University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Look to Bounce Back at Wake Forest
February 6, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2004
Carolina will play its second game in less than two days and hopes to avoid its third consecutive loss when it visits Wake Forest at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game will be televised by CBS.
Carolina embarks on the second half of Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 3-5 league record at the midway point. UNC has lost two games in a row - at Clemson last Saturday and at home vs. No. 1 Duke on Thursday night.
The 81-72 loss at Clemson last weekend dropped Carolina to 0-3 on the road in the ACC this season. The Tar Heels, ranked No. 17 by the Associated Press and No. 19 by the coaches, are 13-6, 3-5 in the ACC this season.
Wake Forest is 13-5, 4-4 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons (ranked No. 16 by the AP and No. 15 by the coaches) lost 73-68 at NC State on Wednesday night. Following Thursday night's game, Carolina will travel to face No. 15/16 Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Atlanta.
ACC Leaders
Rashad McCants, Sean May and Raymond Felton lead the ACC in scoring, rebounding and assists, respectively.
The last time a team had different players lead the ACC in scoring and rebounding was 1998-99, when Clemson's Terrell McIntyre led in scoring and Harold Jamison led in rebounding. The only time since 1973 (when assists became an official statistic) that a team had players lead in all three categories was 1997-98 (UNC - Antawn Jamison in scoring and rebounding and Ed Cota in assists). No team has ever had three different players lead the ACC in scoring, rebounds and assists.
Overtime Troubles
* With the 83-81 overtime loss to No. 1 Duke on Feb. 5, Carolina now has lost five consecutive overtime games for the first time in its 94-year basketball history. Carolina's last overtime victory was on March 1, 2000, vs. Georgia Tech.
* The Tar Heels have played three overtime games this season, the most by a UNC team since the 1997-98 squad played five (going 4-1 in the process).
* This season is the first time since 1963-64 (Dean Smith's third season as the UNC head coach) that the Tar Heels have lost three overtime games in the same season.
Brutal Three-Game Stretch
Carolina is in the midst of a stretch in which it will play three games against ranked teams in six days (with two of those games on the road). The Tar Heels lost in overtime to No. 1/1 Duke on Thursday at home. They play at No. 16/15 Wake Forest on Saturday and at No. 15/16 Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.
