Three UNC Recruits Headline 2012 Jordan Brand Classic

The Jordan Brand Classic is gaining popularity every single year. Some even favor it over the McDonalds All-American Game.

This season three of North Carolinas four recruits for 2012 were named to the roster today. Those three Tar Heel recruits join 17 of the top High School recruits in the country. The game is scheduled to be played on April 14th in Charlotte, NC.

The Tar Heels top recruit and #1 point guard in the nation, Marcus Paige from Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) headlines the Tar Heels recruiting class thats expected to reload after this season. He’s excited to play in the game which is expected to be a heavy North Carolina crowd.

“I know that a lot of fans will be there and we want to put on a show for them,” said Paige, to ESPN.com ”It’s such an honor to be in this game. I’m really excited to be a part of this.”

Joining him in the game is forward J.P Tokoto (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin)  and guard Brice Johnson (Cordova, SC).

Tokoto and Johnson were both designated to the East team, while Paige was designated to the West team.

The last UNC player to play in the Jordan Brand Classic was star Harrison Barnes in 2010. Barnes led the West in a 129-125 win, as he won the games MVP. Barnes had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

North Carolina @ Wake Forest Preview

North Carolina returns to action tonight looking for their fourth straight win in ACC play since losing to Florida State on January 14th. Since that loss, the Tar Heels have cruised to victories over Virginia Tech, NC State and Georgia Tech.

The Tar Heels are in a three-way tie atop the ACC with Duke and Florida State. They lost their only meeting against Florida State, but have two meetings left with rival Duke.

Tonight the Tar Heels look to take advantage of a struggling Wake Forest who has lost two in a row, and is just 2-5 in ACC play this season.

The Demon Deacons have struggled all season, they are averaging 59.7 points per game and shooting just 40% from the field. Going against a stingy Tar Heels defense isn’t what the doctor necessarily ordered.

Reggie Bullock has taken over for injured guard Dexter Strickland and has played very well in his first two games as a starter. Bullock gives the Tar Heels offense a legit three-point threat.

The Tar Heels offense is starting to heat up a bit, lead by star Harrison Barnes. Barnes is second in the ACC in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game.

Not far behind him are teammates Tyler Zeller and John Henson who are averaging 14.8 and 14.2 per game. The three lead a potent offensive attack that gives fits to opposing defenses. Carolina looks to continue their momentum and winning ways in quest for a National Championship.

On an interesting note, the Tar Heels have lost to the Demon Deacons in the past three seasons that they have won the National Championship.

Tar Heels cruise to victory over Wolf Pack

 

The North Carolina domination continues.

Well at least in the UNC-NC State rivalry. North Carolina won their 11th in a row against in-state rival North Carolina State. It wasn’t even close.

UNC was provided bulletin board material before the game. The Chapel Hill sign outside of campus was splattered in red paint by NC State fans.

When the game ended, all NC State saw was Carolina Blue.

The Tar Heels dominated early and often, and never looked back. Led by Tyler Zellers career high 17 rebounds the Tar Heels improved to 17-3 and 4-1 in conference play this season. Zeller led all scorers with 21 points and had a double-double at halftime.

There was a great buzz coming into the game, mainly because NC State had played well the past few games. That buzz surely died quickly when North Carolina jumped out to a 37-23 halftime lead.

North Carolina just kept pouring it on, leading my 31 in the second half.

Reggie Bullock got his first start tonight as he took over for injured Dexter Strickland. Bullock was efficient with 11 points.  He was 4 of 9, including 3-5 from 3-point range.

Harrison Barnes finished with 15 points and the Tar Heels shot 48% from the field.

The Wolf Pack on the other hand struggled and shot just 37%, which is by far their worst of the season. They entered the game shooting 48% and averaging 77 points per game.

With the loss, the Wolf Pack fall to 15-6 and 4-2 in conference play.

North Carolina will host Georgia Tech Sunday night at 6pm EST, they are now in a tie for first place a top the ACC with Duke and Florida State. They also improve to 13-0 at home this season.

Tar Heels look to continue winning ways at home

The North Carolina-North Carolina State rivalry has a long history to it.

Lately the history has been dominated by the Tar Heels who have won 16 of the last 17 games, and hold a 10 game win streak over the Wolf Pack.

This season however the Wolf Pack have played well holding a 15-5 overall record and an impressive 4-1 record in ACC play. This will be their toughest test of the year especially going into the Dean Dome.

North Carolina is a perfect 12-0 at home this season, including a 3-0 record at home in ACC. Tonight might be one of their biggest tests at home so far.

The Tar Heels will look to get out to a fast start and control the tempo of the game early. Everyone knows the Heels love to run the floor and punish their opponents on fast breaks. So far this season they have done a good job of that. They will be one starter down as they lost guard Dexter Strickland for the season in a win against Virginia Tech last week.

Coach Roy Williams was given a whole week to work with his lineup because of the week off for the Tar Heels. Sophomore Reggie Bullock and freshman P.J Hairston will look to fill the production that was lost when Strickland went down.

Bullock will get his first start tonight against NC State.  Bullock is averaging 8.4 points per game this season.

After an embarrassing loss at Florida State, North Carolina bounced back at Virginia Tech using a strong second half to earn the win.

That second half was the best the teams played all season long according to coach Williams. He hopes team picks up right where they left off.

North Carolina State Senior Scott Wood is coming off a season best 21 point game against Miami in the Wolf Packs 78-73 win. However, he’s struggled in the past few meetings against the Tar Heels.

After three straight wins, a win at North Carolina would be a huge confidence builder for the Wolf Pack.

The Wolfpack are looking for their fifth win in conference play this season. They had just five wins total in conference play last season.