• The Tar Heels are 1-1 on the road this season, losing by three points at No. 1 Kansas and beating Hawai’i.
• Carolina is coming off a 97-81 home win over Campbell on Sunday evening. Ian Jackson (26) and RJ Davis (23) led five Tar Heels in double figures. Carolina shot 57.1% from the floor, including 26 of 35 from two-point range (74.3%), delivered 20 assists and committed only seven turnovers.
• Davis made a season-high five three-pointers and surpassed Marcus Paige for the most 3FGs in UNC history. Davis has 303, four more than Paige made from 2012-16.
• Davis also moved past Jeff Lamp and Mike Gminski into 10th in ACC history in career scoring. He needs 15 points to pass Armando Bacot for second in UNC and ninth in ACC scoring.
• This is Carolina’s fourth game ever on January 1. UNC lost at Butler in 1929 and at Maryland in 1943 and defeated Monmouth in Chapel Hill in 2012, Hubert Davis‘ first season as an assistant with the Tar Heels.
• The Tar Heels are 20-7 all-time against Louisville, including 4-5 in Louisville (4-3 vs. the Cards in the KFC Yum! Center).
• UNC has beaten Louisville in each of the last five games.
• Carolina has won two in a row and four of the last five in the KFC Yum! Center.
• Carolina won the only matchup last season, 86-70, in Chapel Hill. RJ Davis had 21 points and six assists, Armando Bacot scored 19 and Jae’Lyn Withers recorded his first double-double as a Tar Heel with 15 points and 10 boards. Withers played the previous three seasons at Louisville.
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).
ACC HONOR FOR IAN
• Ian Jackson was named ACC Rookie of the Week for his 26-point performance on December 29 against Campbell.
• The 26 points were a season high for Jackson, one game following his 24-point game in Madison Square Garden the Tar Heels’ 76-74 win over 18th-ranked UCLA.
• Jackson’s 50 points are the most in consecutive games by a Tar Heel freshman since Cole Anthony scored 25 vs. Syracuse and 28 vs. Wake Forest in 2019-20.
• Jackson became one of 10 Tar Heel freshmen ever to score 24 or more points in back-to-back games, joining an illustrious list that includes Anthony, Coby White, Harrison Barnes, Tyler Hansbrough, Rashad McCants, Antawn Jamison, J.R. Reid, Phil Ford and Al Lifson.
• 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).
CAPTAIN JACK MAKING AN IMPACT
• Over the last seven games, freshman Ian Jackson has played 27 minutes a game and totaled 118 points, 16.9 per game.
• The Bronx native is 22 for 38 (57.9%) from the floor in the last three games against Florida, UCLA and Campbell.
• Overall, Jackson is third on the team in scoring at 13.2 per game. He has scored in double figures eight times, including six of the last seven games. In three of those games he scored more than 20 points (26 vs. Campbell, 24 vs. UCLA and 23 vs. Alabama).
SCHEDULE NOTES
• Sunday’s win over Campbell was Carolina’s final regular-season non-conference game of the season.
• The Tar Heels went 7-5 in non-conference play.
• Through December 29, the Tar Heels were one of three schools ranked in the top 50 in the NET that had played seven Quad 1 games.
• UNC has Quad 1 wins over Dayton and UCLA. Carolina is one of 27 teams in the top 50 in the NET with two or more Q1 wins.
• Auburn (6-1) and Purdue (3-4) were the two other teams in the top 50 that have played seven Q1 games.
• Only one (Alabama) of Carolina’s seven Q1 games were played in Chapel Hill.
• KenPom ranks Carolina’s strength of schedule the seventh-hardest in the country behind Florida A&M, Mississippi Valley State, Memphis, Jackson State, Central Michigan and Alcorn State.
• Carolina is one of three teams among the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC whose strength of schedule is ranked in the top 10 – UNC (7), Auburn (8) and Purdue (10).
• The five teams the Tar Heels have lost to were a combined 54-7 (.885) as of December 30.
• Seven of Carolina’s opponents are ranked in the current AP poll – No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 Kansas, No. 15 UCLA and No. 18 Michigan State.
• This season is the second ever 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.
• In December 1967 the Tar Heels lost to No. 8 Vanderbilt and defeated No. 4 Kentucky, No. 10 Princeton and No. 7 Utah.
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 2024-25 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 759-313 all-time in ACC regular-season play. The 759 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.
SECOND-HALF COMEBACKS
• With 12:35 to play, the Tar Heels trailed UCLA, 59-43, after the Bruins’ Tyler Bilodeau made three straight three-pointers. The Tar Heels pulled within five with 7:06 remaining, within one 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.
• The UCLA game was the seventh time in the first 12 games the Tar Heels fell behind by double digits in the first half and seventh time Carolina trailed after the first 20 minutes.
• In five of those seven games the Tar Heels have rallied to take the lead, eventually beating Dayton, 92-90, and UCLA, 76-64. UNC lost by three points to Kansas, by three points in overtime to Michigan State and six points to Florida.
• This is the first time since 2011 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.
NOTABLE
• Carolina has scored 146 more points in the second half than in the first (11.2 more per game).
• The Tar Heels have scored more points in the second half in each of the last 12 games. The win over Elon in the season opener is the only game to date Carolina scored more points in the first half (51-39).
• The Tar Heels are averaging 37.3 first-half points (while allowing 39.0) and 48.5 in the second half (allowing 39.5).
• Carolina has shot a higher field goal percentage in the second half than it did in the first in 12 of the first 13 games (only against Georgia Tech did UNC shoot better in the first half).
• Carolina has shot 50% from the floor four times in the first half (vs. American, Michigan State, La Salle and Campbell) and nine times in the second half (vs. Kansas, American, Hawai’i, Dayton, Michigan State, La Salle, Florida, UCLA and Campbell). That includes three second-half performances when UNC shot better than 62% from the floor (vs. American, Florida and Campbell).
• The Tar Heels are 16th in the country in scoring at 86.5 points per game but 329th in scoring defense (79.4).
• However, factoring in the number of possessions, Carolina is 18th in the country in offensive efficiency and 57th in defensive efficiency.
• Carolina has allowed 18.9 more points in its five losses (91.0) than the opponents have averaged in UNC’s eight wins (72.1).
• UNC has allowed 90 or more points four times in 13 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 24.3 three-pointers per game, which is on pace for the 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 six games UNC is 43 for 162 (26.5%) from three-point range.
• Carolina is averaging 20.1 made free throws in its eight wins and 21.2 free throw attempts in the five losses.
• RJ Davis leads Carolina in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Davis is the only Tar Heel that has scored in double figures in all 13 games.
• Davis and freshman Ian Jackson are the only players to make a three in every game in which they played (all 13 for Davis and 12 for Jackson).
• Davis is averaging 15.6 field goal attempts per game. Last year, he averaged 16.4.
• Carolina’s top four scorers are guards – Davis (18.8), Seth Trimble (14.8), Jackson (13.2) and Elliot Cadeau (11.2).
• Trimble, a 6-3 guard, is tied with center Jalen Washington for the team lead in rebounding at 4.8 per game. Trimble is third in offensive boards with 16. He has 26 rebounds (10 offensive) in his last four games.
• Trimble earned all-tournament honors in Maui after scoring 27, 17 and nine points, respectively. His three-pointer with 4.3 seconds to play sent the third-place game against Michigan State to overtime.
• 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.
• Carolina is 19th nationally in fastbreak points, averaging 16.2 per game.
MORE MILESTONES FOR RJ
• RJ Davis is the third-leading scorer in Carolina’s illustrious history with 2,333 points.
• He broke the UNC career record for three-pointers (303) and has the highest free throw percentage ever by a Tar Heel (85.8%).
• RJ Davis’ 29-point outing vs. Florida on December 17 in Charlotte moved him into third place in UNC career scoring and first place all-time among guards.
• Not only did he break the career mark for threes against Campbell, he also moved into 10th place all-time in ACC scoring.
• He finished his fourth season as the fifth-leading scorer in Carolina history and has passed Sam Perkins and Phil Ford thus far this season.
• Davis needs 15 points to pass Armando Bacot, who also played in five seasons, for second.
• Davis’ career scoring average is 15.5, 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).
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 232-19 all-time against non-ACC opponents in the Smith Center (.924). Carolina’s 19-game winning streak against non-conference teams in the Smith Center ended with the 94-79 loss to Alabama on December 4.
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.
