University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
January 30, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2002
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at Duke Blue Devils (18-1, 6-1 ACC)
Date: Thursday, January 31, 2002, 9:00 p.m.
Site (capacity): Smith Center (21,750), Chapel Hill
UNC's Series Record vs. Duke: UNC leads, 122-87
Television: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (Tim Brando, Billy Packer), ESPN (Mike Patrick, Dick Vitale)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play), Mick Mixon (color) and Phil Ford (analyst) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites: UNC (TarHeelBlue.com), Duke (GoDuke.com)
TONIGHT'S GAME: Duke
* The Tar Heels return to the Smith Center on Thursday night to host Duke in the final game of the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference season for each team. The game will be televised by two networks - Raycom-Jefferson Pilot in the ACC area and ESPN nationally.
* Although Thursday's game is on ESPN, in recent years, at least one Carolina-Duke game each season has been broadcast on ESPN2. Three of the top five highest-rated basketball games in ESPN2 history have been tilts between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils (No. 1 - 1998, No. 2 - 2001, No. 5 - 1999).
* Last year, Duke won two of three meetings with Carolina. Led by 24 points and 16 rebounds from Joseph Forte, the Tar Heels won the first meeting, 85-83, in Durham. The Blue Devils won, 95-81, in the Smith Center in the final game of the regular season and 79-53 in the ACC Tournament finals at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
* Carolina leads the all-time series against Duke, 122-87. Carolina is 10-6 against Duke in the Smith Center and 55-27 overall against the Devils in games played in Chapel Hill. UNC has lost its last three games to Duke in the Smith Center. Carolina's last home win over Duke came during the 1997-98 season.
* Carolina is 4-6 at home this season. The six losses are the most home defeats in a season by UNC (the previous record was five).
* Carolina is coming off an 87-69 win at Clemson last Sunday evening, its first road win of the season. Before that win, the Tar Heels had lost their first four road games this season and their last six road games overall.
* Prior to the win over Clemson, the Tar Heels had lost six straight games, equalling the second-longest losing streak in school history. The first six-game losing streak came in the 1920-21 season. The only longer losing streak in Carolina annals was an eight-game skid in 1950-51.
Tar Heel Injury Update
* The Tar Heels won at Clemson last Sunday without starting shooting guard Jackie Manuel and fifth-year senior reserve forward Orlando Melendez. Their status is day-to-day, and their availability for the Duke game will be a gametime decision.
* Manuel has a stress reaction in the third metatarsal bone in his left foot and missed the last two games. Because of the nature of his injury, Manuel actually may not be able to practice for remainder of the season. His availability for games will be made on a game-by-game basis.
* Melendez has missed several practices in the last week due to tendonitis in his left knee aggravated during the loss to NC State on Jan. 23. His status for Thursday will be a gametime decision.
LAST GAME: Clemson
Carolina shot a season-high 55.4 percent, including a 60.0 percent clip in the second half, and cruised to an 87-69 win at Clemson last Sunday night. The Tar Heels committed just 10 turnovers, their lowest total since a Dec. 27 win over N.C. A & T. Carolina led by as many as 26 points in the second half.
Sophomore point guard Adam Boone had the best game of his collegiate career, tallying career highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double as a college player. Freshman guard Melvin Scott started at his natural shooting guard position due to the foot injury that sidelined classmate Jackie Manuel for the game. Scott responded with his best game to date as a Tar Heel, scoring a career-high 17 points and posting an assist/turnover ratio of 4/1.
Together, Carolina's starting backcourt of Boone and Scott recorded 40 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and just one turnover in 73 minutes of action.
The win broke UNC's six-game losing streak this season and its six-game road losing streak dating to last season.
Boone Posts First Career Double-Double in Win at Clemson
Sophomore point guard Adam Boone (Minneapolis, Minn.) got more aggressive with the ball offensively and had the best game of his collegiate career on Jan. 27 at Clemson. Boone tallied career highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double as a college player.
oone also had three assists and zero turnovers while running the Tar Heel offense in his 36 minutes of action. His four three-pointers were a career high, as were his seven field goals made and his five free throws made.
His 10 rebounds were the most by a Tar Heel point guard since Ed Cota had 11 versus Stanford on Nov. 27, 1998, in the finals of the Preseason NIT.
Scott Excels as Shooting Guard at Clemson
Freshman guard Melvin Scott (Baltimore, Md.) started at shooting guard last Sunday because of the foot injury that kept fellow freshman Jackie Manuel out of uniform for the Clemson game. Scott, who predominantly played shooting guard in high school before switching to the point as a prep senior, responded with his best game yet as a Tar Heel.
Scott scored a season-high 17 points against the Tigers, hitting three three-pointers and grabbing four rebounds. He also took care of the ball, dishing out four assists with just one turnover in 37 minutes of floor time.
Capel Returns After Missing Three Games
Senior forward Jason Capel (Fayetteville, N.C.) returned to the lineup last Sunday at Clemson after missing the three previous games with a concussion. Capel totaled seven points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game since the Jan. 12 loss to Virginia.
Capel suffered a concussion on Tuesday, January 15, and did not play in games vs. Florida State, Connecticut and NC State. Capel suffered the concussion when he collided with a teammate while diving for a loose ball in practice. The three games were the first Capel has missed since his freshman season, when he missed eight games with a sore back and a case of mononucleosis.
Capel is second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding with 9.9 per game. He is second in the ACC in defensive rebounds and is third in the league in offensive boards. Capel also is seventh in the ACC in scoring (16.1 ppg) and seventh in free throw percentage.
Capel leads the Tar Heels in 10 statistical categories - minutes played, field goal attempts, free throws, free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, assists, points and scoring average. No Carolina player has led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists since UNC recorded assist leaders in 1968-69.
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.
Capel, O'Koren and Okulaja
Jason Capel passed the 300-career assist mark on Jan. 12 against Virginia. He is one of only three Tar Heels in history to score 1,000 points, grab 700 rebounds and have 300 assists. Three-time All-America forward Mike O'Koren (1977-80) and first-team All-ACC forward Ademola Okulaja (1996-99) are the others. Capel has scored 1,283 points, grabbed 732 rebounds and handed out 305 assists. He is 34th alltime in scoring at UNC, 18th in rebounding and 22nd in assists.
Mike O'Koren was inducted into the New Jersey Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame on January 27, 2002. He currently is an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets.
Lang Shoulders Offensive Attack
Senior Kris Lang (Gastonia, N.C.) is averaging 19.0 points in the last five games. Carolina likes to go inside for its first look and Lang has been the primary low post threat for UNC this season. He leads the team in field goals made with 86.
In the last four games, Lang is 31 for 61 from the floor. He scored 23 points at FSU, had 15 against UConn and tied his career high with 27 against NC State. All three scoring outputs were team highs. Lang also had 12 points in the win at Clemson.
Lang is fully recovered from a left knee sprain, an injury he suffered in practice on December 18. Lang, the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder, averaged more than 16 points in Carolina's first five games. After the injury, he missed a pair of games and scored a combined 24 points in three contests. He had just four points in the home loss to Wake Forest.
Williams Continues to Improve
Freshman forward Jawad Williams (Cleveland, Ohio) scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting last Sunday at Clemson. He had 14 points and eight rebounds at Connecticut on Jan. 19. Williams scored 11 points, all in the second half, in the loss at Florida State.
Williams has scored in double figures in the last five games and eight of the last 10, including a season-high 20 against North Carolina A&T. He is averaging 11.8 points per game in the last 10 contests.
The Cleveland, Ohio, native is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor. He shot 4 for 16 from the field in the first three games, but is 63 for 118 from the floor in the last 13 games (.534).
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