University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host No. 1-Ranked Blue Devils
February 4, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2004
Carolina will host top-ranked Duke on Thursday night at 9 p.m. in the Smith Center. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 and regionally in the Atlantic Coast Conference area by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot.
Carolina has already beaten one No. 1-ranked team this season, having defeated Connecticut 86-83 on Jan. 17 in the Smith Center. The Tar Heels have beaten 10 No. 1-ranked teams (Associated Press poll) in their history, tying UCLA for the most wins over No. 1-ranked teams in NCAA history.
The Tar Heels, ranked No. 17 by the Associated Press and No. 19 by the coaches, are 13-5, 3-4 in the ACC this season. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 18 in the nation in the latest RPI rankings and have played the nation's 11th-toughest schedule.
Carolina dropped to 0-3 on the road in the ACC this season with an 81-72 loss at Clemson last Saturday. Duke is 18-1, 7-0 in the ACC. The Blue Devils won at Georgia Tech, 82-74, last Saturday afternoon. Following Thursday night's game, Carolina will have a quick turnaround, traveling to face No. 16/15 Wake Forest on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Brutal Three-Game Stretch
eginning with Thursday's game with Duke, Carolina will play three games against ranked teams in six days (with two of those games on the road). The Tar Heels will face No. 1/1 Duke on Thursday at home, then play at No. 16/15 Wake Forest and at No. 15/16 Georgia Tech next Tuesday night.
Five Double-Figure Scorers
Five Tar Heels are averaging in double figures in scoring this season - Rashad McCants (18.9 ppg), Sean May (15.4), Jawad Williams (13.9), Raymond Felton (11.7) and Melvin Scott (11.6).
Carolina has had five double-figure scorers in four previous seasons, most recently in 1994-95 (Jeff McInnis, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Dante Calabria and Donald Williams).
The school record is six double-figure scorers, set in 1988-89 (J.R. Reid, Kevin Madden, Steve Bucknall, Jeff Lebo, Rick Fox, and Scott Williams).
McCants' Scoring
Sophomore Rashad McCants leads the ACC in scoring with 18.9 points per game. He also ranks among the conference's top 10 in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-point percentage and steals. In ACC games only, McCants leads the conference with 21.1 ppg and is second with 2.29 steals per game.
McCants had 26 points at Clemson last Saturday. He has scored 25 or more points in four of the last five games. He has scored 25 or more points six times this season and 12 times in 53 collegiate games.
Williams Passes 1,000 Points
Junior forward Jawad Williams scored 10 points last Saturday at Clemson, giving him 1,016 for his career. Williams became the 54th Tar Heel in history to reach the 1,000-point plateau with his seven points vs. NC State on Jan. 28. The last Carolina players to reach 1,000 points were Jason Capel and Kris Lang in 2001-02.
Tar Heels Third in the Nation in Scoring
In Tuesday's NCAA stats, Carolina was third in the nation in scoring at 86.4 points per game in 2003-04. UNC averaged 72.1 ppg last season. This is the third straight year that a Roy Williams-coached team is in the top three nationally in scoring. Kansas led the nation in 2001-02 and was third in 2002-03.
The Tar Heels are also fourth in the nation in assists with 19.3 per game and eighth with 10.9 steals per contest. Raymond Felton is third in the nation in assists with 7.9 per game.
Broadcast Information
Thursday's game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 and regionally in the ACC area by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot. Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst) will have the call for ESPN2. Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Billy Packer (analyst) will have the call for R/JP.
This season, 26 of 27 regular-season Carolina games will be televised (the lone exception was the Dec. 30 game vs. Coastal Carolina). Fifteen UNC games will be nationally broadcast, not including ACC and NCAA Tournament contests.
The game will be broadcast live on radio by the Tar Heel Sports Network, for which Woody Durham (play-by-play) and Mick Mixon (analyst) are in their 15th year together calling the action for Carolina Basketball. For the third straight season, former UNC All-America Phil Ford (analyst) joins Durham and Mixon on the broadcast team. All Carolina men's basketball games may be heard on the Internet (for a fee) at TarHeelBlue.com.
