University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Face Tough Test In First Game As No. 1 Team
February 5, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After the long climb to the top of the poll, North Carolina will try to enjoy the view for longer than a week as it plays Wake Forest on Tuesday.
The Tar Heels (19-2, 9-0 ACC) assumed the top spot this week on the strength of their 85-83 win at archrival and then-No. 2 Duke on Thursday. North Carolina has won 16 straight games and is No. 1 for the first time since 1998 and made first-year coach Matt Doherty just the second person from the ACC to be on a top-ranked team as a coach and a player. Doherty, who played for the Tar Heels from 1982-84, joined former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins.
"It's earned on past performance and every time you step on the floor you have to prove it," Doherty said of the ranking. "Nobody is getting ready to hand us the NCAA championship trophy right now. It makes it more challenging."
North Carolina assured itself the No. 1 spot with an 82-69 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Joseph Forte scored 23 points for the Tar Heels, who showed no signs of a letdown after their draining game against the Blue Devils. They shot 47 percent from the field, held the Yellow Jackets to 35 percent shooting and outrebounded them 44-35.
Forte, who had 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in the win over Duke, was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday.
The 19th-ranked Demon Deacons (15-6, 4-5) have lost six of their last nine games after a 12-0 start and are trying to recover from an 82-71 setback at then-No. 11 Virginia on Saturday. Craig Dawson and Josh Howard scored 14 points apiece for Wake Forest, which was thwarted in its bid for a season sweep of Virginia.
After allowing more than 70 points just once in its 12-0 start, the Demon Deacons have struggled defensively and allowed five opponents to do so in their last nine games.
"We want to be playing the kind of basketball I think Virginia is playing right now, and we want to be playing it before Tuesday night," Demon Deacons coach Dave Odom said after the loss.
Wake Forest, which is 2-4 against ranked opponents this season, carries a 14-game home winning streak into this contest. Both of those wins have come at home.
The Tar Heels squeaked out a 70-69 victory over the Deacons on Jan. 6 as Brendan Haywood, who finished with 23 points, sank a layup with 3.3 seconds to play. North Carolina leads the all-time series 145-57 and has won the eight of the last 10 games between the schools.
