No. 9 North Carolina (8-3) vs. Charleston Southern (4-8)
Chapel Hill, NC – Smith Center
Friday, December 29th – 8 p.m
TV: ACCN (Mike Monaco, Randolph Childress)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (Jones Angell)
Quotes
“I would just say it’s growth. I know it's hard because in college sports, especially basketball, you forget about the guys who stay until their senior year. With each passing year he became more mature and better. … So I’m just really happy for him. I feel like this is the first time he's been celebrated, supported, encouraged and noticed, and I love it.” – UNC coach Hubert Davis after Oklahoma's win over Tar Heels guard RJ Davis has led in the points standings for seven games in a row.
“We take it one game at a time and play the next game according to the schedule. We'll see where the chips land in March. But we know we have to win games and win every game one game at a time. We do this and the rest will take care of itself.” – UNC guard Cormac Ryan after the Tar Heels secured a Quad 1 win over Oklahoma.
Pre-game notes
Last non-conference opponent: The Tar Heels return from their eight-day holiday break for the final non-conference game of the season – a home game against Charleston Southern. UNC is coming off a historic stretch that saw the Tar Heels face five AP Top 25 opponents in a six-game regular season for the first time in program history. Carolina went 4-2 in this matchup and picked up quality non-conference wins over Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
After Friday night's game against Charleston Southern, UNC will resume ACC league play in the new year. Carolina will play three straight games, facing Pittsburgh (Jan. 2), No. 18 Clemson (Jan. 6) and NC State (Jan. 10).
RJ Davis on Scoring Tear: RJ Davis took his scoring ability to new levels here in his senior season. The 6-foot-1 guard led the Tar Heels in scoring in seven straight games, scoring at least 23 points in each game and totaling 183 points during the hot stretch. He is the first Tar Heel since Tyler Hansbrough in the 2008-09 season to lead UNC in scoring in seven straight games. Davis is averaging 21.7 points per game this season, ranking eighth nationally and first in the ACC.
In UNC's 81-69 loss to previously unbeaten Oklahoma last week, Davis delivered 23 points, including five three-pointers, to help lead the Tar Heels to victory. Davis added five assists to his game-high total, which led to zero turnovers. Carolina has a 7-0 record all-time when Davis scores at least 20 points and five assists, including 2-0 this season.
UNC guard RJ Davis and Charleston Southern guard RJ Johnson. (Photo: Inside Carolina/Charleston Southern Athletics)
View of Charleston Southern: According to Ken Pomeroy's college basketball database, Charleston Southern represents the weakest opponent the Tar Heels will face this season. The Buccaneers are ranked 339th nationally (out of 362 eligible teams), but also rank in the bottom 50 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Interim coach Saah Nimley is at the helm of Charleston Southern, which parted ways with its longtime boss on Nov. 30 Barclay Radebaugh scored two days after the Buccaneers fell to 2-5 to start the season.
Charleston Southern has played tough against several quality teams this season. The Buccaneers lost by just four points on the road to South Carolina (73-69) earlier this month. At Wake Forest in late November, Charleston Southern had a four-point halftime lead before the Demon Deacons ran away in the second half and won 71-56.
The Buccaneers won their last game 103-79 against NAIA's Kentucky Christian, scoring 21 points behind guards DJ Patrick and RJ Johnson. Three of Charleston Southern's four wins this season have come against non-Division I opponents, with the exception of a home victory over South Carolina State.
Efficient Scoring by RJ Johnson: Leading the Buccaneers offense this season is sophomore guard RJ Johnson. Now in his second year with the program after transferring from Holy Cross, Johnson is thriving in his expanded scoring role after leading the Big South Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio last season. He leads Charleston Southern with 17.3 points per game on an efficient shooting percentage of 50-48-85 (percentage from the field, beyond the 3-point arc, on free throws).
Johnson has scored more than 20 points in five games this season, including the aforementioned win over Kentucky Christian when he scored 21 points. In that game, Johnson made five three-pointers from distance, a career-best, on just six attempts. However, he had a tendency to struggle against stronger competition. Johnson has averaged 10.7 points per game (on 30 percent shooting from the field) in Charleston Southern's three games against quality opponents.
The next scorer for Charleston Southern is junior forward Taje' Kelly. In his second year as a full-time starter for the Buccaneers, Kelly is averaging over 15 points per game. Kelly also has a team-high 8.7 rebounds per contest.
Collective struggles on the defensive: The Buccaneers' difficult start to this season can largely be attributed to their inability to provide enough resistance defensively. Against Division I competition, Charleston Southern allows 76 points per game. The Buccaneers have held one Division I opponent (South Carolina State) to under 60 points this season.
Additionally, Charleston Southern allows its opponents to shoot 45 percent from the field, which ranks 276th nationally. In their 87-53 loss to NC State, the Buccaneers allowed the Wolfpack to shoot more than 50 percent from the field.
Series history: Friday night's game marks the first meeting between UNC and Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers face their third ACC opponent of the season after playing at NC State and Wake Forest.
Projected UNC starters:
2 Elliot Cadeau (Fr., 6-1, 180) – 6.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.7 apg
4 RJ Davis (Sr., 6-0, 180) – 21.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3 apg
3 Cormac Ryan (Gr., 6-5, 195) – 11.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.4 apg
5 Armando Bacot (Gr., 6-11, 240) – 15.1 ppg, 11 rpg, 1.9 bpg
55 Harrison Ingram (Jr., 6-7, 235) – 14.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg
Planned Entrees for Charleston Southern:
2 Taje' Kelly (Jr., 6-7, 253) – 15.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
4 DJ Patrick (Jr., 6-6, 200) – 14.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.4 apg
11 A'lahn Sumler (S0., 6-4, 185) – 11.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
13 Reginald Duhart Jr. (Sr., 6-9, 210) – 4.4 ppm, 5.7 ppm
22 RJ Johnson (So., 6-1, 185) – 17.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.4 apg
UNC info
Schedule/Results
Roster and bios
statistics
Information about Charleston Southern
Schedule/Results
Roster and bios
statistics