In the minutes leading up to practice, North Carolina’s football players can always count on hearing a couple of numbers being discussed while they stretch.
The digits are part of a game — a bet between coach Butch Davis and cornerback Kendric Burney.
NEW YORK — In North Carolina’s biggest challenge this year, its best player was limited to the role of spectator for long stretches of the game.
But with forward Ed Davis in foul trouble all night, everybody else stepped up for No. 4 UNC in its 77-73 win against No. 15 Ohio State in the 2K Sports Classic.
To win in its 14th appearance in the final four, the North Carolina field hockey team will have to avenge one of its two losses.
Only Friday’s match against No. 2 Virginia, who knocked the Tar Heels out of the ACC tournament with a 1-0 victory in the semifinal round, stands between No. 3 UNC and a chance to win its sixth national title on Sunday in Winston-Salem.
With the last home game in Kenan Stadium behind them, the UNC football team hopes to finish off the season in its current form.
After struggling in losses against Georgia Tech and Virginia, the Tar Heels have responded with five straight strong efforts and emerged with four victories.
After reeling off three straight victories, two of those against top-15 opponents, North Carolina has assured itself of its second straight winning season and bowl eligibility.
But given what happened in the final games of last season, coach Butch Davis and the Tar Heels are planning on closing out this season like they closed out Saturday’s 33-24 victory against Miami.
The North Carolina wrestling team came into Sunday’s ACC Challenge missing three starters.
Still, the Tar Heels managed to win dual meets against Gardner-Webb and No. 16 American University, and just barely missed a clean sweep against Bucknell in the finale.
“I’m extremely pleased with the way my guys wrestled,” coach C.D. Mock said.
For the North Carolina women’s soccer team, playing in the first round of the NCAA tournament has become a formality.
Sitting in the corner of Fetzer Field is a reminder of the 20 national championships won by former Tar Heel teams, including two by this year’s senior class.
North Carolina’s Will Graves had to think for a few seconds before assigning a grade to his team’s performance in its 88-77 victory against Valparaiso.
His final verdict? The Tar Heels passed — but barely.
“I’d say a D,” Graves said. “We showed intensity in spurts, but you can get a couple questions right on a test and still come out with a D.”
North Carolina needed 67 minutes and 26 shots to score its first goal against High Point on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday was a different story as Courtney Jones put the Tar Heels (19-3-1) up for good in just the ninth minute of its 4-0 second round win against Georgia (15-6-1).
WINSTON-SALEM — Somehow, the North Carolina field hockey team was winning 2-1 at halftime in its NCAA regional finals game against Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons had outshot, outhustled and outplayed the No. 3 Tar Heels through the first 35 minutes of play, but through proper execution and taking advantage of its few chances, UNC scored two goals on just three first-half shots.
With a press conference in Ames, Iowa, and an announcement via Skype, Roy Williams and North Carolina completed a major recruiting victory on Friday’s signing day.
Harrison Barnes, ESPNU’s No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2010, inked his letter of intent with North Carolina.
North Carolina earned bowl eligibility and gave the Butch Davis era a statement win Saturday night, upsetting No. 12 Miami 33-24 at Kenan Stadium.
UNC's defense picked off Miami quarterback Jacory Harris four times, and UNC senior cornerback Kendric Burney had three of them. His 170 interception return yards Saturday is an ACC record for return yards — in a season.
Thanks to two second-quarter interceptions by Kendric Burney, North Carolina went into the locker room with a 20-7 halftime lead against No. 14 Miami.
Burney took the latest pick 77 yards the other way for a touchdown with less than a minute to go in the half. His first interception also led to a field goal.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--The North Carolina field hockey team took the first step toward its goal of a National Championship on Saturday, defeating No. 16 Ohio State 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA field hockey championship.
Defensive tackle Marvin Austin is one of the biggest personalities on North Carolina’s football team in addition to being one of the team’s biggest bodies.
The junior lineman, who already has been projected to be a force in the NFL by draft experts, chatted with SportSaturday Editor David Reynolds about a variety of topics, including dancing, dreadlocks and music.
