University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
January 15, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2002
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vs. Florida State (8-6, 1-2 ACC)
Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2002, 7 p.m.
Site (capacity): Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center (12,200), Tallahassee, Fla.
UNC's Series Record vs. Florida State: UNC leads, 27-6
Television: ESPN2 (Mike Patrick, Brad Daugherty)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports 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 Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites: UNC (TarHeelBlue.com), Florida State (www.seminoles.com)
Tar Heels Seek First Road Win of the Season
* Carolina takes to the road again on Wednesday evening and will play at Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
* Carolina has lost three straight games for the first time since 1999-2000.
* The Seminoles have not played since a 77-62 loss at NC State on Jan. 8. Prior to that loss, the 'Noles defeated No. 1 Duke in Tallahassee.
* Carolina is 0-2 on the road so far this season with losses coming at Kentucky and at Maryland, both of whom were ranked in the Top 15 in the nation.
* After winning three straight contests to close the 2001 calendar year, the Tar Heels have lost their last three games. Carolina lost by 22 at home on Jan. 5 against Wake Forest and by 33 on Jan. 9 at Maryland. Last Saturday, UNC dropped a 71-67 decision at home against Top-10 foe Virginia.
* The Tar Heels hold a 27-6 overall series edge over the Seminoles and have won eight of the last nine meetings. FSU's last win over UNC was a 76-71 decision in the Smith Center during the 1999-2000 season. That game was the last of four straight UNC losses.
* Carolina is 8-2 against FSU in the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center and won two NCAA Tournament games in the arena on the way to the 1995 Final Four.
* Carolina swept a pair of games from Florida State last season. In the first matchup in Tallahassee, Joseph Forte scored 14 straight UNC points late in the 80-70 win. The Heels played very well in the first half, building a 49-30 lead at halftime. FSU pulled to within three at 60-57 with 7:44 left to play before Forte outscored the Seminoles, 12-4, over a four-minute span. In the return matchup in Chapel Hill, Forte scored 36 points in a 95-67 win. Forte scored 22 of his 36 points in the second half.
* The Tar Heels are in the middle of a six-game stretch that includes four road games. UNC is 0-2 thus far in the stretch (losing at Maryland on Jan. 9 and at home to Virginia on Jan. 12). Carolina will hit the road again this weekend for a game at Connecticut on Saturday afternoon. The Heels then play host to NC State (next Wednesday) and visit Clemson (Jan. 27) to close the six-game stretch.
* In its most recent game, Carolina led No. 7/5 Virginia 48-40 with 14:20 to play, but dropped a 71-67 decision in the Smith Center. Roger Mason Jr. broke a 63-63 tie with a driving bank shot with 3:09 to play and hit four free throws in the final minute to clinch the win for UVa. Kris Lang led the Tar Heels with 18 points. Jason Capel scored 14 points and Jawad Williams added 13. Carolina committed 15 turnovers, nine in the second half.
* The loss was UNC's fifth of the season at home, tying the school record for home losses.
With a UNC Win on Wednesday ...
* Carolina will win its fourth consecutive game against Florida State and ninth in the last 10 meetings.
* Matt Doherty will improve to 3-0 versus the Seminoles as the UNC head coach.
With a UNC Loss on Wednesday ...
* Carolina will have lost its fourth consecutive game. The Tar Heels have lost four in a row 13 times in the 92-year history of the program, most recently in January 2000. The last time Carolina lost five in a row was the last five games of the 1951-52 season in Tom Scott's last season as UNC head coach.
Carolina Striving for Consistency
This year, the Tar Heels have struggled for consistency. Note the differences below in UNC's statistical performance in its wins vs. its losses.
Young Tar Heels Learning on the Job
Two freshmen guards - guard Melvin Scott and swingman Jackie Manuel - have been in the starting lineup together in eight games this season. This is the first time UNC has started two freshmen in the backcourt since first-year players became eligible to play on the varsity in 1972-73.
Should Manuel, Scott and freshman forward Jawad Williams all start any time this season, it would be the first instance in which Carolina started three freshmen in a single game.
Capel On the Boards
Senior forward Jason Capel is the only player in the ACC averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. Capel leads the ACC in rebounding at 10.3 per game and is seventh in the ACC with 16.8 points per contest. He is also sixth in the league in free throw percentage (.773) and ninth in the ACC in assists (3.6).
Capel had 16 rebounds against Saint Joseph's and Texas A&M. Those are the two highest rebounding games by any player in the ACC this year.
He is second in the ACC this year in double-doubles with six. Duke's Carlos Boozer and Virginia's Travis Watson both have seven double-doubles this year. Capel is third among all active ACC players with 17 career double-doubles (Watson has 28 and Maryland's Lonny Baxter has 27).
The last Carolina player to average a double-double for an entire season was Antawn Jamison, who earned National Player of the Year honors in 1997-98 when he averaged 22.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Prior to Jamison, the last Tar Heel to achieve a double-double for the season was Mitch Kupchak in 1975-76.
Lang Nets 18 Versus Virginia
Kris Lang went 6 for 9 from the floor and 6 for 10 from the free throw line en route to 18 points in the 71-67 loss to Virginia. The 18-point outing was Lang's most productive scoring game since he had 18 points at Kentucky on December 8th. Lang averaged just 7.6 points per game in the five contests in which he played since the Kentucky game.
He did not play against St. Joseph's and North Carolina A&T due to a knee sprain. He also saw limited playing time against Binghamton (virus) and College of Charleston (knee).
In the first five games this year, Lang averaged 16.4 points a game. That included a career-high 27 point performance against Indiana.
Three Straight Ranked Opponents
Carolina has dropped its last three games, all to nationally-ranked opponents, including No. 23/24 Wake Forest, No. 4/4 Maryland and No. 7/5 Virginia (media/coaches). The last time Carolina played three consecutive games against Associated Press-ranked opponents was in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels beat No. 3 Stanford, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 18 Tulsa before losing to No. 13 Florida in the national semifinals.
The last time UNC played at least three straight ranked opponents in the regular season was in 1996-97 when the Tar Heels beat No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 14 Maryland, No. 12 Clemson and No. 7 Duke to close out the regular season.
Lineups
Head coach Matt Doherty adjusted the starting lineup against Virginia by inserting Brian Morrison at the 2-guard and sliding freshman Jackie Manuel from the 2-guard to small forward. It was the first time this year Doherty started Adam Boone (point), Morrison, Manuel, Jason Capel (forward) and Kris Lang (center).
It was Morrison's first time in the starting lineup since the opening game against Hampton.
Hampton - Boone, Morrison, Williams, Capel, Lang
Davidson - Boone, Scott, Manuel, Capel, Lang Indiana, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Binghamton, College of Charleston - Scott, Manuel, Capel, Johnson, Lang
Saint Joseph's, NC A&T, Texas A&M - Scott, Manuel, Capel, Johnson, Bersticker
Wake Forest - Scott, Manuel, Capel, Johnson, Lang
Maryland - Boone, Manuel, Capel, Johnson, Bersticker
Virginia - Boone, Morrison, Manuel, Capel, Lang
Next Up, Connecticut
The Tar Heels return to Chapel Hill just briefly, as Carolina plays in Storrs, Conn., at Connecticut on Saturday, January 19. Gametime is 4 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS.
The Florida State-Connecticut swing is the first time this season and one of two times all year the Tar Heels will play back-to-back road games (Feb. 2 at Georgia Tech and Feb. 6 at Wake Forest).
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