NC State Returns To Raleigh To Host North Carolina
On Tuesday fifteenth ranked NC State will welcome tobacco road rival and twelfth ranked North Carolina to North Carolina’s state capital.
NC State comes into the game with a record of 13-1 while North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 11-3.
As for NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener, they won on the road at Miami.
NC State men's basketball team defeated Miami, 87-82, Thursday evening inside the Watsco Center in both teams' ACC opener. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
With the win, NC State improves to 13-1, 1-0 in the ACC. The Pack is now off to the best start for the program since the 1973-74 team went 30-1 and won the National Championship. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
The Pack faced its largest deficit of the season Thursday evening, trailing the Hurricanes by as many as 10 points in the second half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
With 9:53 to play, Miami led 74-64, but the Pack went on a 13-0 run to take the lead and never trailed again. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Braxton Beverly started the rally with a three-pointer and on the next possession Torin Dorn completed a three-point play to help the Pack close within four, 74-70, with 8:23 to go. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
After another defensive stop, Markell Johnson buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to bring the deficit to just one point at the under-eight media timeout. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Out of the timeout, NC State forced another defensive stop and then Devon Daniels gave the Pack its first lead of the second half with a short jumper in the lane with 6:35 to play. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
DJ Funderburk would add a short jumper two possessions later to give the Pack a 77-74 lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Miami would cut the deficit to one at 77-76, but NC State scored eight of the game's next 10 points to take an 85-78 lead with 18 seconds to go. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Overall, the Pack held Miami to eight points on 3-of-14 shooting in the final 9:53 of the game. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Johnson led the Pack with 20 points. The Cleveland, Ohio, native scored 17 of his points in the second half. He was 5-for-6 shooting in the second half, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. He also hit four consecutive free throws, all on 1-and-1 opportunities in the final minute of the game. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Daniels added 19 points for the Pack. The sophomore guard was 7-of-10 shooting and added a key block in the final minute to keep Miami at bay.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Braxton Beverly (11 points) and CJ Bryce (10 points) also reached double figures for the Pack. Wyatt Walker finished one point short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
NC State won the battle on the boards, 51-29, over Miami and also hit 14-of-18 free throws compared to 16-of-29 for the Hurricanes. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
The Pack was fouled on three consecutive one-and-one opportunities in the final minute and went 6-for-6 from the foul line. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/3/mens-basketball-pack-battles-back-to-defeat-hurricanes-in-acc-opener.aspx
Like NC State, North Carolina won their league opener as they won at Pittsburgh. .
North Carolina forward Cameron Johnson knew the boos were coming. Expected them actually. It's part of the deal when you leave one school for another. So when the Pittsburgh's "Oakland Zoo" student section politely let the former Panther have it during pregame introductions on Saturday, he took it as a bit of a compliment. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
"No hard feelings on my end," Johnson said with a shrug. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Besides, the boos faded quickly. Johnson helped make sure of it, hitting his first three shots on his way to 15 points and nine rebounds as the 15th-ranked Tar Heels opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a lopsided 85-60 victory. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Johnson grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs and spent three seasons at Pitt. He graduated in the spring of 2017 and asked for his release. The Panthers initially balked at Johnson transferring to a conference rival but gave in after Johnson went public with the request. Johnson is flourishing for the Tar Heels, where he's evolved into more than a 6-foot-8 spot-up shooter. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
He provided the proof in front of 25 friends and family, many of whom rose out of their seats behind the North Carolina bench each time he touched the ball. The signature play came at the end of the first half when teammate Leaky Black chased down a Pitt miss and found Johnson, who took two dribbles to midcourt and hit a streaking Coby White for a layup at the buzzer. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
"I just feel like I'm a little better overall physically, a little more fine-tuned," Johnson said. "As I keep getting older, I keep getting a little better and more experienced, so I feel like that's all added up for me." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
White led the Tar Heels with 22 points, Luke Maye added 17 points and 11 rebounds and North Carolina used a 16-0 run in the first half to subdue the first sellout crowd at the Petersen Events Center in nearly two years. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
"I just think we locked down on defense," White said. "We got out in transition and we ran our sets and we just played harder and with a lot of effort."
Something that has been spotty at best during North Carolina's uneven nonconference season. Yet the Tar Heels had little trouble against the young and undersized Panthers (10-4, 0-1), who are in the midst of a massive rebuild under first-year coach Jeff Capel. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Trey McGowens scored 17 points and fellow freshman Xavier Johnson chipped in 14 for the Panthers, who lost their 23rd straight regular-season ACC game. The Panthers shot just 31 percent (19 of 62) from the field and struggled to get into any kind of rhythm. Pitt turned it over 15 times, made only 2 of 19 3-pointers and couldn't keep up once the adrenaline wore off. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
"We have to work a lot harder to get better, that's the thing," Capel said. "What we did in the nonconference was good for the nonconference. We have to play good consistently, not just for a 12-minute period. Have to do it for an extended period for us to win in this league." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Reality hit the Panthers about halfway through the first half. Au'Diese Toney's tip-in for Pitt trimmed North Carolina's lead to 15-14 with 11:58 to go before the break, but the Panthers wouldn't make another shot for more than 10 minutes. By the time McGowens ended the Panthers' dry spell with a 3-pointer, North Carolina led by 21. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
"They hit us in the mouth and we never fought back, we never hit back (during that) stretch they took the lead," Pitt's Malik Ellison said. "We let missing shots affect our defense and we can't let that happen." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels can be hit or miss with their defensive intensity but overwhelmed the Panthers once the early adrenaline wore off. The Tar Heels will need to muster it more often against better opponents. "I liked our poise because the crowd really did get into it early," coach Roy Williams said. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Pitt: Even with large swaths of light blue in the arena, that the Panthers were able to fill The Pete offers tangible proof of the optimism Capel has brought to the table in his first few months on the job. Turning that optimism into ACC wins, however, is another matter. The Panthers played hard but their offensive weaknesses and lack of size were exploited at will by the bigger, deeper and more talented Tar Heels. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/1/5/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-pitt.aspx
Tip-off is set for 9:00pm from PNC Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.