Elon To Visit Smith Center On Wednesday Night

Wednesday, November 20

Chapel Hill

8:30 PM

North Carolina

Elon

Tickets

Cole Anthony, Andrew Platek, Christian Keeling
University of North Carolina Basketball v Gardner-Webb
Dean E. Smith Center
Chapel Hill, NC
Friday, November 15, 2019

Elon and Carolina will tip off just after 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 19, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Watch UNC Notes Elon Notes Know Before You Go Listen Live Stats Know Your Opponent

CHAPEL HILL—Carolina (3-0) plays host to Elon (2-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Smith Center. This is the on-campus game that is part of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.

GAME 4 NOTEBOOK
• The Tar Heels' next three games are at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, The Bahamas, as part of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.
• This is UNC's second appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Early in the 2014-15 season UNC defeated Robert Morris in Chapel Hill and went 2-1 in The Bahamas with wins over UCLA and Florida and a quarterfinal-round loss to Butler.
• UNC has scored 76, 78 and 77 points in the first three games. This is the first time in the Roy Williams Era the Tar Heels have not scored 80 or more points in any of the first three games.
• Carolina has shot 46.7, 37.5 and 45.6 percent from the floor in the first three games – it's the first time since 2012-13 UNC has not shot 50 percent from the floor in the first three games.
• Carolina's opponents have not scored more than 65 points in the first three games. That's the first time UNC has held the opposition to 65 or less in the first three games since 2012-13 (first four in that season).
• Roy Williams has 874 wins as a Division I head coach, which is sixth all time. Adolph Rupp is fifth with 876 and Dean Smith is fourth with 879.
• Freshmen Cole Anthony (28) and Armando Bacot (12) were the only Tar Heels to score in double figures vs. Gardner-Webb. That was the 10th time overall and the first time since March 3, 2015, that freshmen were the only Tar Heels in double figures (15 by Joel Berry II and 13 by Justin Jackson at Georgia Tech).
• Anthony has two double-doubles and Bacot has one. This is the first time in UNC history two freshmen have double-doubles in the first three games. It's the fifth time two freshmen have posted double-doubles in a season.
• Anthony's 82 points are the most in a three-game stretch by any Tar Heel since junior forward Tyler Zeller scored 82 against LIU, Washington and Marquette in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
• Anthony is the second Tar Heel point guard to score 82 or more points in a three-game span and the first since Phil Ford, who scored 94, 84 and 82 points in three different three-game spans in 1976-77 and 1977-78.
• Carolina is ranked No. 5 in this week's Associated Press poll. That's the 106th time UNC has been ranked in the top 5 in the Roy Williams Era. Including 143 weeks in the top 5 at Kansas, Williams' teams have been ranked in the top 5 in 42.8 percent of the AP polls in his 32 seasons as a head coach.
• Carolina is ranked in the top five for the 434th time, second most all-time.

NOTABLE
• UNC is 171-18 all-time against in-state, non-ACC opponents.
• UNC is 206-16 all-time in the Smith Center against non-ACC opponents.
• Senior Brandon Robinson is coordinating a collection of hurricane relief supplies at the UNC-Elon game for a communications class project. Robinson sent messaging to ticket-holders through social media last week encouraging fans to bring non-perishable items to the game that will be distributed to the Bahamas. Robinson and the team will deliver items to a children's hospital in Nassau, The Bahamas, next week when the team travels to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

UNC-ELON SERIES
• Carolina leads the series, 19-4, although the teams have played just twice since 1950.
• The Tar Heels have won the 12 games dating back to 1919.
• Carolina beat Elon, 100-62, in the Smith Center on Dec. 29, 2011, and 116-67 in Elon's Schar Center last season in the Tar Heels' second game of the season.
• Jonathan Holmes, who played for the Tar Heels from 1999-2003, is in his first season as an assistant coach at Elon. He spent the last 11 years at William and Mary, where he coached Justin Pierce the last three seasons.

LAST TIME VS. ELON (11/9/18)
UNC 116, ELON 67
• The 116 points were the most by the Tar Heels since a 116-48 win over UNC Asheville in Chapel Hill on 11/30/2008.
• The 116 points tied the most points in the Roy Williams era.
• The 49-point win was the largest road win in the Roy Williams era.
• Carolina held Elon to 16.1 percent shooting from the floor in the second half (5 of 31 field goal attempts). That was the lowest in a half by an opponent in the Roy Williams era (previous low was 16.7 percent by Radford in the second half of an 2009 NCAA Tournament first round game).
• Cameron Johnson and Nassir Little led the Tar Heels with 21 points apiece.
• Carolina point guards Coby White, Seventh Woods and Leaky Black combined for 12 assists and only one turnover.
• Carolina's bench out-scored Elon's starters, 65-51.

NEWCOMERS
• Carolina's 18-man roster includes eight players who didn't play for the Tar Heels a season ago:
– graduate transfers Christian Keeling, a 1,666-point career scorer from Charleston Southern, and Justin Pierce, 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds the last two seasons at William & Mary;
– freshmen Cole Anthony, Armando Bacot, Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris;
– Ryan McAdoo, who played in 2017-18 at Florida Gulf Coast and sat out last season as a transfer;
– and senior Robbie O'Han, who played the past three seasons on the Tar Heel junior varsity

THE DEPARTED
• Carolina is without six players who played last season, including first-round NBA Draft picks Cameron Johnson (playing with Phoenix), Coby White (Chicago) and Nassir Little (Portland), Luke Maye (G-League with Wisconsin Bucks), Kenny Williams (G-League with Austin Spurs) and Seventh Woods (transferred to South Carolina).
• Including senior guard Brandon Robinson and junior forward Sterling Manley, who are injured and will not play, the Tar Heels will tip off against Gardner-Webb minus 85.2 percent of their scoring (2,632 points), 79.3 percent of their rebounding (1,156), 86.6 percent of their assists (587) and 95.5 percent of their three-point fields goals (298).
• Johnson was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2019 after making the second-most threes (96) in a season in UNC history; he was the only player in the top 10 in the ACC in field goal, three-point and free throw percentage;
• Maye finished 10th all-time at Carolina in rebounding, was first-team All-ACC in 2018 and second-team in 2019 and was the NCAA South Regional MVP in 2017; he is the only Tar Heel to ever score 30 points both at Duke and NC State;
• Williams scored 915 career points, scored in double figures 49 times and was Carolina's defensive player of the game 19 times;
• White earned second-team All-ACC honors as a freshman and scored the fifth-most points ever by a Tar Heel freshman;
• Little scored 19 and 20 points in his first two NCAA Tournament games and was UNC's fourth-leading scorer last season;
• Woods played in 94 games over three seasons; he scored 14 points in the win over Gonzaga last season.

POLLING
• Carolina in No. 5 in the country in the Associated Press poll. The Tar Heels began the season ninth and moved up to six and now five in the next two polls.
• This is the 103rd consecutive week the Tar Heels are ranked in the AP poll.
• This is the 14th straight season UNC was ranked in the AP Top 25 in the preseason. Last season, the Tar Heels opened at No. 8 and ended the year ranked No. 3.
• UNC has finished the season in the top 10 in each of the last four seasons (3 in 2015-16, 5 in 2016-17, 10 in 2017-18 and 3 in 2018-19).
• This week's No. 5 ranking is Carolina's 919th appearance in the AP poll, the most rankings of any school in the country.
• It's the 57th time in 72 seasons the AP ranked the Tar Heels in the top 10 at some point in the season.
• It's the 46th time in 72 seasons the AP has ranked UNC in the top five at some point in the season.
• Carolina has been ranked in the Top 10 of the AP poll 684 times, most in ACC history and second-most all-time behind Kentucky (701). Carolina has been ranked in the Top 5 434 times, also second-most behind only Kentucky (462).
• Carolina has finished in the Top 10 of the AP poll 38 times, including 27 of the previous 39 years.

SCHEDULE NOTES
• Carolina will play the following teams that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Louisville, No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Gonzaga and No. 10 Ohio State.
• No. 11 Oregon and No. 13 Seton Hall are possible opponents in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Both the Pirates and Ducks are on the opposite side of the bracket and could face the Tar Heels on the third day of the tournament.
• Ken Pomeroy has ranked Carolina's strength of schedule in the top eight in the country in each of the last five seasons and in the top 10 in 11 of Roy Williams' first 16 seasons as head coach (No. 8 in 2018-19, No. 1 in 2017-18, No. 6 in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and No. 1 in 2014-15).

INJURED TAR HEELS
• Senior guard Brandon Robinson, who started and scored eight points, sprained his right ankle against WSSU on Nov. 1 and did not play in the first three regular-season games.
• Freshmen guards Jeremiah Francis (knee) and Anthony Harris (knee) and junior forward Sterling Manley (knee) have not suited up yet for a game. Francis and Harris suffered knee injuries in high school and are still working their way back to action.
• Manley has not practiced this season. He missed 16 games last season due to soreness in his left knee.

2019 SIGNEES
• R.J. Davis, a 5-11 guard from White Plains, N.Y.; Donovan "Puff" Johnson, a 6-7 forward from Moon Township, Pa.; Walker Kessler, a 7-0 forward from Newnan, Ga.; Caleb Love, a 6-3 guard from St. Louis, Mo.; and Day'Ron Sharpe, a 6-10 forward from Greenville, N.C.
• "It's a fantastic class with very highly-rated prospects, but they are even better individuals," says Williams. "They will be a fun group to work with, and they will be fun to work with as individuals. They all have the complete game and will be the kind of kids that our Tar Heel supporters will fall in love with."
• Davis attends Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, where he plays for Coach Patrick Massaroni.
• Roy Williams on Davis: "RJ is a great youngster, a very good student. He's the leading scorer in his high school's history already and is a point guard who shoots so well that he can play with other point guards, handle the ball in certain situations and shoot the ball in others. He's a great leader and is part of a fantastic high school team that has won a recent state title and will play in national tournaments. He will show people he is a high-quality player who comes from a fantastic family."
• Johnson is the younger brother of former Tar Heel Cameron Johnson, who earned 2019 first-team All-ACC honors and plays for the Phoenix Suns. Johnson attends Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix. He is coached by former NBA star Mike Bibby. Johnson grew up near Pittsburgh, where he played for Coach Adam Kaufman at Moon Area High School.
• Roy Williams on Johnson: "When you see Puff, you see his brother, Cameron, which is obviously a very good sign, but Puff is also his own young man and that's an even better sign. He's a tireless worker who is playing for a nationally-competitive team that will play in big-time tournaments. Puff is going to get better and better. He's a bit of a late bloomer, but he's already a top 100 player. His dad and I both believe that, like Cameron, he's going to work and work and continue to improve in all aspects of his game. His greatest skill now is shooting the ball in the basket but he's going to be a fantastic all-around player. We are fortunate to have already known his family for the past two years and know they are going to be tremendously supportive of him and our program."
• Kessler attends the Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., where he plays for Coach Anthony Thomas.
• Roy Williams on Kessler: "Walker is the best shooting big man in the entire country. His game improves every month. He can play inside because of his size, but he can really stretch the defense with the way he shoots. He's a dedicated individual who always is working to get better and is a true joy to be around. He's developed a great relationship with our players and staff. He's a fun young man to be with. His family is an athletic family that really knows what big-time college basketball is all about. His brother (Houston), dad (Chad) and uncle (Alec) all played at the University of Georgia, and we are thrilled to have them now join our basketball family."
• Love attends Christian Brothers College High School, where he plays for Coach Justin Tatum.
• Roy Williams on Love: "Caleb is another youngster who is a scoring point guard, an athletic point guard, a guy who can attack the basket and finish against bigger players. Our guys loved playing with him when he was here playing pickup. He's the kind of player that everybody who plays with him says they want him as a teammate. His parents are very education-oriented and will be wonderful supporters of our University and the basketball program."
• Sharpe plays for Coach Kevin Boyle at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. He played three seasons at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., where he was coached by Chris Cherry.
• Roy Williams on Sharpe: "He's one of those kids that you fall in love with as soon as you meet him, and that's what I did when he was a sophomore. He's gotten better and better and better. If you look at his rise in the rankings you'll see that two years ago he wasn't in the top 100 in his class; now he's in the top 20 and he's going to continue to improve. His mom and dad have made a big sacrifice to send him to play against tremendously difficult competition at Montverde, and he's stepped up to the task and done a great job. He won a state championship and was the MVP of the 4-A state tournament in North Carolina last year, so he knows how to play well in big games."