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University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
February 9, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2001
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Date & Time: Saturday, February 10, 2001, 1 p.m.
Site: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Records: Carolina 20-2 overall, 10-0 ACC, Maryland 15-7 overall, 6-4 ACC
Rankings: Carolina 1st in Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today, Maryland 13th Associated Press, 13th ESPN/USA Today
Series Record vs. Maryland: Carolina leads 106-48 overall, 49-14 in Chapel Hill and 10-5 at the Smith Center
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: CBS (Verne Lundquist, Billy Packer)
TOP-RANKED, FIRST-PLACE TAR HEELS HOST MARYLAND No. 1 ranked North Carolina brings a 17-game winning streak and a 10-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Smith Center on Saturday, February 10, for a rematch with the Maryland Terrapins. The Tar Heels won the first matchup between these two teams this season with an 86-83 victory in College Park. In that contest, Joseph Forte scored 20 second-half points and finished with 26 overall.
The Tar Heels are 20-2 overall this season. Carolina defeated No. 19/15 Wake Forest, 80-74, in Winston-Salem on Tuesday night. Maryland lost a 72-62 decision at Georgia Tech on Tuesday. The Terrapins, who have lost three of their last four contests, are ranked No. 13 by both the AP and the coaches' polls. Saturday's game will be televised nationally by CBS.
UNC has now won at least 20 games for the 31st consecutive season, extending its own NCAA record.
Carolina has won 17 games in a row since losing back-to-back games to Michigan State and Kentucky. The 17-game winning streak is UNC's longest since beginning 1997-98 with 17 straight wins. Carolina's last winning streak longer than 17 games was in 1985-86, when the Tar Heels started the season 21-0.
Carolina's 17-game winning streak is the longest in the nation. Stanford's season-best 20-game streak was snapped on February 3 by UCLA.
UNC's 10-game ACC winning streak is 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 20-2 Tar Heels have already surpassed their regular-season win total from the 1999-2000 season. Carolina entered the 2000 NCAA Tournament with a record of 18-13.
After a week off, UNC returns to action on Sunday, February 18, at Clemson at 4 p.m. That contest will be televised by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot.
20 WINS, AGAIN Carolina's 80-74 victory over Wake Forest on Feb. 6 ensured its 31st 20-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). Should Maryland win 20 games this season, the Terps also would have five straight 20-win campaign.
The last time UNC failed to win at least 20 games was in the 1969-70 season, when the Tar Heels went 18-9.
10 ACC WINS FOR THE EIGHTH TIME IN THE LAST NINE YEARS The Tar Heels enter the Maryland game with an Atlantic Coast Conference record of 10-0. Carolina now has won at least 10 ACC games in eight of the last nine seasons
ROAD WINS OVER DUKE, WAKE FOREST AND NC STATE IN THE SAME SEASON Carolina has defeated Duke, Wake Forest and Wake Forest 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.
BACK AT NO. 1 Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. This is the first time the Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1 in the nation in those polls since late in the 1997-98 season, Bill Guthridge's first as UNC's head coach.
This is Carolina's first time atop either poll since March 8, 1998. UNC was ranked No. 1 in both polls that day. They were released after the Tar Heels beat previously No. 1 Duke in the ACC Tournament championship game. It was the final AP poll released that season. Carolina finished third behind NCAA champion Kentucky and Utah in the final coaches poll released on April 1.
DOHERTY AND CREMINS ONLY PLAYER-COACH NO. 1s IN ACC HISTORY 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.
CAROLINA AND THE NO. 1 RANKING BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS * This is the 15th different season in which the University of North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 in the nation since the Associated Press began its rankings in 1948-49. The previous seasons include 1957, 1958, 1959, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998.
* This is the 80th week the Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1. Carolina is third alltime in weeks ranked No. 1 in the country behind only UCLA (128) and Kentucky (87).
* Matt Doherty is the fourth different Carolina head coach to have his team ranked No. 1 in the nation and the second to accomplish this in his first season as UNC's head coach. Frank McGuire had teams ranked No. 1 in 11 weeks, Dean Smith had teams ranked No. 1 60 times and Bill Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the No. 1 ranking for eight weeks.
* Matt Doherty spent 29 weeks as a Tar Heel player ranked No. 1 in the nation. Carolina was 52-5 with Doherty in the lineup as the No. 1 team in the country, winning the NCAA title in 1982 and finishing No. 1 in the final poll in 1982 and 1984.
* This week's poll marks the 499th appearance in the 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 642 times, more than any other school in history.
* Carolina has a 137-23 record as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. That included a 30-10 record in the 1990s. The Tar Heels are 47-5 at home as No. 1, 36-10 on the road and 54-8 at neutral sites.
* The Tar Heels are 8-4 vs. Maryland as No. 1 in the nation. This is the first meeting against Maryland with Carolina ranked No. 1 since Feb. 14, 1998, when the Tar Heels defeated the Terps, 85-67, in Chapel Hill. Earlier that season, Maryland snapped the No. 1 Tar Heels' 17-game winning streak with an 89-83 win in College Park.
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 (one week).
* This is the 66th week the Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1 in the nation in the coaches' poll.
CAROLINA AND THE TERPS The Tar Heels lead the series with Maryland, 106-48, including an 86-83 win in College Park earlier this year. Carolina is 10-5 against the Terrapins in the Smith Center.
Maryland's five wins in the Smith Center tie Duke as the ACC team with the most wins over UNC on its current home floor. The Terps have won three of their last five games against Carolina in the Smith Center. Overall, the two teams have split their last 12 meetings.
EARLIER THIS SEASON IN COLLEGE PARK Joseph Forte scored 20 second-half points, including 11 straight in one stretch, as Carolina won at No. 14 Maryland, 86-83, for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Trailing 36-32 at the break, UNC shot 54.3 percent in the second period and went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and seize control of the contest. The Tar Heels hit four consecutive three-pointers to begin the second half, at one point making them 8 for 10 on the night. After entering the game shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc, the Heels finished the game 10 for 16 from long range, the second-most three-pointers they have hit in a game this season (behind 11 at Appalachian State).
Maryland made a late run, cutting the lead to as little as three points in the final 30 seconds before Forte hit two free throws and a layup and Julius Peppers had a thunderous dunk to ice the victory. Three-pointers by Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas in the final 0:05 made it an 86-83 final. Brendan Haywood blocked five shots, including a three-pointer by Nicholas with 1:51 remaining that could have cut the UNC lead to five.
Carolina committed just 15 turnovers against a Maryland defense that entered the game forcing 20.0 miscues per contest.
Ronald Curry played perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel, tying his career high with seven assists for the second game in a row. All seven assists came after halftime, as the Tar Heels went on a 39-16 run in the first 11:45 in the second half. Curry finished with a season-high 11 points and a career-high six rebounds in addition to hitting three crucial three-pointers. Only one of his four turnovers on the night came against the Terrapin press.
The Terps shot 36.4 percent from the floor in the game, becoming fifth UNC opponent in the last six games to shoot less than 40 percent from the field. Maryland shot just 31.7 percent in the second half.
LAST TIME IN CHAPEL HILL CAROLINA 75, MARYLAND 63 - JANUARY 27, 2000 Center Brendan Haywood made 10 of 11 free throws and equalled his then career scoring high with 24 points as Carolina defeated 21st-ranked Maryland, 75-63, at the Smith Center. The win snapped a four-game overall losing streak and a three-game streak in ACC action. The game was delayed one day because of blizzard-like conditions in Chapel Hill that dropped over two feet of snow in the area.
Maryland led 30-19 in the first half, but Carolina outscored the Terps, 56-33 over the final 26 minutes. The Terps led by seven at the half. The win was Carolina's fourth this season in a game in which UNC trailed at the half (down 11 to Georgetown, five to Purdue, five to Buffalo and seven to Maryland).
Haywood was one of four Tar Heels in double figures (Haywood 24, Kris Lang 13, Jason Capel 11, Ed Cota 11). Cota had 11 points and eight assists. Julius Peppers was a defensive standout. He had five rebounbds and three steals and played solid defense against Terence Morris.
Max Owens came off the bench and drilled a three-pointer from the corner that gave Carolina a 52-50 lead with 13:19 to play in the second half. That gave UNC its first lead since the 11:59 mark of the first half, a lead Carolina would not relinquish the rest of the contest.
Carolina out-rebounded the Terps, 42-30, including a 17-15 edge on the offensive glass. Jason Capel led all players with 12 boards. Capel and Joseph Forte each had five offensive rebounds.
UNC turned the ball over 16 times, but committed just five turnovers in the second half.
The Tar Heels shot 43.3 percent from the floor, but made 50 percent (14 of 28) in the second half. The Tar Heels made nine of their first 12 shots from the floor in the second half. During the same time span, Maryland was just 3 for 12 from the floor. The Terps were 7 for 27 from the floor in the second half (.259).
Maryland made 7 of 13 three-pointers in the first half and began the second half by hitting three of its first four from bonus land. However, Maryland missed its last 10 three-point attempts.
TAR HEELS WIN 80-74 AT WAKE FOREST Carolina hit nine of 20 three-pointers and used its inside strength late to earn a hard-fought, 80-74 win at No. 19 Wake Forest on Feb. 6 in Winston-Salem.
Brendan Haywood, Kris Lang and Julius Peppers combined for 12 points in a 14-2 run in the second half that turned a five-point deficit into a 72-65 lead with 3:07 left to play. The trio of Haywood, Lang and Peppers shot nine of 10 from the floor in the second half while limiting Wake star Darius Songaila to five points and two rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
Jason Capel had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his second consecutive double-double. The win was Carolina's 17th in a row and gave UNC its 31st consecutive 20-win season, an NCAA record.
The Tar Heels shot 63.6 percent in the second half and 53.8 percent in the game, becoming the first Demon Deacon opponent in 30 games to shoot 50 percent or better. The loss was Wake's first on its home court since Feb. 19, 2000, a streak of 14 straight home wins.
FORTE SHOOTING FOR NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR Sophomore guard Joseph Forte has made a major move in the National Player of the Year chase in the last month with a string of extraordinary performances.
Forte is now being considered among the favorites for the National Player of the Year awards along with Duke's Jason Williams and Shane Battier, Notre Dame's Troy Murphy and Stanford's Casey Jacobsen.
Forte scored 33 points at home in the win over Virginia, had 24 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals in one of the great all-around performances in Carolina history in the 85-83 win over Duke, and had 23 points and nine rebounds as UNC defeated Georgia Tech. He shot just 7 of 17 from the field but had a team-high 24 points, four three-pointers, six rebounds and five steals at Wake Forest on Feb. 6.
Forte has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, including 12 times in the last 16 contests. Forte has made 50 percent or more of his shots from the floor in 11 of his 14 20-point scoring games this season.
He also leads the Tar Heels this season with 77 assists. The last Carolina player to lead the team in scoring and assists was current L.A. Clipper point guard Jeff McInnis, who accomplished the feat in 1995-96.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT FORTE Joseph Forte is drawing raves from college basketball observers, opposing players and coaches for his play this season. Below is a sampling of the praise being heaped upon the UNC sophomore:
"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."
Said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: "Forte is one of the premier players in the country. He steps forward when they need him. I like the fact he doesn't need to have the ball all the time, nor does he have to take shots all the time. He just plays the game, and all of a sudden he hits you with flurries. I really love the way he plays."
Said Florida State guard Delvon Arrington: ``Great players sprout when their team needs them. He does it often. He's one of those players who can't wait for the big play. He's waiting always for the big play and he comes out on top. We were trying to keep the ball out of his hands. We wanted the other players to take the shots to give us more of a chance. He made that 3 and got his game going and after that it turned the game around. He quieted the crowd and got the crowd out of it and Carolina went from there.''
CBS Sportsline's Dan Wetzel wrote after Forte scored 23 points against the Yellow Jackets that he had become "the best overall player in the game."
ESPN's Jay Bilas said Forte was "the best two-guard in college basketball."
FORTE FASTEST TO 1,000 POINTS SINCE CHARLIE SCOTT Joseph Forte scored his 1,000 point in his 56th career game when he scored 24 at Duke on February 1. He became the 51st player in Tar Heel history to score 1,000 career points.
Forte reached 1,000 points faster than any Tar Heel player since freshmen became eligible in 1972-73, surpassing the former record held by Phil Ford (57 games). The last Tar Heel to reach 1,000 points faster was Charlie Scott (52 games) in 1968-69.
Lennie Rosenbluth (40 games) reached 1,000 points faster than any player in Carolina history, followed by Billy Cunningham (41), Bob Lewis (42), Larry Miller (46), Scott (52) and Forte (56).
Forte has 1,064 points, 46th in UNC history.
PACKER PRAISES PEPPERS' COURT SENSE Sophomore forward Julius Peppers has scored a career-high 14 points twice as a Tar Heel and both of those games were against Georgia Tech in the Smith Center. Last year, he filled in for an injured Kris Lang and made six of seven field goal attempts en route to his 14-point night in a game Carolina won in overtime. On Feb. 3, Peppers went five for eight from the floor and made four of six free throws for his 14 points.
Peppers is averaging 6.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season and is shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. He scored two second-half field goals in the win at Duke. The first came after he battled for a pair of offensive rebounds and it tied the game at 55, the second gave the Tar Heels a 74-71 lead with 2:28 to play.
Said CBS/Raycom-JP TV analyst Billy Packer: "Julius Peppers not only has great size and hands, but also the best basketball court sense of any player in the country."
HAYWOOD MAKING STATEMENT AS NATION'S BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER Senior center Brendan Haywood is playing as though he may be the best defensive player in college basketball. He certainly is one of the most influential players in the game, as evidenced by his current shot-blocking tear. Haywood has blocked 83 shots in 22 games this season (3.8 per game, 1st in the ACC and 7th in the nation), including five or more blocks in six of the last nine games.
Led by Haywood altering and blocking shots, rebounding misses and creating havoc for offenses in the paint, the Tar Heels are playing outstanding team defense. The Tar Heels have not allowed the opponents to shoot 50 percent in 17 straight games, all of which UNC has won.
Haywood already has the third-most blocked shots in UNC single-season history. Rasheed Wallace set the record with 93 in 1994-95 and Haywood came within two of that total a year ago. Warren Martin blocked 81 shots in both 1984-85 and 1985-86.
CAPEL HAS TWO STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLES Junior forward Jason Capel has posted back-to-back double-doubles against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Against the Demon Deacons on Feb. 6, he had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
That followed an 11-point, 11-rebound, five-assist effort in the 82-69 win over Georgia Tech on February 3 and a 20-point, six-rebound, five-assist performance at Duke.
Capel has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, grabbed 10 or more rebounds five times this year, had five or more assists eight times, hit at least two three-point field goals 10 times this year, and is shooting 81.7 percent from the free throw line.
DOHERTY OFF TO FASTEST ACC COACHING START IN CONFERENCE HISTORY Carolina head coach Matt Doherty is 10-0 thus far in Atlantic Coast Conference competition. That 10-0 record is the best start ever by a first-year ACC head coach.
Best 10-Game ACC Starts Matt Doherty (UNC 2001) 10-0 ill Guthridge (UNC 1998), 9-1 Press Maravich (NC State 1965), 7-3 Les Robinson (NC State 1991 ), 6-4 Vic Bubas (Duke 1960), 6-4
FORTE ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR FOURTH TIME Joseph Forte was named the ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 5 after averaging 23.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in wins over No. 2 Duke and Georgia Tech.
Forte was named co-ACC Player of the Week honors with Alvin Jones 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 fourth time in the last seven 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 four 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 four ACC Player of the Week awards in one season since Antawn Jamison set the single-season record with seven honors in 1997-98.
CAROLINA THIRD NATIONALLY IN FIELD GOAL DEFENSE Carolina's 17-game win streak coincides with the fact the Tar Heels have not allowed a team to shoot 50 percent from the floor in any of those 17 games.
Over the last 17 games, UNC's opponents have made just 36.3 percent of their shots from the floor (410 of 1130). By comparison, the Tar Heels have shot 49.0 percent from the floor in those 17 games.
Carolina leads the ACC and was tied for third in the nation (through Feb. 5) in field goal percentage defense. The Tar Heels have held their opponents to 37.9 percent from the field this season.
Dating back to last season, Carolina has held its opponents to under 50 percent shooting for the game in 38 of the last 39 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. Duke connected on just 39.7 percent of its field goals, tying its season-low, in UNC's win in Durham.
The Tar Heels have held two teams under 30 percent. 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.
UNC opponents have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in five of 44 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 44 halves, the opponents have shot 50 or better five times, 40-49.9 percent 12 times, 30-39.9 percent 21 times and less than 30 percent six times.
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 was the only school in the country to have three alumni named to the original NBA All-Star teams. After the late addition of Dikembe Motumbo to the East roster due to an injury to Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown also has three selections.
"You look at the NBA and you look at Carter and Jamison, Stackhouse and Wallace, what they are doing at the NBA level. It just blows you away," said Dick Vitale on the February 3, 2001 ESPN telecast of the UNC-Duke game. "Their numbers have gotten so much better because at Carolina, they learned how to play the team concept, they learned how to be unselfish, they learned fundamentals and they transformed that into the NBA to where they are standouts."
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 CAROLINA'S ALLTIME LEADING SHOT BLOCKER Senior center Brendan Haywood is in the midst of his most prolific shot-blocking streak. He 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 Jan. 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 267 in 130 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.
Haywood blocked 91 shots last year and 60 as a sophomore. He has 83 blocked shots in the first 22 games (including 44 in the last nine 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.
Haywood has blocked five or more shots nine times this year, including six of the last nine 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).
HAYWOOD HOLDS RECORDS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT,
ONLY ACC PLAYER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS FEAT
Brendan Haywood is the only player in ACC history to lead his school in both career field goal percentage and blocked shots. He currently is the alltime ACC leader in field goal percentage at 64.5 percent and has 267 career blocked shots, a UNC record. No other school in the ACC has one career leader in both of those categories.
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.
CURRY POINTS THE WAY TO VICTORY In the last 12 games, sophomore point guard Ronald Curry has played 342 minutes. In that time, Curry has handed out 48 assists and committed only 28 turnovers. That is one miscue every 12.2 minutes.
Curry had a season-high 11 points in the win at Maryland and a season-best seven assists against both Wake Forest (Jan. 6) and the Terps (Jan. 10).
Curry has made 14 of 34 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 15-0 with Curry in the starting lineup this year and 16-0 in his career.
He had eight second-half points against Duke, all on drives to the basket. Those eight points included six in a 46-second span.
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 21.1 points a game (20th in the nation).
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, tied for third in steals, third in free throw percentage, 12th in field goal percentage, 11 in assists and 17th in rebounding. Forte is the leading rebounder in the ACC for guards at 6.0 per game.
Forte's scoring is up this year from 16.7 to 21.1, his field goal percentage is up from .459 to .476, his free throw shooting is up from .752 to .835 and his assists have increased nearly one a game from 2.6 to 3.5 per game.
ON THE GLASS Carolina is out-rebounding its opponents by 4.9 per game. However, in UNC's 17-game winning streak, the Tar Heels have 120 more rebounds than the opponents (+7.1 rebound margin). Carolina has out-rebounded its opponents by at least 11 rebounds in seven of those 17 games.
As a team, Carolina leads the ACC with 42.1 rebounds per game and is second in rebound margin (+4.9). Virginia is the only team in the league with a better rebounding margin.
DOHERTY RETURNS TO ALMA MATER Matt Doherty is the second former UNC player in history to serve as head coach of his alma mater. He is the only active Atlantic Coast Conference head coach who won a national championship as a player. Doherty, a 1984 UNC graduate, is in his first season as Carolina's head coach. He took over the program on July 11, 2000, following Bill Guthridge's resignation. Guthridge led the Tar Heels to an 80-28 record in his three seasons as head coach.
He has a 42-17 record as a head coach at Notre Dame and Carolina.
ALEX WOLFF ON CAROLINA BASKETBALL Sports Illustrated senior writer Alex Wolff penned a column on CNN/SI.com on February 8, 2001. The following are excerpts from that column:
"North Carolina is, familiarly if unexpectedly, atop the polls once more. Check out the NBA scoring leaders, and among the top eight you'll find three erstwhile Heels: Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison. I'm going to take the decidedly old-school position that you can trace the success of all four of these guys to some aspect of the Carolina way. Yes, Stackhouse and Carter are open-court colts, unfettered and alive, in the Joni Mitchell phrase. But there aren't many others in the NBA as adept at knowing where and when to bring their physical gifts to bear. (Dean) Smith's teachings linger, like faint thought balloons, over the heads of each.
"Most of all, at Carolina all these guys learned the habit of winning. They developed the mental conditioning to face, and usually subdue, a succession of opponents determined to make their own season by taking out the princelings of the Piedmont. Imposing your will, night after night, is one of the most grueling demands the NBA makes on its players.
"Word out of Chapel Hill is that new coach Matt Doherty, with a side glance eight miles up the road at Duke's lean speed, will look to remake future North Carolina teams in that image. But right now he's doing awfully well with the Montross-ian Brendan Haywood, and the clunky Jason Capel, and Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers, who are playing only their second-best sport.
"None of those four will ascend to the heights of the NBA scoring list. But fundamentals are the game's required reading, its compulsory figures. If he refuses to learn them, an ordinary ballplayer won't become good. If he does learn them, who knows where someone blessed with talent will soar?
"Year after year, North Carolina gives us examples of both."
(For a complete copy of the game notes, please download the .pdf version)
