Tar Heels Look To Rebound Monday Vs. Hokies

GAME 19
• Carolina looks to end a two-game losing streak when the Tar Heels play host to Virginia Tech Monday at the Smith Center (8 p.m., ACC Network).
• The game was re-scheduled from December 29 due to Covid protocols in the Hokie program.
• The Tar Heels are 12-6, 4-3 in the ACC. The Hokies are 10-8, 2-5.
• Carolina followed back-to-back home wins over Virginia and Georgia Tech which it won by an average of 19.5 points with an 85-57 loss at Miami and a 98-76 loss at Wake Forest.
• The losses were Carolina's first consecutive defeats by 20 or more points since 2001-02.
• Monday's game vs. Virginia Tech is the first time the teams have played in the regular season since the Hokies won in Blacksburg in double overtime on 1/22/2020. Last season's game in Chapel Hill was canceled.
• Carolina has played five of its first seven ACC games on the road, but opens a three-game in six-day homestand at the Smith Center. Following the Virginia Tech game, UNC hosts Boston College (Jan. 26) and NC State (Jan. 29). Six of Carolina's next eight games are scheduled to be played at home.
• Next week's game at Louisville was moved back one day to February 1.
• Carolina had climbed to No. 24 in KenPom's overall rankings, but has slipped back to 43rd after the two road losses.
• Carolina made 49 of 146 shots (33.6%) from the floor, including 12 of 58 (20.7%) from three-point range in the last two losses. That followed a four-game stretch over which UNC shot at least 47.5% from the floor. UNC entered the Miami game sixth in the nation in three-point accuracy (now 36th).

BACOT LEADING THE WAY
• Carolina is led by junior forward/center Armando Bacot, who leads the ACC in rebounding, field goal percentage and double-doubles.
• Bacot scored 29 points in both of UNC's previous two home games against Virginia (also had 22 rebounds) and Georgia Tech.
• He was named ACC Player of the Week twice and was the USBWA National Player of the Week for his play against Georgia Tech.
• Bacot was the first Tar Heel to win USBWA National Player-of-the-Week honors since Marcus Paige in December 2013.
• Bacot was the first Tar Heel to win multiple ACC Player-of-the-Week honors in the same season since Luke Maye in 2018-19. He is the first Tar Heel to win in consecutive weeks since Joel Berry II in January 2017.
• Over the last nine games Bacot has scored 176 points and grabbed 118 rebounds. He is averaging 19.6 points and 13.1 rebounds over those nine games.
• Bacot has double-doubles in each of the last nine games, the longest streak by a Tar Heel since John Henson had nine consecutive in 2010-11. Bacot's nine-game streak equals the fifth-longest by a Tar Heel. Billy Cunningham holds the fourth-longest streak at 10 games in 1964-65.
• Bacot had 29 points and 22 rebounds against Virginia on January 8 and 29 points and a dozen boards vs. Georgia Tech a week later. He was just the fourth Tar Heel ever to have at least 29 points and 12 rebounds in consecutive games – joining Lennie Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham and Charlie Scott, who last accomplished that in 1970.
• Bacot leads the ACC in double-doubles, field goal shooting and rebounding. The last player to lead the ACC in those three categories in the same season was Duke's Marvin Bagley in 2018. No Tar Heel has ever led the league in those categories in the same season.
• Bacot is leading Carolina in scoring (16.9), rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks (25). He also led UNC in those categories last season. No Tar Heel has ever led those four categories in consecutive seasons.
• Bacot's 11.3 rebounds per game are on pace for the highest average by a Tar Heel since Mitch Kupchak grabbed 11.3 per game in 1975-76.

UNC-VIRGINIA TECH ALL-TIME
• Carolina is 70-15 all-time against the Hokies, including 17-5 since Tech began play in the ACC in the 2004-05 season.
• The teams are scheduled to play twice this season. Last year, the only regular-season game was postponed, but the teams played in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro.
• Carolina is 32-6 against the Hokies in Chapel Hill, including 7-1 at the Smith Center. UNC has won the last seven times the teams have played in the Smith Center.
• The Tar Heels have won two in a row (both in Greensboro in the ACC Tournament) and 10 of their last 12 games against the Hokies.

LAST TIME THEY MET
UNC 81, VIRGINIA TECH 73 (March 11, 2021)
• It was the 903rd and final win for Roy Williams as a head coach.
• The game marked the first time in series history unranked UNC played a ranked Virginia Tech team (the Hokies were No. 22 in the AP poll).
• RJ Davis scored a season-high 19 points and made a season-high four threes, scoring 14 of his 19 in the second half.
• Armando Bacot had 17 points and 13 rebounds and added a season-high four blocks.
• Bacot was scoreless until 1:54 left in the first half when he scored UNC's last four points of the half. He scored 10 straight points for UNC in the second half to give the Tar Heels a 68-58 lead.
• Leaky Black scored all eight of his points in the second half, made two three-pointers and tied for the team lead with three assists.
• It was the first time UNC ever played an opponent in the ACC Tournament it did not face in the regular season. It was the second time in ACC history that occurred. In 1967, Duke and South Carolina played in the ACC Tournament after not playing in the regular season.
• The Tar Heels had two offensive rebounds (on 16 missed shots) in the first half and 13 offensive rebounds on 27 misses in the second half.

FIELD GOAL SHOOTING
• Carolina is 6-0 when shooting at least 50% from the floor this season (UNC was 220-9 when shooting 50% under Roy Williams).
• The Tar Heels have shot 50% or better from the floor in the second half in eight of the last 12 games and 10 times this season.
• Carolina's effective FG percentage is 52.7%, an improvement from 46.4% in 2019-20 and 48.3% in 2020-21.
• By comparison, Carolina's effective FG percentage in its most recent NCAA championship seasons were 51.7% in 2016-17, 52.8% in 2008-09 and 56.0% in 2004-05.

FREE THROWS
• The Tar Heels are shooting 75.1% from the line, their best percentage since 2008-09, when they converted 75.2%.
• Caleb Love leads UNC at the stripe this season at 83.9%. The sophomore guard has made 110 of 134 free throws as a Tar Heel. He has the 15th-highest percentage (.821) in UNC history.
• RJ Davis is shooting 81.8% from the line this season and 82.0% in his two seasons. He is 100 for 122 as a Tar Heel and ranks 16th all-time at UNC.

DEFENSE
• UNC has held its opponents to 65 or fewer points in each of its last nine victories. It's the first time UNC has held the opponents under 70 points in nine consecutive wins since 2006-07, when it did that in 15 straight wins.
• Carolina has held the opposition to 528 combined points in its last nine victories. Those are the fewest points allowed over nine consecutive wins since the 2006-07 season. UNC allowed 506 points in wins from December 19 to January 20 that season.
• Carolina has won four times this season when it allowed fewer than 60 points (53 by UNC Asheville, 51 by Michigan, 50 by App State and 58 by Virginia).

CALEB'S THREES
• Caleb Love has made 39 three-pointers in the first 18 games. Last year, Love finished his freshman season with 34 threes in 29 games. He was 34 for 128 last year. This year, Love has made 39 threes in 93 attempts.
• Love has improved his three-point percentage from 26.6% as a freshman to 41.9% this season.

BACOT DOUBLING DOWN
• Armando Bacot leads the ACC and is tied for second in the nation in double-doubles. Fardaws Aimaq of Utah Valley leads with 17 and Bacot is second with 14.
• Bacot has 32 double-doubles in 79 games over three seasons as a Tar Heel. His double-double rate (40.5%) is the 10th highest by a Tar Heel and the fourth highest in the last 50 years.

Double-Doubles Games Pct.
Billy Cunningham, 1962-65 60 69 .870
Lennie Rosenbluth*, 1954-57 39 76 .513
Antawn Jamison, 1995-98 51 104 .490
Doug Moe, 1958-61 29 60 .483
Rusty Clark, 1966-69 43 91 .473
Larry Miller, 1965-68 42 91 .462
Robert McAdoo, 1971-72 14 31 .452
Pete Brennan*, 1955-58 35 81 .432
Sean May, 2002-05 33 77 .429
Armando Bacot, 2019-active 32 79 .405
Bobby Jones, 1971-74 35 92 .380
Mitch Kupchak, 1972-76 44 119 .370
* Rosenbluth and Brennan played numerous games where their rebound totals are unknown

MORE SCORING
• Five Tar Heels have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Armando Bacot has scored 20 or more seven times, Caleb Love has five 22-point games, RJ Davis, Dawson Garcia and Brady Manek each have three.
• Tar Heels have scored 20 or more points 21 times in 18 games, including five games in which two players scored 20 or more (Loyola, Brown, Charleston, Elon and home vs. Georgia Tech). Last season, UNC had only seven 20-point performances in 29 games. Freshman Day'Ron Sharpe became the first Tar Heel to score 20 or more when he had 25 against Notre Dame in the season's 10th game. UNC did not have any games last season when two players scored 20 or more points.
• This is the 11th Tar Heel team to have five players score 20 points at least twice: 1960, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1989, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2016, 2018 and 2022. Five of the other 10 teams to accomplish that played in Final Fours.
• Bacot has scored 20 or more points seven times this season. He did that five times in his first two seasons combined.
• Love has scored 22 points five times – against Loyola Maryland, Charleston, Michigan, Elon and Boston College. The sophomore scored 20 or more twice in 29 games last season.
• Carolina is 7-0 when Love scores 20 or more and 9-1 when he makes 50% of his field goal attempts (4-0 last season and 5-1 in 2021-22).

FROM THREE
• Carolina makes 7.9 threes per game, on pace for the fifth-highest average in UNC history.
• The Tar Heels have made 41.3% of their threes in their 12 wins compared to 29.7% in the six losses. The opponents have connected on 44.1% in their six wins over Carolina and just 28.4% in the Tar Heels' 12 wins.

UNC Three-Pointers Per Game, Last 10 Years
2021-22 7.89
2020-21 5.59
2019-20 5.48
2018-19 (UNC record) 8.67
2017-18 8.24
2016-17 7.08
2015-16 5.60
2014-15 4.84
2013-14 4.29
2012-13 7.56

UNC Three-Pointers Per Game, All-Time
2018-19 8.67
2002-03 8.29
1982-83 (experimental distance) 8.25
2017-18 8.24
2021-22 7.89

STILL HITTING THE BOARDS
• The Tar Heels lead the ACC and are eighth in the country in rebound margin at plus 9.1 per game. UNC also leads the league in rebounds per game (40.7).
• Carolina has led the ACC in rebound margin in each of the previous six seasons and in 13 of 18 seasons under Roy Williams.
• UNC has won the battle of the boards 16 times in 18 games this season. The Tar Heels are 12-4 when out-rebounding their opponents and 0-2 when getting out-rebounded (Tennessee and Kentucky).
• Under Roy Williams the Tar Heels won 82.3% of the games they out-rebounded their opponents. The Tar Heels were victorious in only 46.8% of the games they were out-rebounded under Williams.

DIFFERENT STORY IN DEFEATS
• Through 18 games, Carolina's numbers are decidedly different in its 12 wins versus six losses.
• The Tar Heels are shooting 49.4% from the floor and 41.3% from three-point range in wins and 40.3% overall, including 29.7% from three, in the losses.
• Carolina is holding the opposition to 39.3% shooting in the wins, but the opponents are making 52.1% in their six wins over UNC.
• Carolina has a rebounding advantage of 12.8 per win and a smaller edge (1.7) in its losses.
• Carolina is averaging 4.8 more assists than turnovers in its victories and 2.5 more turnovers than assists in defeat.
• The opponents have 111 assists (18.5 per game) and 47 turnovers in their six victories.

HUBERT
• Hubert Davis was named Carolina's 20th head coach, and first Black head coach, on April 5, 2021.
• Davis is the fourth Tar Heel head coach who also played at UNC, joining Reynolds Cuthbertson, Monk McDonald and Matt Doherty.
• Davis played for Dean Smith from 1988-92, was selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA Draft and played a dozen seasons in the NBA. He was a college basketball analyst at ESPN for seven years and an assistant coach on Roy Williams' Tar Heel staff from 2012-21.

SHAVER JOINS ROSTER
• Will Shaver signed with UNC in November and has joined the team this semester, although he will not play this season.
• The Birmingham, Ala., native began practicing with the team in January.
• Shaver led Oak Mountain High School to back-to-back appearances in the state finals and the 2021 Class 7A title. He averaged 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds and was named second-team all-state.

TAR HEEL STAFF
• Head coach Hubert Davis is a Tar Heel alum, and so are each of his assistant coaches and members of the basketball staff.
• Assistant coaches Brad Frederick (1996-99), Jeff Lebo (1985-89) and Sean May (2002-05), Director of Recruiting Pat Sullivan (1990-93, 1994-95) and Director of Team and Player Development Jackie Manuel (2001-05) all played for the Tar Heels. Director of Operations Eric Hoots has been on staff for 18 seasons.
• Frederick played on Final Four teams that won ACC championships in 1997 and 1998.
• Lebo is a 20-year head coaching veteran who set 10 UNC records in his playing career.
• May was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 NCAA Final Four, scoring 26 points in the national championship game vs. Illinois.
• Manuel was twice named Carolina's defensive player of the year and was a starter on the 2005 NCAA champions.
• Sullivan was a key contributor on the 1993 national champions and is one of seven Tar Heels who have played in three Final Fours.
• Davis, Lebo, May and Frederick combined to score 4,441 points as Tar Heels. Syracuse is the only school whose coaches scored more points at their alma mater than UNC (Gerry McNamara, Adrian Autry, Allen Griffin and Jim Boeheim scored 5,189 for the Orange).

PRO HEELS
NBA
Cole Anthony, Orlando
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento
Tony Bradley, Chicago
Reggie Bullock, Dallas
Ed Davis, Cleveland
Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers
Danny Green, Philadelphia
Justin Jackson, Phoenix
Cameron Johnson, Phoenix
Nassir Little, Portland
Theo Pinson, Dallas
Day'Ron Sharpe, New Jersey
Coby White, Chicago

International source: TarHeelInternational.com
Nate Britt, Yoast United, The Netherlands
Isaiah Hicks, Seoul Samsung Thunders, South Korea
Desmond Hubert, Al Arabi, Kuwait
Brice Johnson, Toyama Grouses, Japan
Christian Keeling, BC Rustavi, Georgia
Justin Knox, Neo-Phoenix, Japan
Ty Lawson, US Monastir, Tunisia
Sterling Manley, Sichuan Blue Whales, China
Luke Maye, BAXI Manresa, Spain
James Michael McAdoo, Hitachi Sun Rockers, Japan
Kennedy Meeks, Cholet Basket, France
Marcus Paige, Orleans Loiret, France
Justin Pierce, VfL Kircheim Knights, Germany
Reyshawn Terry, Plateros de Fresnillo, Mexico
Deon Thompson, Leones des Ponce, Puerto Rico
J.P. Tokoto, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel
Jawad Williams, Yamagata Wyverns, Japan
Kenny Williams, Kolossos Rhodes, Greece

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Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

Dawson Garcia

Caleb Love

Brady Manek

Sterling Manley

Day'Ron Sharpe

Will Shaver