• Carolina (9-6, 2-1 ACC) plays host to SMU (11-3, 2-1 ACC) on Tuesday, January 7, in a 9 p.m. start at the Smith Center on ACC Network.
• It is the fourth time ever the Tar Heels are playing the Mustangs, and the first time in an ACC contest.
• Elliot Cadeau’s four-point play, Carolina’s first in four seasons, gave the Tar Heels a 74-73 win at Notre Dame on Saturday.
• The Tar Heels led by double digits in both halves, but fell behind by as many as four points after the Irish went on a 12-0 run. Cadeau scored Carolina’s final six points in the last 22 seconds, including a three-pointer and free throw with 4.8 seconds to play.
• For the second time in four games (UCLA), Cadeau then defended the paint on a last-second shot to preserve the victory.
• Ian Jackson led all scorers with a season-best 27 points, becoming the first Tar Heel freshman ever to score 23 or more points in four consecutive games.
• RJ Davis didn’t make a three or score in double figures for the first time this season but delivered a season-high seven assists and passed Armando Bacot for second all-time in UNC scoring and ninth in ACC history.UNC-SMU
• Carolina is 2-1 all-time vs. the Mustangs with wins in Dallas at Reunion Arena in 1986 and the Smith Center in 1987.
• This is the first time the teams have played since a 90-74 Tar Heel victory in Chapel Hill on 12/12/1987. J.R. Reid led all scorers with 21 points, one of four Tar Heels to score in double figures.
• Assistant coach Jeff Lebo played in both of Carolina’s wins vs. the Mustangs. He had 10 points in the win at home and he led the Tar Heels with 22 points in the 88-86 win in Dallas his sophomore season. He was 6 for 12 from three-point range in the win in Texas.
• SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart is a Carolina alum and former member of the athletic department staff. He is in his 13th year as the Mustangs’ AD.
• The Tar Heels will be playing all three of the newest members of the ACC in a 12-day span over the next four games. Following the SMU game, Carolina plays at NC State on Saturday before hosting Cal (January 15) and Stanford (January 18) next week in the Smith Center.NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed Isaiah Denis of Concord, N.C., and Derek Dixon of Vienna, Va.
• Denis is a 6-5 guard at Davidson Day High School in Davidson, N.C. His parents are Nancy Denis and Frantz Denis, and he plays AAU for CP3.
• Dixon, the son of John and Kari Dixon, is a 6-3 guard at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He also plays AAU for Team Takeover.SMITH CENTER
• This is the 40th season the Tar Heels are playing in the Dean E. Smith Center.
• Carolina is 5-1 in the Smith Center this season and 482-88 (.845) all-time.
• The Tar Heels are 250-69 against ACC opponents in the Smith Center, including a win over Georgia Tech to begin league play on December 7.MORE MILESTONES FOR RJ
• RJ Davis is the second-leading scorer in Carolina’s illustrious history with 2,353 points. He passed Armando Bacot, who also played in five seasons, for second place in the Notre Dame game, when he scored eight points.
• He broke the UNC career record for three-pointers (304) on December 29 and has the highest free throw percentage ever by a Tar Heel (85.9%).
• Davis’ 29-point outing vs. Florida on December 17 made him the highest scoring guard in Carolina history, eclipsing the mark held by Phil Ford.
• Davis’ career scoring average is 15.4, the eighth-highest by a Tar Heel guard.
• Last year, Davis became the 19th Tar Heel to earn consensus first-team All-America honors. Those 19 players have won consensus first-team All-America honors a total of 28 times.
• Davis joined Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957, Phil Ford in 1978, Michael Jordan in 1983 and 1984, Kenny Smith in 1987, Jerry Stackhouse in 1995, Antawn Jamison in 1998, Joseph Forte in 2001 and Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 and 2009 as the only Tar Heels to make first-team All-America on each of the teams the NCAA recognizes to determine consensus first-team All-America.
• Davis was the 15th Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors, the first since Justin Jackson in 2016-17. It is the 16th time a Tar Heel has won the award (Larry Miller won twice).NOTABLE
• Junior guard Seth Trimble has missed the last three games due to an upper body injury he suffered in practice on December 28.
• Carolina has scored 150 more points in the second half than in the first (10.0 more per game).
• Saturday at Notre Dame, UNC scored 39 points in the first half and a season-low 35 in the second. It was just the second time all season and first time since the opener vs. Elon the Tar Heels scored more points in the first half than the second.
• The Tar Heels are averaging 37.0 first-half points (while allowing 38.4) and 47.0 in the second half (allowing 40.0).
• Carolina has shot a higher field goal percentage in the second half than it did in the first in 14 of the first 15 games (only against Georgia Tech did UNC shoot better in the first half). That included the Notre Dame game, when the Tar Heels shot 48.1% in the first and 58.3% in the second.
• Carolina has shot 50% from the floor four times in the first half (vs. American, Michigan State, La Salle and Campbell) and 11 times in the second half (vs. Kansas, American, Hawai’i, Dayton, Michigan State, La Salle, Florida, UCLA, Campbell, at Louisville and at Notre Dame). That includes three second-half performances when UNC shot better than 62% from the floor (vs. American, Florida and Campbell).
• The Tar Heels have shot a combined 58.4% from the floor in the second halves of their last six games (La Salle, Florida, UCLA, Campbell, Louisville and Notre Dame). UNC has made 101 of 173 field goal attempts in the second half in those six games.
• The Tar Heels are 22nd in the country in scoring at 84.6 points per game but 328th in scoring defense (79.2).
• However, factoring in the number of possessions, Carolina is 26th in the country in offensive efficiency and 58th in defensive efficiency.
• Carolina has allowed 17.5 more points in its six losses (89.7) than the opponents have averaged in UNC’s nine wins (72.2).
• UNC has allowed 90 or more points four times in 15 games. Opponents had only scored 90 or more six times in the previous three seasons. Four is the most in a season since 2001-02 (five times).
• Carolina is attempting 23.5 three-pointers per game, the second-most attempts in UNC single-season history. In 2028-19, a team that featured Coby White, Cameron Johnson and Luke Maye, the Tar Heels averaged 23.94 three-point attempts, the most in UNC history.
• Over the last seven games UNC is 53 for 199 (26.6%) from three-point range.
• The Tar Heels are shooting 57.0% from two-point range, their highest two-point percentage in a season since the three-point shot began in 1986-87.
• Carolina is making 19.4 free throws per game in its wins, while the opponents are averaging 18.0 attempts in those nine games.
• Carolina is averaging 19.4 made free throws in its nine wins and 21.5 free throw attempts in the six losses.
• RJ Davis leads Carolina in scoring at 17.7 points per game. The Notre Dame game was the first time this season he didn’t score in double figures or make a three-pointer.
• Davis is averaging 15.1 field goal attempts per game. Last year, he averaged 16.4.
• Davis has made 30 three-pointers through 15 games. Last season, he made 44 through 15 games.
• Ian Jackson is the only player to make a three in every game in which he has played (did not play vs. American).
• Carolina’s top four scorers are guards – Davis (17.7), Jackson (14.9), Trimble (14.8) and Elliot Cadeau (10.7).
• Trimble set career scoring highs in each of the first two games this season (15 vs. Elon and 19 at Kansas) then surpassed those with a 27-point double-double in the comeback win over Dayton.
• When Cade Tyson scored a game-high 23 points against La Salle, he became the seventh different Tar Heel to lead UNC in scoring this season. Last year, only four Tar Heels led Carolina in scoring.TAR HEELS AND THE ACC
• Carolina is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• This is the 72nd season of ACC men’s basketball.
• UNC has won the regular-season championship 33 times, including the 2023-24 season, when the Tar Heels went 17-3 to win the title outright for the 22nd time. Duke is second with 20 regular-season titles.
• The Tar Heels are 760-314 all-time in ACC regular-season play. The 760 wins are the most by any team.
• RJ Davis was the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis was the Coach of the Year.
• RJ Davis is the first Player of the Year to return the following season since UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2008 and came back for his senior season in 2009, when he led the Tar Heels to an NCAA title.ROSENBLUTH A COLLEGE HALL OF FAMER
• Lennie Rosenbluth, a prolific scorer who led the 1956-57 Tar Heels to a 32-0 record and UNC’s first NCAA Tournament championship, is one of eight individuals elected to join the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024.
• Rosenbluth is the 15th Tar Heel to become a member of the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, joining Dean Smith (inaugural class in 2006), Larry Brown, Ben Carnevale, Billy Cunningham, Bob McAdoo, Frank McGuire, James Worthy and Roy Williams (all in the Class of 2007), Phil Ford (2012), Charlie Scott (2015), Sam Perkins (2018), Antawn Jamison (2021), Larry Miller (2022) and Tyler Hansbrough (2023).
• Rosenbluth set the ACC career scoring record with 2,045 points (since broken) and still maintains single-season UNC records for points (897) and scoring average (28.0), both set in 1956-57. He easily holds the highest career scoring average by a Tar Heel at 26.9 points per game, set in 76 games over three seasons from 1954-57.
• Joining Rosenbluth in the Class of ’24 are six players and one coach (Jack Hartman, most notably at Kansas State). The players include Dave Meyers (UCLA), Sihugo Green (Duquesne), Wayne Estes (Utah State), Sam Lacey (New Mexico State), John Rudometkin (USC) and Tom Stith (St. Bonaventure).
SCHEDULE NOTES
• KenPom ranks Carolina’s strength of schedule the fifth-hardest in the country behind Mississippi Valley State, Florida A&M, Jackson State and Memphis.
• Carolina is one of four teams among the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC whose strength of schedule is ranked in the top 10 – UNC (5), Purdue (6), Alabama (9) and Creighton (10).
• Seven of Carolina’s opponents are ranked in the current AP poll – No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Kansas, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 22 UCLA.
• This season is the second ever (1967-68) in which the Tar Heels played four top-10 opponents prior to New Year’s Day. Carolina played at No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Auburn in Maui, No. 10 Alabama and No. 7 Florida in Charlotte.SECOND-HALF COMEBACKS
• Carolina’s loss to Louisville included another second-half comeback from a double-digit deficit. The Cards led by 11 early in the half before the Tar Heels rallied to tie the game at 61 with more than eight minutes to play.
• It was the eighth time UNC faced a deficit of 10 or more points and the sixth time UNC either drew even or took the lead.
• In two of those games, the Tar Heels rallied to win, beating Dayton, 92-90, after trailing by 21 and UCLA, 76-64, after trailing by 16.
• On December 21 in New York, the Tar Heels trailed UCLA, 59-43, with 12:35 to play. The Tar Heels closed within five with 7:06 remaining, within a point 90 seconds later and finally drew even at 72 on Jalen Washington’s second-chance bucket with 1:32 to play.
• Carolina took its first and only lead of the second half with 13.6 seconds to go on a pair of free throws by RJ Davis.
• This season is the first since 2010-11 the Tar Heels have rallied for two wins when trailing by at least 15 points. In 2011, UNC overcame a 19-point deficit to Miami and a 16-point deficit against Virginia Tech.
– Kansas took its first double-digit lead with 9:27 left in the first half, extended the lead to 20 later in the half and led by 15 at the break. Led by three 3FGs by Jae’Lyn Withers, Carolina took its first lead of the second half with 7:09 to play and led, 87-83, with 3:15 to play. The Jayhawks closed the game on a 9-2 run to win, 92-89.
– Carolina led Dayton, 18-17, nine minutes into the game. The Flyers out-scored UNC, 34-15, over the final 11 minutes of the half for an 18-point lead, which Dayton extended to 21 points early in the second half. The Tar Heels still trailed by double figures with 11 minutes to play, took their first lead on an RJ Davis three with 1:52 remaining and won the game on a three by Drake Powell with 1:13 left.
–The comeback win from 21 down tied the largest second-half comeback in UNC history (21 vs. Florida State in 1993) and was one point shy of the largest comeback win in any game in UNC history (22 vs. Wake Forest in 1992).
– Two days later in Maui, Michigan State raced to a 10-2 lead, pushed the margin to 14 with 3:05 left in the half and led by nine at the break. The Tar Heels took their only lead of the second half on a Powell drive with 13:25 to play. Seth Trimble’s three with four seconds to play sent the game to overtime, where the Spartans prevailed, 94-91.
– Florida jumped out to an early 16-6 lead and led by as much as 17 in the first half before Carolina scored the final four points of the opening period to cut the lead to a dozen. The Tar Heels opened the second half on an 11-0 run, took a 70-68 lead on a Trimble three-point play with 7:50 to play and led by four (81-77) at the 4:00 timeout. The Gators then outscored UNC 13-3, including eight second-chance points, for a 90-84 win.JACKSON ON A HISTORIC RUN
• Freshman guard Ian Jackson made 11 field goals (most by a Tar Heel this season) and scored a game-high 27 points in the 74-73 win at Notre Dame.
• The Bronx native is the first Tar Heel freshman ever to score 23 or more points in four straight games. He is the first to score 20 or more in four games in a row since Tyler Hansbrough (2005-06) and the first to lead UNC in scoring in four straight since Cole Anthony (2019-20).
• Phil Ford is only Tar Heel freshman to score 20 or more in five consecutive (he scored 22 or more in all five).
• Jackson has scored 100 points with 10 three-pointers and shot 56.5% from the floor (35 for 62) in the last four games – the only other Tar Heel ever to post those numbers in any four-game stretch was Hubert Davis in 1991-92.
• Jackson has averaged 25.0 points in the last four games and 19.3 over the last eight.
• Overall, he is averaging 14.9 points, the second-highest average on the team behind only RJ Davis.
• In the last eight games he has averaged 30.3 minutes, including 35.3 in the last four.
• Jackson has scored in double figures 10 times, including eight of the last nine games, and leads UNC with five 20-point games (27 at Notre Dame, 26 vs. Campbell, 24 vs. UCLA, 23 vs. Alabama and 23 at Louisville).
• Jackson was named ACC Rookie of the Week for his 26-point performance on December 29 against Campbell.
• Jackson’s 24 points against UCLA were the second most ever by a Tar Heel freshman in Madison Square Garden (25 by Rashad McCants vs. Kansas in 2002).
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