North Carolina To Host Gonzaga Saturday
North Carolina will return to the hardwood on Saturday night in Chapel Hill where they will host Gonzaga who dropped to number four in the AP Top 25 poll this week after suffering their first loss of the season.
North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 7-2 while Gonzaga comes into the game with a record of 9-1.
As for North Carolina’s previous game, They defeated UNC Wilmington on Wednesday December 5th.
Cameron Johnson scored 21 points to help No. 14 North Carolina beat UNC Wilmington 97-69 on Wednesday night. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
Freshman forward Nassir Little added 14 points in the Tar Heels' first game since losing at No. 5 Michigan last week. North Carolina (7-2) led 44-35 at halftime but went on a 30-3 run to blow this one open and finish the game shooting 49 percent. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
Junior guard Seventh Woods had seven points and three assists while starting at the point with Coby White sitting due to a sore ankle. Kenny Williams had a solid all-around floor game with 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
Jeantal Cylla had 16 points to lead UNC Wilmington, coached by former UNC assistant C.B. McGrath. The Seahawks (4-6) trailed just 44-39 early in the second half before the shots stopped falling and the Tar Heels got loose in transition to turn the game into a rout.”according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
BIG PICTURE
UNC Wilmington: Things haven't been easy in either of the Seahawks' games against power-conference opponents this season. They lost Nov. 9 at home against Stanford, and that game got away when they went the last 7½ minutes before halftime without a basket. They hung with the Tar Heels for a half despite shooting just 39 percent before hitting a similar drought, this time nearly seven second-half minutes. And turnovers were again a problem, with the Seahawks committing 25 that led to 34 points for the Tar Heels after watching the Cardinal score 28 points off 20 turnovers last month. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
North Carolina: Last week's loss at Michigan left Roy Williams fuming and saying he wasn't doing a good enough job coaching this group to play its best. The good news for Williams? The Tar Heels play just four games in December — their fewest since the 1961-62 season under a first-year coach named Dean Smith — so Williams will have plenty of time to orchestrate practices and massage the flaws out of his team. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/12/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-down-uncw.aspx
As for Gonzaga’s previous game, Unlike North Carolina who won their previous game Gonzaga suffered their first loss of the season to Tennessee.
The No. 1/1 Gonzaga men's basketball team lost its first game of the season, 76-73, to No. 7/7 Tennessee in the first Jerry Colangelo Classic Sunday. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Admiral Schofield hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Tennessee (7-1) jumped on Gonzaga early and fought back from a nine-point, second-half deficit. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Reigning SEC player of the year Grant Williams fouled out with 2:30 left, but the Vols went up two when Schofield banked in a 3-pointer with 80 seconds left. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
After Rui Hachimura tied it with two free throws, Schofield hit a long 3 and Tennessee held on for its first win over a No. 1 team — fifth overall — since beating Kansas in 2010. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
"We knew it would have a March kind of feel to it," said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who moved into a tie with Gary Williams for 25th in Division I with 668 victories. "When you play against a No. 1 team, you're going to play 40 minutes and we probably did that better today that we had any other game this season." “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Hachimura and Brandon Clarke had 21 points each for the Bulldogs (9-1). “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
"It was heck of a basketball game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "We just ended up on the short end. They made the plays down the stretch and we didn't." “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
The Zags passed every previous test despite playing without injured forward Killian Tillie. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Gonzaga blew out Texas A&M in Spokane, then knocked off Illinois, Arizona and then-top-ranked Duke to win the Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs beat Washington in their last game on Hachimura's last-second jumper. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Tennessee, a popular preseason Final Four pick, took No. 2 Kansas to overtime before losing and beat Louisville by 11 in its closest win of the season. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Hachimura had no trouble against one of the nation's best defensive frontcourts, effectively using his mid-range jumper to score 14 points by halftime.”according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Williams had 12 and the Vols led 34-33 after Jordan Bowden hit a last-second jumper. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Schofield brought the Vols back, tying it at 68 with a 3-pointer from the wing with just over three minutes left. He kept pouring in big shots, leading the Vols to a win over the nation's top-ranked team and, most likely, a climb in the AP Top 25. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
"That's easily the most physical team we've played so far," Few said. "We did fairly well." “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
CLARKE'S BIG BLOCK
Clarke had one of the best blocked shots of the early college basketball season early in the second half, swatting Yves Pons' two-handed dunk attempt like a volleyball spike. The block drew a roar from the crowd and oohs and aahs even on the replay. “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
"Blocking shots and dunking are definitely the most fun things for me on the basketball court," said Clarke, who grew up in Phoenix. "It's always fun to jump at another player who's super bouncy." “according to https://gozags.com/news/2018/12/9/mens-basketball-mbb-falls-in-phoenix-to-no-7-7-tennessee-76-73.aspx
Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be televised on ESPN2.