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North Carolina
Oklahoma
Men's BB Will Meet Sooners In Jumpman Invitational Wednesday
December 19, 2023 | Men's Basketball
• The ACC-Big 12 matchup is the final game for the Tar Heels before they break for Christmas. UNC will be off until hosting Charleston Southern in the Smith Center on December 29.
• The 7-3 Tar Heels and 10-0 Sooners will tip at approximately 9:30 p.m., following the first game of the doubleheader between Florida and Michigan.
• This is the second year of the Jumpman Invitational. Last season, Armando Bacot scored 26 points and RJ Davis hit four three-pointers, had a game-high five assists and scored 19 in the Tar Heels' 80-76 win over Michigan.
• Seventh-ranked Oklahoma is Carolina's fifth ranked opponent in its last six games. This marks the first time UNC has ever played five ranked teams in a six-game stretch in the regular season. The last time UNC played four ranked teams in six games was 2019-20 (Oregon, Ohio State, Virginia and Gonzaga).
• In addition to No. 7 Oklahoma, the Tar Heels have played No. 20 Arkansas, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 5 UConn and No. 14 Kentucky since November 24 (rankings at the time UNC played those teams).
• Six of UNC's opponents this season are in this week's AP Top 25 – No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 18 Clemson, No. 21 Duke and No. 22 Virginia.
• KenPom currently ranks the Tar Heels' schedule the 21st toughest in the country, including the seventh most difficult among the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC.
• Oklahoma is one of four remaining unbeatens in the country with JMU, Houston and Ole Miss.
• This is just the Tar Heels' third game in the last 18 days. Carolina has lost its last two games – 87-76 to Connecticut in New York on December 5 and 87-83 to Kentucky on December 16 in Atlanta. UNC dropped three straight once last season, in early February against Pittsburgh, Duke and Wake Forest.
• The Tar Heels rallied three times from double-digit deficits and briefly the took lead with just over 5:00 to play, but Kentucky dominated the boards and won the turnover margin in the Wildcats' four-point win in the CBS Sports Classic.
• The Cats out-rebounded the Tar Heels by 10 and UNC committed a season-high 17 turnovers. It's the first time UNC has been out-rebounded by 10 or more in consecutive games since the 2003 NIT.
• RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan combined for 47 of UNC's 83 points.
GAME 11 NOTEBOOK
UNC-OKLAHOMA
• Carolina is 3-0 all-time against Oklahoma with all three games having been played at neutral sites, including the last two in the NCAA Tournament.
• This is the first time UNC has played the Sooners since a 72-60 win in Memphis, Tenn., in the 2009 NCAA South Regional final. Regional MVP Ty Lawson had 19 points, five assists and three steals and Danny Green scored 18 as UNC held off the Sooners, who were led by Blake Griffin's 23 points and 16 rebounds. UNC went on to win the 2009 NCAA title with wins over Villanova and Michigan State in Detroit.
• In 1990, No. 8 seed UNC upset No. 1 seed and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma, 79-77, on a last-second shot by Rick Fox. The future three-time NBA champion led four Tar Heels in double figures with 23 points. Sophomore guard Hubert Davis scored two points in 13 minutes.
• On 12/29/82, Carolina beat the Sooners in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu as Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan combined for 45 points.
UNC IN CHARLOTTE
• The Tar Heels are 165-27 all-time in Charlotte.
• That includes a 15-2 record in the Spectrum Center from 2006-22.
• Oklahoma is UNC's first Big 12 opponent in Charlotte since the Tar Heels beat Iowa State in the 2005 NCAA second round in the Charlotte Coliseum.
MILESTONE WATCH
• Armando Bacot has made 495 free throws...needs five for 500.
• Bacot has scored 1,961 points...needs 14 to pass Antawn Jamison for eighth in UNC history...needs 39 to become the seventh Tar Heel to score 2,000.
• RJ Davis has made 188 three-pointers...needs one to pass Reggie Bullock for 11th and six to pass Dante Calabria for 10th in UNC history.
• Davis has scored 1,520 points...needs 33 to pass J.R. Reid for 30th in UNC history.
• Cormac Ryan has 1,276 career points ... he needs 24 for 1,300.
RJ'S HISTORIC RUN
• Senior guard RJ Davis leads Carolina in scoring at 21.6 points per game, in three-pointers with 27 and free throw shooting (94.2% at 49 for 52)and is second in assists (28).
• Davis is on pace for the highest scoring average by a Tar Heel since Tyler Hansbrough averaged 22.8 in 2007-08.
• Davis has led UNC in scoring in each of the last six games – 23 vs. Villanova, a career-high tying 30 vs. Arkansas, 27 vs. Tennessee, 27 vs. Florida State, 26 vs. UConn and 27 vs. Kentucky. He led UNC in consecutive games two different times last year.
• He is the first Tar Heel to lead in scoring six straight games since Justin Jackson in 2016-17. The last Tar Heel to lead in scoring in seven consecutive games was Hansbrough, who led in eight in a row in 2008-09.
• Davis' 137 points in the last five games and 160 in the last six mark his highest five-game and six-game totals as a Tar Heel.
• Davis' 160 points are the most by a Tar Heel over six games since Hansbrough scored 171 in 2008.
• Davis was the first Tar Heel to score 27 or more in three consecutive since Joseph Forte in 2000-01 and is the first to score 26 or more in five straight games since Charlie Scott in 1969-70.
26+ POINTS IN 5 STRAIGHT GAMES– ALL-TIME, UNC
5 by RJ Davis in 2023-24
12 by Charlie Scott, 1969-70
7 by Bobby Lewis, last game 1964-65, first six 1965-66
10 by Lennie Rosenbluth, last seven games in 1955-56, first three in 1956-57
• Davis has scored 20 or more points 19 times, including seven of UNC's first 10 games this season. He is the only current Tar Heel with a 30-point game and he has two – against Baylor in the 2022 NCAA second round and this season in the Bahamas against Arkansas.
• Davis is UNC's all-time leader in free throw percentage at 86.3% and has climbed from 19th at the start of the season to ninth in ACC history in free throw accuracy.
• Davis made 41 straight free throws from the Villanova game on November 23 to the Kentucky game. That tied Jeff Lebo's school record for consecutive makes. Davis also had a streak of 39, which he set over the last five games in the 2022 NCAA Tournament to the first four games last season. That is now tied for the fourth-longest streak by a Tar Heel.
• Davis began his fourth season as UNC's 48th-leading scorer and has moved up 17 spots to 31st through 10 games with 1,520 points. He has passed Danny Green, Ty Lawson, Kris Lang, Luke Maye, Brendan Haywood, Deon Thompson, Jason Capel, Shammond Williams, Dennis Wuycik, Caleb Love, Kennedy Meeks, Tyler Zeller and Scott Williams. J.R.Reid is 30th with 1,552.
• Davis is tied with Reggie Bullock for 11th in career threes by a Tar Heel with 188. Dante Calabria is 10th with 193.
• Davis is 28th in assists with 332. Davis is within 10 assists of Leaky Black (334), Dante Calabria (336), Love (337) and Dexter Strickland (342).
POLLING
• Carolina is No. 11 in week seven in the Associated Press poll.
• This is the 943rd time the Tar Heels are ranked in the AP poll, the second most in college basketball history.
STAT STUFF
• Per KenPom, Carolina is 10th in the country in offensive efficiency (118.7 points per 100 possessions) and is 16th best at getting to the free throw line.
• Carolina is second in the nation (behind Tulane) in free throws made per game at 21.2.
• Harrison Ingram made a career-high three 3FGs during his two seasons at Stanford. He has made at least three four times this season, including 4 of 6 vs. UNI, 4 of 5 vs. Villanova, 4 of 8 against Tennessee and 3 of 4 vs. UConn.
• Ingram averaged 1.1 threes per game in his first two college seasons (72 in 65 games) and is averaging 1.9 this season (19 in 10). He has not made a three in the last two losses against UConn and Kentucky.
• Ingram has improved his three-point percentage from .313 and .319 his freshman and sophomore seasons to .432 through 10 games this season.
• The Tar Heels' seven turnovers vs. the Huskies were a season low and the 17 they committed in the next game vs. Kentucky were a season high. UNC has committed fewer than 10 turnovers in four of the first 10 games.
• The Tar Heels are committing 10.8 turnovers per game. UNC's record low average for a season is 10.8 in 2015-16 and 2022-23.
• Carolina has shot 50% from the floor in eight of 20 halves this season, including a season-best 58.6% in the second half against Arkansas. The Tar Heels shot 51.9% from the floor in the opening half against UConn and 53.8% in the second half vs. Kentucky.
• RJ Davis leads UNC in plus/minus at +100. He has been +20 or better in three games this season (+25 vs. UC Riverside, +21 vs. UNI and +22 vs. Arkansas) and has led UNC five times.
• Freshman guard Elliot Cadeau leads Carolina in assists with 40 (4.0 per game). Phil Ford, Ed Cota, Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson, Kendall Marshall, Marcus Paige, Coby White, Cole Anthony and Caleb Love also led UNC in assists as freshmen.
• Cadeau has 32 assists and six turnovers in the last seven games, including 24/6 in his five starts against Arkansas, Tennessee, FSU, UConn and Kentucky.
• Villanova's Eric Dixon (34), Arkansas' Traman Mark (34) and Tennessee's Dalton Knecht (37) scored 30 or more points in three straight games. It was the second time ever an opponent scored 30 in three straight games. It also happened in 1985 when SMU's Jon Koncak scored 31, NC State's Lorenzo Charles had 33 and Duke's Johnny Dawkins scored 34 (research by Jody Zeugner, Tar Heel Sports Network).
• Carolina is shooting 76.0% from the free throw line, which is on pace for the fourth-highest percentage in school history. The opponents are making 74.3% from the line, currently the second highest ever by the opponents.
• RJ Davis (.942) and Cormac Ryan (.920) are shooting better than 90% from the free throw line. The UNC single-season record is .911 by Shammond Williams in 1997-98.
• Davis led the ACC in free throw shooting last season (.881).
• Carolina has 143 assists in its first 10 games. Last season, the Tar Heels had 112 assists in their first 10 games.
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