University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels to Host UNCW on Tuesday
December 28, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2004
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will play its first game in a week when it hosts UNC Wilmington on Tuesday Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. in the Smith Center. The game will be regionally televised by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot.
The Tar Heels, who are riding a nine-game winning streak after losing their season-opener to Santa Clara, are 9-1 this season. Carolina defeated Vermont, 93-65, on Dec. 21 in its last action prior to a week-long holiday break. The UNC players returned to Chapel Hill for practice on Sunday Dec. 26.
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll this week.
The UNC Wilmington game is the second of six straight home games for the Tar Heels. The next road game for UNC is Jan. 15, 2005, at Wake Forest.
Following Tuesday's game, Carolina will face a quick turnaround, as they host Cleveland State on Thursday at 8 p.m. The game is the only non-televised UNC game of the season.
Holiday Clinic is Dec. 31
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will conduct its annual holiday clinic for youth on Friday, December 31, at the Dean Smith Center.
The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to Noon and registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at Gate A.
Coach Roy Williams, the assistant coaches and the Tar Heel players will participate in the clinic, which is open to boys and girls in grades 1 through 8.
The cost of the clinic is $40 per child. Each child who registers will receive on-court instruction from the Tar Heels and a 2004-05 team poster.
Contact (919) 962-1154 for more information. No pre-registration is necessary.
Series vs. UNC Wilmington
The Tar Heels and Seahawks have met just once in men's basketball, and that meeting came last season in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Carolina defeated UNCW 71-54 exactly one year ago, on Dec. 28, 2003, in a homecoming game for Raymond Felton, a native of Latta, S.C.
Cleveland State (Dec. 30) Gametime Change
Thursday's men's basketball game against Cleveland State (Dec. 30) will tip off at 8 p.m., instead of 7:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.
The change was made to accommodate Tar Heel fans who will travel to Charlotte earlier that day for Carolina's football postseason contest against Boston College in the Continental Tire Bowl. Kickoff in Charlotte is 1 p.m.
"We know many of our fans will have tickets and want to be at both games that day and Coach (Roy) Williams asked us to move the basketball game back 30 minutes to help all of our fans," says Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "Ticket sales for the Continental Tire Bowl have been great and we want our fans to have every opportunity to watch this unique doubleheader of Tar Heel action."
The basketball game against Cleveland State is not televised. It is the only game on Carolina's 2004-05 schedule that is not scheduled to be televised.
Smith Center doors will open to the public at 7 p.m.
Williams Closing in on 450 Wins
Carolina head coach Roy Williams is nearing his 450th victory as a head coach. With a career record of 446-113 in 15+ seasons entering the UNC Wilmington game, he needs four wins to reach that plateau.
Williams is 28-12 in this, his second season as Carolina's head coach. Entering the season, he had the highest winning percentage (79.6) of any active head coach in the nation with 10 years of experience, ranking fifth all-time.
