North Carolina Returns To Chapel Hill For Home Opener
After beginning the regular season on the road North Carolina returns to Chapel Hill for their home opener on Monday night when they host Stanford.
North Carolina who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the game with a record of 2-0 “according to https://goheels.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball while Stanford who is a member of the Pac -12 also comes into the game with a record of 2-0. “according to https://gostanford.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball
As for North Carolina’s previous game they beat Elon on Friday.
No. 8 North Carolina opened an in-state neighbor's arena by putting up some numbers that will be tough for other teams to surpass. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
The Tar Heels routed Elon 116-67 on Friday night behind 21 points apiece from Cameron Johnson and freshman Nassir Little. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
Freshman Coby White added 14 points to help the Tar Heels (2-0) sweep their two-game, season-opening barnstorming tour of regional mid-majors. They beat Wofford 78-67 on Tuesday night in Spartanburg, South Carolina, before having a much easier time against the Phoenix, who christened their new $40 million on-campus arena. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
The point total matched UNC's highest in 16 seasons under Roy Williams and was the program's most in a decade. North Carolina also scored 116 against UNC Asheville in 2008. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
"It was a nice night for us," Williams said. "It was a nice night, I hope, for Elon, except for the score."“according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
Little was 9 of 13 while Johnson finished 7 of 11. The Pittsburgh transfer has reached double figures in both games since having offseason hip surgery, and had 16 points in the first half. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
"I felt like I was in a good place against Wofford, and I felt like I was in a good place today in warm-ups, and that kind of carries on over to the court," Johnson said. "I'm not thinking about too much — just playing." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
Sterling Manley added 11 points and Luke Maye finished with 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which shot 52 percent — including 56 percent during a defense-optional first half that ended with the Tar Heels leading 63-45. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
They finished with a 60-31 rebounding edge and outscored Elon 56-22 in the paint, pushing their lead into the 20s for good on White's 3-pointer barely a minute into the second half and going up by 30 on Little's dunk with less than 14 minutes to play. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
Sheldon Eberhardt scored 16 points, Steven Santa Ana added 14 and Tyler Seibring finished with 10 for the Phoenix (1-1). They haven't beaten North Carolina since 1918 and remained winless against Top 25 opponents since moving to Division I in the late 1990s. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: Playing before a lively road crowd didn't rattle the Tar Heels' two highest-profile freshmen. White, who earned a second straight start at point guard, looked more comfortable than he did against Wofford, scoring in double figures for the first time. So did Little, who by far was the most athletic player on the court and scored 10 points during that high-scoring, tone-setting first half. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
Elon: Getting the Tar Heels to make the 35-mile trip west was a big deal for the Phoenix — the schools haven't played here since 1950. But they didn't have enough offensive firepower to handle an up-and-down game with a UNC team that went nearly a dozen men deep. That won't be as much of a problem once Elon gets into Colonial Athletic Association play. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
"We know in playing (Power) Five opponents, we have a chance to play against the best, but you may be exposed," coach Matt Matheny said. "You learn a lot from this experience. ... You take away as much as you possibly can. ... Tonight, when we didn't box out, we got exposed." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
KEY STAT
When Elon was shooting, North Carolina simply controlled the glass. The Tar Heels rebounded 36 of the Phoenix's missed shots to 10 offensive boards for Elon. UNC had 29 second-chance points to 10 for Elon. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
CAM'S BIG NIGHT
Only once as a Tar Heel has Johnson had a higher-scoring game: He had 32 in a January loss at Clemson. He did have three games with at least 21 points during his 2016-17 season at Pittsburgh. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
HE SAID IT
"He got over in front of our bench and wiped up the water, so I told him he got something accomplished tonight — he turned into a manager," Roy Williams, on Kenny Williams' shooting struggles. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-elon.aspx
As for Stanford’s previous game, they routed UNC Wilmington on the road on Friday.
Sophomore KZ Okpala had 23 points and Stanford scored 17 unanswered first-half points to take control and beat UNC Wilmington, 72-59, on Friday night, the first of two games in North Carolina amid a November full of cross-country flights. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
Cormac Ryan added 14 for the Cardinal (2-0), which traveled about 2,500 miles to become the first power-conference team to visit the Seahawks in nearly a decade. After traveling to No. 8 North Carolina to return a game after the Tar Heels visited them last year, the Cardinal will come home for one game, then head back east for the three-games-in-three-days Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas during the Thanksgiving holiday. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
Stanford trailed by eight midway through the first half but held the Seahawks (0-2) without a basket for the final 7½ minutes before halftime to take a 39-25 lead at the break. Stanford quickly pushed that margin to 18, and UNCW got no closer than eight again. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
Devontae Cacok and Jeantal Cylla each scored 14 for the Seahawks (0-2), who were hosting a power-conference opponent for the first time since losing to Wake Forest from the Atlantic Coast Conference in December 2009. There was a connection that helped get this one scheduled: the teams are coached by former Kansas teammates and North Carolina assistant coaches under Roy Williams in Haase and UNCW's C.B. McGrath. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
UNCW, from the Colonial Athletic Association, is slated to return the visit next season. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
"I'm appreciative of him coming on the road," McGrath said. "Not too many coaches at a (power-conference) school would do that. I really appreciate him bringing his team, letting the fans see what Stanford looks like, a Pac-12 school." according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
BIG PICTURE
Stanford: The November miles will add up quickly. Stanford head coach Jerod Haase will certainly learn a bit about his team's maturity in handling this opening stretch, as well as a nonconference schedule that includes a visit to top-ranked Kansas on Dec. 1. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
"I want to be part of the Atlantis tournament because it's a special deal," Haase said. "I want to go back and play at Kansas because it's a special deal. Now, as we've done that, we've created a schedule that's pretty insane — and probably a little more aggressive than I would like to, more travel that I would like. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
"But it's also part of the process right now. The guys have to learn how to play on the road." “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
UNCW struggled to take care of the basketball against Stanford's length, finishing with 20 turnovers that Stanford converted into 26 points. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
"It all comes down to having focus," Cacok said. "We've got to take care of the ball. When we have turnovers, we don't get shots up. When we don't get shots up, we don't score the ball." “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
OKPALA'S START
It was the second straight big game for the 6-foot-9 Okpala, who had a career-best 29 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists in the season-opening win against Seattle. He was also aggressive, getting to the foul line 11 times. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
"I'm just playing hard, just playing within myself," he said, "just executing what we're supposed to do." “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
THEFT
Stanford had 15 steals, its best total in any game since swiping 15 against Oregon State in January 2006. “according to https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/mens-basketball-cardinal-races-past-uncw.aspx?path=mbball
Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be televised on ESPN2. “according to https://goheels.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball