North Carolina Takes On UCLA In The Las Vegas Invitational

After losing to Texas in the Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday North Carolina will take on UCLA who lost to Michigan State on Thursday at the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday afternoon.

North Carolina who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked seventh in this AP Top 25 poll comes into the game with a record of 5-1 while UCLA who is a member of the Pac -12 conference is ranked seventeenth in this weeks AP Top 25 poll comes into the game with a record of 4-1.

As for North Carolina’s previous game, they lost to Texas at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Kerwin Roach II blended aggression and good decision making, just how coach Shaka Smart drew it up.
Roach scored a career-best 32 points and helped Texas hold off a late charge to beat No. 7 North Carolina 92-89 on Thursday and advance to the final of the Las Vegas Invitational. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

"I just played the game the right way and didn't want to force anything," said Roach, who also had seven assists and six steals. "(My teammates) did a nice job creating shots. We have a blue-collar team. We have to fight to win. Last year when we lost a game to Duke like this, it was tears of sadness. Tonight, there are tears of happiness." according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

Texas (5-0) plays in the championship game Friday against the winner of Thursday's nightcap between No. 11 Michigan State and No. 17 UCLA. North Carolina plays the loser. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

Roach also had six rebounds and was 12 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 3 from deep. The senior topped his previous best of 26 points with an emphatic dunk with 8:27 left for a 73-65 lead. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

"The best thing about him tonight was he really took the right shots and made the right reads," Smart said. "He really got us going after a slow start. They were coming at us. They're not going to stop shooting lights out unless we make them." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

Roach and North Carolina freshman Coby White went back and forth all game. White had 33 points, but he missed a 3-pointer that would have put the Tar Heels (5-1) ahead with 1:01 left. He was 7 of 10 from 3-point range. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

White had the most points by a UNC freshman since Harrison Barnes' 40 in 2011 against Clemson at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Matt Coleman III had 16 points for Texas, and Jaxson Hayes had 15 points and nine rebounds. Dylan Osetkowski had 14 points, including a buzzer-beating 3 that put Texas up 43-42 at halftime. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

"Our guys did a nice job managing the game against their trap defense," Smart said. "I told the guys at halftime, we have to be the more blue-collar team. We have to be gritty. It's not going to be beautiful basketball out there. We have to find a way to go and get those loose balls." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

Cameron Johnson had 16 points for the Tar Heels. Luke Maye had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Nassir Little had 11 points and six rebounds. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

"In the first half, we took four free throws and we started taking 3-point shots and threw the ball out of bounds," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "In the second half, I think our guys competed much harder." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

The Longhorns pulled away after halftime and led by 11 with 11:08 left. North Carolina responded by cutting it 80-78 with 5:44 left. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx

As for UCLA’s previous game, they lost to Michigan State in the Las Vegas Invitational.

– Kris Wilkes scored 15 points and Moses Brown had 10 rebounds as No. 17 UCLA lost to No. 11 Michigan State, 87-67, in a semifinal game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational at Orleans Arena on Thursday night. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Wilkes was one of four UCLA players to score in double figures. Chris Smith had 11 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench. Jaylen Hands had 11 points and Cody Riley finished with 10. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
UCLA (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season, after having trailed at halftime by a 51-26 margin.”according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Michigan State (4-1) won its fourth consecutive contest and received a game-high 19 points and seven assists from Cassius Winston. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Winston, who had 15 of his 19 points in the first half, was one of four Spartans to finish Thursday's game with at least 10 points. In addition, Kenny Goins tallied six points and a team-leading 13 rebounds. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Trailing by as many as 29 points with under two minutes to play in the first half, the Bruins reduced Michigan State's margin to 17 points – at 61-44 – with over 12 minutes left in regulation. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Midway through the first half, Michigan State opened up a 21-7 lead. After taking a 9-7 advantage just four minutes into the game, the Spartans used a 12-0 scoring run to secure a 21-7 cushion. Michigan State pushed its lead to 33-15 at the 7:03 mark, before entering the locker room at intermission with a 25-point advantage. “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
In the first half, Michigan State shot 60 percent from the field, making 18 of 30 shots. The Spartans connected on 10 of 17 attempts from three-point range in the opening half (58.8 percent). “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx
 
Overall, the Bruins shot 35.6 percent from the field. Michigan State finished the game having shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62). “according to https://uclabruins.com/news/2018/11/23/mens-basketball-no-17-ucla-falls-to-no-11-michigan-state-87-67.aspx

Tip-off is set for 4:00pm from Orleans Arena. The game will be televised on Fox. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/11/22/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-texas.aspx