Category Archives: UNC Basketball

March Madness in October? Top programs using exhibitions to cash in and check team chemistry

March Madness in October? Top programs using exhibitions to cash in and check team chemistry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The last weekend of October now looks like the second week of March Madness even though the games don’t count. The NCAA recently changed rules to allow more exhibitions without requiring proceeds to go to charity. This has led to more high-profile matchups between top programs before the season officially starts. The games provide a chance to test chemistry with rosters being overhauled every season because of transfers. They also provide a new revenue source for cash-hungry schools sharing revenue with athletes.… Continue Reading

No. 6 Duke picked to win ACC again; NC State’s Darrion Williams named Preseason Player of the Year

No. 6 Duke picked to win ACC again; NC State’s Darrion Williams named Preseason Player of the Year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The No. 6 ranked Duke Blue Devils have been picked to repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference champions, despite losing Cooper Flagg and four other players to the NBA draft. Duke received 34 of 49 first-place votes from the media panel. Louisville, which lost to Duke in last season’s ACC championship game, received the other 15 first-place votes and was selected to finish second. N.C. State’s Darrion Williams has been named the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year. Williams was also named first-team All-ACC, along with Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who was named Preseason Rookie of the Year.… Continue Reading

The ACC has been going through a sideline overhaul. This year that includes 4 new head coaches

The ACC has been going through a sideline overhaul. This year that includes 4 new head coaches

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference’s multiyear coaching overhaul will include four new head coaches for the 2025-26 season. Those are Florida State’s Luke Loucks, Miami’s Jai Lucas, N.C. State’s Will Wade and Virginia’s Ryan Odom. The league has seen 14 of its 18 programs change coaches at least once going back to the 2020-21 season. Those losses include retiring Hall of Famers in North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. Loucks said during the ACC’s preseason media days that there’s “a new wave of youthfulness” among the new coaches coming into the league.… Continue Reading

UNC announces AD transition plan from Bubba Cunningham to RFK Racing president Steve Newmark in 2026

UNC announces AD transition plan from Bubba Cunningham to RFK Racing president Steve Newmark in 2026

North Carolina has announced its transition plan at athletic director from Bubba Cunningham to RFK Racing team president Steve Newmark for next summer. The school said Tuesday that Cunningham received a two-year contract extension and will serve as AD for the 2025-26 sports season. Newmark will report to him through the year as an executive associate AD working on “revenue-driving initiatives,” particularly related to the school’s football and men’s basketball programs. Then Newmark would take over as AD next summer. Cunningham has been the Tar Heels’ athletic director since 2011.… Continue Reading

Larry Miller, star on North Carolina’s ACC championship teams in 1967-68, dies at age 79

Larry Miller, star on North Carolina’s ACC championship teams in 1967-68, dies at age 79

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Larry Miller, a two-time ACC player of the year for North Carolina and 2022 inductee in the College Basketball Hall of Fame, has died. He was 79. The UNC athletic department says Miller died Sunday in Pennsylvania. No cause of death was given. An athletic department spokesman says Miller was in hospice care and had been dealing with medical issues for some time. Miller was a star forward on coach Dean Smith’s first two ACC championship and Final Four teams in 1967 and 1968. Miller played seven years in the ABA and set the league’s single-game record with 67 points.… Continue Reading

ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

The Atlantic Coast Conference is reducing its 20-game men’s basketball schedule to 18. That will give teams two more spots for marquee nonconference games in a bid to boost a league getting a dwindling haul of NCAA Tournament bids. That’s according to a person familiar with the decision. That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t formally announced the move. It comes after the league has spent the past two seasons examining how to improve its bid chances. The league had four this season for its lowest haul since 2013.… Continue Reading

Hearing begins for $2.8 billion NCAA settlement, could lock in seismic changes for college sports

Hearing begins for $2.8 billion NCAA settlement, could lock in seismic changes for college sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has opened the final hearing for a landmark $2.8 billion settlement that will impact every corner of college athletics by saying she will not be granting formal approval on Monday. The settlement calls for paying more than $2.7 billion in damages to athletes who say the NCAA and five biggest conferences prevented them from earning money off their celebrity status. It also would clear the way for each schools to begin sharing up to $20.5 million with their athletes.… Continue Reading

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi topped North Carolina 71-64 in the NCAA Tournament after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half. Ole Miss, the No. 6 seed in the South Region, will chase its first Sweet 16 berth since 2001 when it faces No. 3 seed Iowa State on Sunday. The Rebels are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. They hadn’t won an NCAA tourney game since beating BYU 94-90 in the First Four in 2015, and they hadn’t advanced beyond the round of 64 since 2013.… Continue Reading

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Tobacco Road is the center of the NCAA Tournament this week with three women’s first-round sites at Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State. There’s also the men’s first-round games being played at N.C. State as well. In all, there’s 21 men’s and women’s teams in the area for the games. No city comes close to that, including Los Angeles which has both UCLA and Southern Cal hosting first-round women’s sites. It’s the first time that there’s been so much basketball in one area at four different venues. The “Triangle” as its known, hosted three women’s first-round sites in 1998, but there was no men’s games in the area that year.… Continue Reading

Tar Heels and Rebels fighting for respect going into NCAA tourney matchup

Tar Heels and Rebels fighting for respect going into NCAA tourney matchup

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Seth Trimble and North Carolina face Jaemyn Brakefield and Mississippi in the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee. It’s a matchup of two motivated teams. North Carolina was a controversial selection when it received an at-large bid on Sunday. But the 11th-seeded Tar Heels posted a dominant 95-68 victory against San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday night. No. 6 seed Ole Miss also has faced criticism. Despite going 22-11, including a 10-8 record in the rugged SEC, a veteran college basketball analyst labeled Mississippi a “fraud” while predicting a first-round loss.… Continue Reading

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