Tar Heels To Host McGrath, UNCW On Wednesday

GAME NINE NOTEBOOK
• The UNCW game is the first of four games for the Tar Heels in December, the fewest games they are scheduled to play in the month of December since the 1961-62 season, Dean Smith's first as UNC's head coach.
• Luke Maye needs 31 points to become the 78th Tar Heel to score 1,000 points (76 have scored 1,000 points at UNC; Cameron Johnson reached the 1,000-point earlier this year after scoring 583 points in three seasons at Pitt).
• The loss at Michigan was Carolina's first loss in its last six road games. UNC won its last four away games in 2017-18 and won at Wofford and Elon to begin the season.
• Coby White has led in scoring in each of the last three games and in assists against both UCLA and Michigan. He led in neither category in the first five games.
• Carolina had two losses in November for the first time since the 2012-13 season (Butler in the Bahamas and Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge).
• The Tar Heels are averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game, which would tie the single-season school record set in 2002-03. UNC averaged 8.2 a year ago.
• Carolina is second in the country (behind Savannah State) in shortest average length of offensive possession – 13.3 seconds.
• Carolina is playing against a C.B. McGrath-led team for the first time. McGrath played for Roy Williams at Kansas from 1994-98 and was on Williams' staff both at KU and from 2003-17 in Chapel Hill. McGrath helped the Tar Heels win NCAA championships in 2005, 2009 and 2017.
• Jackie Manuel, a starter and UNC's defensive player of the year in 2005 when Carolina won the NCAA title, is an assistant coach for the Seahawks.
• Fans are asked to bring NEW toys to the Gonzaga game on December 15 for Toys 4 Tots. This year, the toys will be given to children and families not only in Orange County, but also to families from the eastern North Carolina counties most devastated by Hurricane Florence.

UNC-UNCW SERIES
• The Tar Heels have won the previous three games against the Seahawks.
• The teams first met in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in Roy Williams' first season as head coach of the Tar Heels.
• Carolina is 2-0 against UNCW in the Smith Center.

LAST MEETING
• James Michael McAdoo had 23 points and 10 rebounds in an 84-59 Tar Heel victory on 12/31/2013.
• Marcus Paige (15), Brice Johnson (14) and Leslie McDonald (14) also scored in double figures for the Tar Heels.
• Carolina led by eight at the half, then out-scored the Seahawks, 53-28, in the second.
• The Tar Heels shot 62.9 percent from the floor in the second half, and scored 29 second-chance points for the contest.

UNC VS. THE TAR HEEL STATE
• Carolina is 619-273 all-time against other schools in the state of North Carolina.
• That includes a 166-18 record against non-ACC teams and a 453-255 combined mark against Duke, NC State and Wake Forest.
• Seventeen of the 18 losses to non-ACC teams came before the ACC began play in 1953-54. Eleven of the losses came against Davidson, four to Elon and one to Lenoir-Rhyne.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
• The Tar Heels have trailed at the half in each of the last three games (by one vs. Texas, by five in the win vs. UCLA and by four at Michigan).
• Coby White is the first UNC freshman to lead the team in scoring in three consecutive games since Harrison Barnes led four games in a row on two different occasions in 2010-11.
• Carolina has lost its last five games when scoring less than 70 points and has dropped four straight when the opponents shoot 50 percent from the floor.
• Cameron Johnson leads UNC in effective field goal percentage at .636. Brandon Robinson is second at .630.
• The Tar Heels are nationally ranked in the top 20 in: rebound margin (fourth at +13.4), assists (fifth with 19.8 per game), scoring (seventh at 92.9 ppg), assist/turnover ratio (15th at 1.5) and scoring margin (tied 20th at +18.6).
• Carolina is shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and holding its opponents to 38.0 percent shooting in its six wins; in the two losses, the Tar Heels are making 41.9 percent of its shots from the floor, while Texas and Michigan made 54.9 percent.
• The opponents have shot 29.0 percent from three in UNC's six wins and 47.8 percent (making 11 in each game) in the two defeats.
• Carolina has led by double digits in both losses.
– UNC led Texas 17-4 less than 5:00 into the game before the Longhorns went on a 25-11 run over the next 10:00 to take the lead. Texas hit a three at the buzzer to take a 43-42 lead at the half.
– UNC led Michigan 21-11 with 12:37 to play in the first half. The Wolverines went on an 11-0 run to take the lead. UNC led 35-33 with less than a minute to play in the half before a 3FG with 0:02 to play gave UM a 39-35 advantage at the break.
• Carolina is averaging 18.5 points off opponent turnovers and 17.5 second-chance points; the opponents are scoring 16.1 points per game off UNC turnovers and converting offensive rebounds into 11.4 points per game.

ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE WRAP
• Carolina fell to 10-10 in the Challenge with its 84-67 loss at No. 7 ranked Michigan, including a 5-4 record at home, a 3-6 record on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites.
• The leagues tied this year, each winning seven times. The ACC is 12-5-3 against the Big Ten in the 20-year history of the Challenge.
• UNC is 3-2 vs. Michigan State, 2-0 vs. Ohio State, 1-1 vs. Michigan, 1-3 vs. Illinois, 1-3 vs. Indiana, 1-0 vs. Maryland and Wisconsin and 0-1 vs. Iowa.
• Carolina has played 15 of its 20 games in the Challenge against teams ranked in the AP top 25 and nine of those games against top-10 teams.
• Carolina is 7-8 vs. ranked opponents and 5-4 vs. top-10 opponents.

AP POLL NOTES
• Carolina is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press poll.
• Carolina is ranked this week in an AP poll for the 901st time, more than any other school in college basketball history.
• This is the 85th consecutive AP poll the Tar Heels have been ranked, dating back to mid-conference play in the 2013-14 season.
• UNC began the year No. 8 in the preseason AP poll. It was the 13th time in 16 seasons under Roy Williams UNC was ranked in the preseason Top 10.
• This season is the 56th time in 71 seasons the Tar Heels have been ranked in the top 10 in at least one week of the poll.
• UNC finished the year in the AP poll top 10 in 10 of Williams' first 15 seasons.
• Carolina has finished in the top 10 37 times, including 26 of the last 38 years. UNC has finished the season ranked in the AP poll 50 times.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cameron Johnson

Luke Maye

Brandon Robinson

Coby White