Nov. 20, 2011
Game Notes Vs. Mississippi Valley State (.pdf)
North Carolina Tar Heels (2-0) vs. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-2)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011
Tipoff: 2 p.m.
Site: Smith Center, Chapel Hill
Television: ESPNU - Bob Rathbun (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (analyst)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network - Jones Angell (play-by-play), Eric Montross (analyst), Dave Nathan (host)
National Radio: Regular-season games are available nationally on Sirius/XM satellite radio and via subscription on UNC's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
On the Web: TarHeelBlue.com; @UNC_Basketball
Records/Series History
UNC Record: 2-0
(0-0 home, 1-0 away, 1-0 neutral)
MVSU Record: 0-2
(0-0 home, 0-2 away, 0-0 neutral)
Series History: first meeting
Recently: n/a
Roy Williams vs. MVSU: 1-0 (1-0 at Kansas)
National Rankings
UNC: #1 AP/#1 coaches
MVSU: Unranked
Coaches
UNC: Roy Williams (UNC `72) is 227-62 in his ninth season at Carolina, 645-163 in his 24th season overall
MVSU: Sean Woods (Kentucky `92) is 29-69 in his third season at MVSU, 29-69 in his third season overall
STORYLINES: TAR HEELS HOST HOME OPENER, OPEN PLAY IN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL ON SUNDAY
Top-ranked North Carolina will play its third game of the season and its first at home when it hosts Mississippi Valley State on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Smith Center.
The game will be televised regionall on the ACC's Regional Sports Network, which includes Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Florida, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, New England Sports Network, Fox Sports Tennessee, Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Indiana, FS Prime Ticket and ESPN3 for Sunday's game. Bob Rathbun (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst) will have the call.
Sunday's game is part of the 2011 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. The Tar Heels will host the Delta Devils on Sunday, then host Tennessee State on Tuesday evening at 7:30 before leaving on Wednesday for Las Vegas.
Carolina will celebrate Thanksgiving as a team on Thursday, then face South Carolina on Friday night at 10 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Pacific) at the Orleans Arena. The winner of the game vs. the Gamecocks will play the winner of the game between Southern California and UNLV on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Carolina will play four games in a seven-day span in the Las Vegas Invitational. The last time UNC played so many games in a single week was three years ago during the 2008-09 season, when it also played four games in seven days (games in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 24, 25 and 26 and a home game against UNC Asheville on Nov. 30).
The Tar Heels are 2-0 thus far this season, beating Michigan State on Nov. 11 in the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson in Coronado, Calif., and then winning at UNC Asheville on Nov. 13.
Mississippi Valley State enters Sunday's game with an 0-2 record, having lost road games at Notre Dame and DePaul on Nov. 12 and 14.
Carolina will play four of its first six games away from home this season, sandwiching a pair of games at home on Nov. 20 and 22 between last weekend's games against Michigan State and UNC Asheville and the two games in Las Vegas. In all, the UNC will play four games away from home in the first 16 days of the season, including three games in the Pacific Time Zone.
Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls this week, holding down the top spot for the second week in a row in each poll. 
