Men's Basketball Visits NC State Sunday

GAME 27: at NC STATE
• The Tar Heels travel to Raleigh to play 23rd-ranked NC State on Sunday, February 19, at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
• Carolina is 16-10 overall, 8-7 and ninth in the ACC, while the Wolfpack is 20-7 overall, 10-6 and fifth in the ACC.
• Both teams are coming off losses. Miami defeated UNC, 80-72, in the Smith Center on February 13; the Pack lost, 75-72, at Syracuse a night later.
• Carolina defeated NC State, 80-69, in Chapel Hill on January 21 behind RJ Davis's 26 points and Armando Bacot's 23 points and 18 rebounds.
• The Tar Heels are 2-6 on the road this season, 2-5 in ACC play with wins at Louisville and Syracuse.
• The Wolfpack is 13-1 at the RBC Center this season with its lone loss against Pittsburgh on December 2.
• Jordan Miller and Nigel Pack combined for 47 points, Miami made 22 of 26 free throws and the Tar Heels converted just 5 of 31 three-point attempts in Miami's eight-point win Monday evening.
• RJ Davis (23) and Caleb Love (20) led the Tar Heels in scoring. Carolina shot 51.7% from the floor in the first half but made only one of their first 16 three-point attempts.
• The Canes broke open a one-point game with 17:15 to play with a 15-2 run.

UNC-NC STATE ALL-TIME
• Carolina is 164-79 all-time against NC State.
• The 164 wins are tied for the most wins by UNC against an opponent with Wake Forest.
• Carolina is 36-5 in the last 41 games and 53-12 over the last 31 seasons.
• The Tar Heels are 68-47 on the road vs. NC State, including 18-5 at PNC Arena.
• UNC's winning percentage vs. NC State at PNC Arena is the Tar Heels' highest (.783) vs. any ACC team in its home arena (second is .680 in the Tucker Center vs. Florida State and third is Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum at .667).
• Carolina is 22-5 in all games in PNC Arena (2-0 in NCAA Tournament play in both 2008 and 2016).
• The Tar Heels have won four in a row overall, including the most recent game in Raleigh, an 84-74 win on 2/26/2022.

THIS SEASON IN CHAPEL HILL (1/21/23)
UNC 80, NC STATE 69
• The Wolfpack led by eight midway through the first half but Carolina edged ahead, 34-33, at the half despite shooting just 32.1% from the floor.
• In the second half, UNC went 0 for 5 from three but converted 24 of 26 free throws and held NC State to 13 of 34 from the floor (0 for 9 from three).
• The Tar Heels never trailed by more than a point in the second half and went on an 18-7 run to pull ahead by double digits with 10:03 remaining.
• Senior forward Armando Bacot scored 23 points and had a game-high 18 rebounds to become UNC's career leader in rebounds (1,221) and double-doubles (61).
• Bacot tied the UNC record for most rebounds vs. NC State for the second time in as many games. Billy Cunningham had 18 on 1/13/1965 and Bacot had 18 in Raleigh on 2/26/2022.
• It was Bacot's fourth career double-double vs. NC State.
• Junior guard RJ Davis led all scorers with 26 points. Davis was 5 for 8 from the floor, 2 for 4 from three and a career-best 14 for 14 from the free throw line.
• Davis tied the third-most free throws without a miss in a game by a Tar Heel (York Larese was 21 for 21 vs. Duke on 12/19/1959, Phil Ford was 16 for 16 at NC State on 2/24/1976 and Davis is the third to make 14 for 14, joining Cole Anthony vs. Boston College on 2/1/2020 and Tyler Hansbrough vs. NC State on 1/7/2006).
• Davis became the first Tar Heel to score at least 24 points with fewer than nine field goal attempts.
• Junior guard Caleb Love made 9 of 10 from the line and scored 16 points. He was a game-high plus 17.
• Carolina set a school record for its highest free throw percentage in a game with at least 30 attempts. The Tar Heels made 36 of 39 for 92.3%. The previous high was 91.9% vs. Syracuse (34 of 37) on 2/26/2019.
• The Tar Heels committed a season-low seven turnovers.
• Carolina's bench scored a season-low one point (a free throw by Jalen Washington).
• Carolina was 20 for 54 from the floor, a percentage of .370 that was the lowest in a win this season (previous was .383 vs. Gardner-Webb).
• Carolina's 20 field goals equaled the fewest in a game that UNC scored 80 or more points (20 in a 1957 win over NC State and 20 in a 1995 win over Clemson. UNC made 43 free throws in the '57 game and 34 in the '95 game).
• The Tar Heels had only five assists on 20 baskets. No player had more than one assist.

LAST SEASON IN RALEIGH (2/26/2022)
UNC 84, @NC STATE 74
• Bacot had 28 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, becoming the first Tar Heel ever to compile at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a game.
• The Tar Heels shot 60.0% from the floor in the first half and 51.8% from the floor for the game.
• Carolina was 21 for 23 from the free throw line, a season-high 91.3%.
• Puff Johnson scored a career-high 16 points, including 12 in the second half.
• Caleb Love played the full 40 minutes for the second consecutive game, the first time a Tar Heel played the entire game in consecutive starts since Ed Cota against Missouri and Stanford in the 2000 NCAA first and second rounds.
• Carolina had 46 rebounds and out-rebounded the Pack by 21.
• Carolina never trailed and led for 39:45.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Carolina is second in the ACC in rebounding (39.3) and rebound margin (+4.6), third in scoring (78.2 ppg) and seventh in scoring margin (+5.7).
• The Tar Heels are 17th in the country in rebounds per game.
• The Tar Heels are 10th in the ACC in field goal percentage and seventh in FG defense.
• Carolina is 10th in the ACC in three-pointers per game (6.8), 15th in three-point shooting (.306) and ninth in three-point percentage defense (.338).
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels are the only team in the league shooting under 30% from three (.295).
• Carolina leads the ACC in free throws made (17.0) and attempted (23.2) per game.
• Carolina is the only team with three players in the top 10 in the ACC in scoring. Armando Bacot is fourth (career-high 17.4), Caleb Love is fifth (career-high 17.0) and RJ Davis is eighth (career-high 16.1).
• Bacot is the only player in the ACC in the top five as well as the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
• In ACC play, Bacot leads the league in rebounds and offensive rebounds, is second in field goal percentage and sixth in scoring.
• Bacot is third nationally in double-doubles (16), fourth in offensive rebounds and sixth in rebounds per game.
• Bacot's 23 rebounds vs. James Madison in November equal the third most in a game this season in the NCAA. Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 vs. Georgia and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis had 24 vs. Northwestern.
• Davis leads the ACC in free throw shooting at 87.2%. That is on pace to be the sixth-highest in UNC single-season history. The last Tar Heel to lead the ACC in free throw shooting was Joel Berry II (.893 in 2017-18).
• Davis is 36th in the country in FT%.
• Davis's 14 for 14 from the line against NC State equals the fourth best in a game this season in the NCAA.
• Leaky Black leads the ACC in steals in conference play with 2.0 per game (30 in 15 games).

KENPOM NOTES
• UNC and NC State are ranked No. 35 and No. 43, respectively.
• The Tar Heels are 34th in the nation in offensive efficiency (113.6 points per 100 possessions) and 49th in defensive efficiency (97.9).
• Carolina and Virginia are the only ACC teams in the top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
• Carolina is fifth in the ACC in offensive efficiency behind Miami, which is ninth nationally, Wake Forest (28th), Virginia Tech (29th) and Virginia (30th).
• The Tar Heels have committed the 13th-fewest turnovers per possession, but are 327th in the nation in forcing turnovers.
• The Tar Heels are 94th in two-point field goal percentage and 326th in three-point percentage.
• Carolina's non-conference schedule is the 16th-most difficult in the country (UNC was 8-3 in non-conference play this season).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (WINS & LOSSES)
• Carolina is averaging 82.5 points in its 16 wins and 71.3 (11.2 fewer) in the 10 losses.
• The opponents are scoring 77.1 points in their 10 wins and 69.6 in UNC's victories. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami are the three teams to score 80 or more points in regulation in beating Carolina (Alabama had 78 in the four-overtime win in November).
• Carolina is shooting 47.0% from the floor in the wins and 40.1% in its losses.
• The Tar Heels make 7.8 threes at 34.7% in the wins, but 5.4 threes at 24.0% in the losses.
• Carolina's best three-point percentage in a loss this season was 33.3% at Virginia (8 for 24).
• UNC is 39 for 166 (23.5%) from three-point range in its seven ACC losses.
• Carolina is 7-0 this season when shooting 35% or higher from three-point range with wins over Portland, The Citadel, Michigan, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Clemson.
• The Tar Heels are 9-10 when shooting under 35% from three.
• Carolina has a rebounding edge of 7.0 per game in the wins and 0.7 per game in the losses.
• The Tar Heels are a combined plus 58 in assists/turnovers in the wins and minus 19 in the losses.
• The opponents are a combined plus 23 assist/turnovers in UNC's losses and have 16 more turnovers than assists in Carolina's wins.
• UNC averages 14.1 assists in its wins and 9.4 in the losses.
• UNC has outscored the opponents, 250-181, in points off turnovers in the Tar Heels' 16 wins, including 24-10 vs. Charleston, 27-12 vs. Ohio State, 32-8 vs. Wake Forest, 23-8 at Louisville and 20-14 at Syracuse.
• The opponents have outscored the Tar Heels, 134-84, in points off turnovers in the losses. That includes a 15-point advantage by Iowa State, a seven-point edge by Alabama, a 17-4 advantage at Indiana, a 12-6 margin at Pittsburgh and 19-10 advantage by Virginia.
• Carolina is 9-2 in games when it has scored more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• The Tar Heels are 5-7 when the opponents score more points off turnovers (and 2-1 when even).
• The opponents have scored at least 40 paint points four times in the UNC losses, including 40 by Alabama, 50 by Indiana, 42 by Virginia Tech and 42 at Pittsburgh.
• Carolina is 10-5 when it scores more paint points and 5-5 when the opponents have more.
• Carolina is 6-2 this season when holding the opponents to fewer than 30 paint points (only losses to Iowa State and to Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill).
• Carolina has scored 80 or more points 13 times. The Tar Heels are 11-2 in those games, losing 103-101 in four overtimes vs. Alabama (scored 77 in the regulation) and 92-85 at Wake Forest.
• The Tar Heels have averaged 65.9 points in the other eight losses with a high of 74 at Pittsburgh.
• Bacot is averaging 19.3 points in the wins and 13.9 in the losses. However, Bacot only played 1:18 in the loss at Virginia (and did not play at Virginia Tech). He is averaging 15.6 in the eight losses other than Virginia.
• Caleb Love is shooting 40.8% from the floor, including 30.9% from three, and has 53 assists/35 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, Love is shooting 36% from the floor (29.6% from three) and has 22 assists/25 turnovers).
• RJ Davis is averaging 16.6 points, is shooting 47.2% from the floor (42.2% from three) and has 60 assists/29 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, he is averaging 15.3 points, is shooting 37.5% from the floor (21.6% from three) and has 27 assists/22 turnovers.
• Pete Nance is shooting 45% from the floor (37.8% from three) in the wins and 39.2% from the floor (17.1% from three) in the losses. Nance is 33 for 39 (.846) from the free throw line in the wins and 16 for 24 in the losses (.667).

MISCELLANEOUS
• Carolina's 10 losses are against teams with a combined record of 167-64 (.723) through 2/16/23 (Alabama 22-4, Virginia 20-4, Miami 21-5, Pittsburgh 19-7, Indiana 18-8, Duke 18-8, Iowa State 17-8, Wake Forest 17-9 and Virginia Tech 15-11).
• Every team that has beaten Carolina has a winning record and three already have 20 wins (prior to Saturday's games).
• Carolina's three-point percentage (.306) is 326th in the country and the second-lowest in school history (.304 in 2019-20).
• Armando Bacot (19), RJ Davis (17) and Caleb Love (23) combined to score 59 points in Carolina's 91-71 win over Clemson. That was the sixth-most points the trio has combined to score this season and the second-most in an ACC game. They combined for 73 in the four-overtime loss to Alabama (15 of their 73 came in the 20 minutes of extra time). The Tar Heels are 5-0 the other five times Bacot, Davis and Love have combined for 59 or more points – 71 in an OT win over Ohio State, 69 vs. Michigan, 65 vs. NC State, 64 vs. Charleston and 59 vs. Clemson.
• Bacot, Davis and Love are on pace to be the first trio of Tar Heels to average 16 points in a season since Walter Davis, Phil Ford and Mitch Kupchak accomplished that in both 1974-75 and 1975-76.
• Bacot is 22nd in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and averages 5.4 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. Puff Johnson is second on the team with 2.7 per 40.
• Love made 7 of 12 field goals vs. Clemson (6 of 9 from three). The Tar Heels are 5-1 this season and 16-3 in his career when Love shoots 50% or higher from the floor.
• Love was 7 for 19 from the floor (.368) vs. Miami. Carolina is 7-8 this season and 32-25 in his career when he makes under 40% of his field goal attempts.
• Love also had four assists and only one turnover in the win over Clemson. The Tar Heels are 10-2 this season and 38-12 in three seasons when Love has more assists than turnovers.
• Love has scored 20-plus points in each of the previous three games, the first time in his career he has scored 20 in three games in a row.
• Bacot leads Carolina in scoring (career-high 17.4 ppg), rebounding (11.0 rpg), offensive rebounding (career-high 4.3), blocks (27) and field goal percentage (.570). Last season, he became the first Tar Heel ever to lead UNC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots in consecutive seasons, and he is on pace to accomplish that again this season.
• The last player to lead the Tar Heels in scoring and rebounding in three straight seasons was Tyler Hansbrough, who is the only Tar Heel to do accomplish that in four consecutive seasons (2006-07-08-09).
• Bacot is one of three Tar Heels with 1,700 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 150 blocks with Sam Perkins and Brice Johnson (block totals are unknown for Billy Cunningham).

TAR HEELS W/1,700 POINTS/1,000 REBOUNDS/150 BLOCKS
Sam Perkins, 1980-84 (2,145/1,168/245)
Brice Johnson, 2012-16 (1,716/1,035/163)
Armando Bacot, 2019- (1,734/1,276/154)

• Carolina is 12-2 this season and 33-9 in his career when Bacot attempts more than six free throws in a game. The Tar Heels are 4-7 this season and 43-40 over the last four seasons when he attempts six or fewer.
• Bacot and Davis share the team lead in plus/minus at plus 162.
• Bacot has led UNC in plus/minus eight times. Pete Nance is second with five.
• Puff Johnson led UNC in plus/minus at Wake Forest at plus 4. It was the second time this season (Alabama) he came off the bench and led UNC in plus/minus. Non-starters have led UNC six times, including Johnson twice, Tyler Nickel at Virginia Tech, Seth Trimble vs. Wake Forest, Jalen Washington at Virginia and D'Marco Dunn at Louisville.
• Johnson leads the non-starters in plus/minus at plus 49. Dunn is next at plus 46. Johnson has a positive plus/minus in eight of his last 10 appearances.
• Dunn came off the bench at Louisville to tie for the team lead in scoring with a career-high 14 points. He also set career highs that day in minutes (25:56), points, field goals (5), three-pointers (2), offensive rebounds (2), rebounds (5), steals (2) and plus/minus (+25).
• Carolina's bench has outscored the opponents six times this season (16-12 in the loss at Virginia Tech, 42-18 vs. The Citadel, 10-9 in the loss at Pittsburgh, 22-12 vs. Notre Dame, 26-10 at Louisville and 25-22 vs. Clemson).
• The opponents are averaging 5.1 more bench points per game. The UNC bench combined for 25 points vs. Clemson, which was its highest point production since it scored 26 at Louisville on January 14.
• The 25 bench points vs. the Tigers were the third most in a game this season (42 vs. The Citadel and 26 at Louisville).
• Freshman Tyler Nickel's 16 points vs. The Citadel were his season high and the most by a Tar Heel non-starter this season. They were the most by a Tar Heel non-starter (in a non-Senior Day game) since Johnson had 16 in the win at NC State last February.

RECORD BOOK UPDATES
• Carolina has an NCAA-record 81 1,000-point scorers, including Caleb Love, Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. Bacot scored his 1,000th point last year in Chapel Hill vs. NC State, Love vs. Portland in November and Davis in January at home vs. Wake Forest.
• Bacot is 17th in scoring at UNC with 1,734 points. He needs 14 points to pass George Lynch for 16th place.
• Bacot has 10 or more rebounds in a UNC-record 72 games. He passed Billy Cunningham, who had 61 in three seasons from 1962-65.
• Bacot is Carolina's all-time leader in rebounds (1,284) and double-doubles (65), is second in offensive rebounds per game (3.59), second in offensive rebounds (449) and sixth in rebounds per game (10.2). He is one of eight Tar Heels to average a career double-double (13.9/10.2).
• Sean May and Bacot are the only Tar Heels to average career double-doubles in the last 50 years.
• Bacot has 65 double-doubles in 125 games (double-doubles in 52.0% of his games). Only Cunningham (87.0%) recorded double-doubles in a higher percentage of games by a Tar Heel.
• Bacot set UNC single-season records last year with 511 rebounds, 31 double-doubles, five 20-rebound games (tied), 32 games with 10 or more rebounds, rebounds in an NCAA Tournament and rebounds by a Tar Heel in the Elite 8, national semifinal and championship games.
• Bacot became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one year and tied the NCAA single-season record for double-doubles with 31 (Navy's David Robinson also had 31 in 1985-86).
• Bacot grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in UNC's 80-64 win over previously unbeaten James Madison on November 20.
• Bacot is ninth in UNC history in free throw attempts and 10th in free throws made (425 for 643).

• RJ Davis is tied for fourth and Caleb Love is 17th all-time at UNC in free throw percentage.

• Love made at least one three-pointer in a UNC-record 45 consecutive games, a streak that began last season and ended at Louisville on January 14. He broke Marcus Paige's previous mark of 41.
• Last season, Love made 40 consecutive free throws, the second-longest streak in school history (one off the record by Jeff Lebo).
• Love has attempted 577 three-pointers, which is tied for fourth all-time with Wayne Ellington, and is 12th in made threes with 185. He passed Danny Green for made threes in the Miami game.
• Love has made a three in 80 of 94 career games.
• Love is one of five Tar Heels with 1,300 points, 300 assists and 175 three-pointers (also Joel Berry II, Jeff Lebo, Marcus Paige and Shammond Williams).
• Love is two steals from 100. Berry, Lebo and Paige are among that same group who also had 100 steals.

• Leaky Black has played in 148 games in five seasons. He is tied with Brice Johnson for the fourth-most games by a Tar Heel, and is on pace to break Deon Thompson's school record for games played (152).
• Black is one of two current Tar Heels to start at least 100 career games. Bacot has made 124 starts and Black has 123. Pete Nance has made 98 career starts.

BACOT: SIX-TIME ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Bacot has earned three ACC Player-of-the-Week awards this season.
• Bacot has won ACC Player of the Week six times in his career (all in the last two seasons), which equals Phil Ford for the third most all-time by a Tar Heel.
• Antawn Jamison (ACC-record 12) and Tyler Hansbrough (11) are the only Tar Heels to have won the award more than Bacot.
• Bacot's ACC Player-of-the-Week honors this season were a product of his performances against The Citadel and Ohio State in December, Wake Forest and Notre Dame games in early January and Boston College and NC State games in mid January.

NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed two players to National Letters of Intent in November 2022.
• Zayden High, a 6-10 forward from San Antonio, Texas. High attends AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., where he plays for Coach Ed Gipson.
• Simeon Wilcher, a 6-5 guard from Plainfield, N.J. Wilcher plays for Coach Dave Boff at Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J.

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Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Puff Johnson

Caleb Love

Pete Nance

Tyler Nickel

Seth Trimble

Jalen Washington