season in a
row and extended its own NCAA record for consecutive 20-win seasons. The next-longest
consecutive 20-win season streak in the ACC is five (by Duke, including this season). If
Maryland wins 20 games this season, the Terps also would have five straight 20-win cam-paigns.
The last time UNC did not win at least 20 games was in 1969-70, when the Tar Heels
went 18-9.
ROAD WINS OVER DUKE, WAKE FOREST AND NC STATE IN THE SAME SEASON
Carolina has defeated Duke, Wake Forest and NC State on the road this year for the first
time since the 1989-90 season. This is the 10th time the Tar Heels have accomplished this
feat since the beginning of ACC play in the 1953-54 season -- 1956-57, 1958-59, 1959-
60, 1966-67, 1975-76, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1989-90 and 2000-01.
The Tar Heels have not beaten those same three teams in the same season at the Smith Center since 1996-97.
NO. 4 IN THE NATION
Carolina is ranked No. 4 in the nation in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA
Today polls. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in both polls on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12. Those
were Carolina's first times atop either poll since March 8, 1998.
UNC has been ranked in the AP poll all 17 times this season, including 12 Top 10 rank-ings and six in the Top 5. The Tar Heels have been in the Top 5 in the media poll in eacgh of the last six polls. Carolina has also been in the Top 5 in each of the most recent six coaches polls.
DOHERTY AND CREMINS ONLY PLAYER-COACH NO. 1s IN ACC HISTOR Y
Matt Doherty is just the second person in Atlantic Coast Conference history to play for a
No. 1 ranked team and be the head coach of a No. 1 ranked team. Bobby Cremins also
accomplished the feat. In 1969-70, South Carolina was No. 1 in the preseason poll, but fell
out of the top spot the next week. In 1985-86, Georgia Tech was No. 1 in the preseason
poll, but fell out of the top spot the next week.
502 TOP 10 ASSOCIATED PRESS RANKINGS FOR CAROLINA
This week's poll marks Carolina's 502nd appearance in the Associated Press Top 10. That
is the second-highest figure in NCAA basketball history (Kentucky is first with 520 Top 10s).
Carolina has appeared in the AP poll 645 times, more than any other school in history.
CAROLINA AND THE COACHES POLL
This is the 13th season in which the Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1 in the nation by
the coaches (UPI, CNN/USA Today or ESPN/USA Today). Those seasons include 1957
(eight weeks), 1958 (two weeks), 1959 (one week), 1982 (nine weeks), 1983 (two weeks),
1984 (nine weeks), 1986 (12 weeks), 1987 (three weeks), 1993 (three weeks), 1994 (two
weeks), 1995 (six weeks), 1998 (eight weeks) and 2001 (two weeks).
CAROLINA AND THE WOLFPACK
The Tar Heels lead the series, 127-70, and have won six in a row and 10 of the last 11
in the series with NC State. Earlier this year, Carolina beat NC State, 60-52 in the
Entertainment and Sports Arena. The six-game win streak over is Carolina's longest against
NC State since 1981-83 when the Tar Heels won seven in a row. It also equals the Tar
Heels' longest current ACC win streak. UNC has won six in a row over Georgia Tech.
The Wolfpack's last victory over Carolina came in the Smith Center during the 1997-98
season. The Tar Heels are 11-3 against the Pack in the Smith Center.
Carolina has won five in a row over the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
EARLIER THIS SEASON IN RALEIGH
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.
