RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State has fired men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts. That marks an abrupt end to an eight-year tenure and comes less than a year after the Wolfpack’s improbable run to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the Final Four. The school announced the move Sunday, a day after the Wolfpack closed a 12-19 season.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Kon Knueppel scored 17 points to help No. 2 Duke beat rival North Carolina 82-69 on Saturday night and clinch the outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. Cooper Flagg added 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists despite first-half foul trouble for the Blue Devils. Duke is now in position to take over the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 with top-ranked Auburn losing its last two games. Fifth-year senior RJ Davis scored 20 points in his final home game for the Tar Heels. UNC was looking for a marquee win to help its NCAA Tournament chances.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick is back on the practice sidelines again, though now in college at North Carolina. The 72-year-old coach who won six Super Bowls with the NFL’s New England Patriots opened spring practices at UNC this week. He also held his first news conference on campus since his introductory one after his hiring in December. Belichick told reporters that players have responded well to the new staff. That comes as Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi have talked about building what amounts to a mini-NFL model in a college program. UNC’s spring practices run through April 12.… Continue Reading
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ven-Allen Lubin collected his first double-double as a Tar Heel and Ian Jackson hit five of North Carolina’s season-high 15 3-pointers while scoring 19 points in a 91-59 victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. The Tar Heels (20-11, 13-6 ACC) extended their season-high win streak to six as they prepare to end the regular season at home against No. 2 Duke on Saturday. North Carolina won 20 games in a season for the 65th time. Lubin, whose previous stops were at Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jaydon Young and Ben Burnham scored 12 points each for the Hokies.… Continue Reading
A person familiar with the situation says the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson and Florida State have reached a proposed settlement that would end their legal fight and change the league’s revenue-distribution model. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because neither the league nor the schools have publicly addressed their settlement. The proposed agreement requires approval from the league and the schools. Trustees at the two schools have scheduled meetings for Tuesday. The ACC’s Board of Directors made up of university presidents and chancellors will also have a call Tuesday on the settlement.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Ven-Allen Lubin scored 19 points, Jae’Lyn Withers had 11 points and 10 rebounds and North Carolina beat Miami 92-73 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory, the Tar Heels’ longest win streak this season. Lubin was 9-of-10 from the floor and Withers collected his third double-double this season. Drake Powell added 16 points, RJ Davis 13, Ian Jackson 11 and Seth Trimble 10 for the Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6 ACC), who shot 59%, made 10 of 18 3-pointers and outrebounded the Hurricanes 38-26. Matthew Cleveland was 12-of-21 shooting to finish with 25 points for Miami (6-23, 2-16), which lost its fifth straight. Brandon Johnson added 20 points.… Continue Reading
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis has signed a two-year extension running through the 2029-30 season. Davis has also hired basketball agent Jim Tanner as the men’s basketball program’s first executive director and general manager. The school announced Tanner’s hiring Tuesday. That came roughly three weeks after Davis talked about plans to hire a GM. UNC also posted an updated contract for Davis on its official athletics website. That deal was reached in July and signed in December. It includes a pay raise with Davis averaging $3.2 million in base and supplemental pay through June 2030.… Continue Reading
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — RJ Davis had 20 points, Seth Trimble came off the bench to score 17 and North Carolina cruised to a 96-85 victory over Florida State. Davis made 5 of 9 shots with three 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws for the Tar Heels (18-11, 11-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won four in a row to pull within a half-game of Wake Forest and SMU for fourth place. The top four teams receive byes into the third round of the conference tournament. Trimble did his damage on 6-for-10 shooting with two 3-pointers. Jamir Watkins had 26 points to lead the Seminoles (16-12, 7-10), who dropped into ninth place — a half-game behind Pittsburgh. The top nine seeds earn first-round byes.… Continue Reading
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Jae’Lyn Withers scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ian Jackson also scored 16 points and North Carolina defeated Virginia 81-66 on Saturday. Withers was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers in posting his second double-double this season and Jackson added three more 3s. Ven-Allen Lubin scored 14 points, RJ Davis 12 and Drake Powell 11 for the Tar Heels (17-11, 10-6 ACC), who made 9 of 16 from the arc and outrebounded the Cavaliers 35-21. Isaac McKneely scored 17 points and became the 52nd Cavalier to reach 1,000 career points. Dai Dai Ames added 12 for Virginia (13-14, 6-10).… Continue Reading
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A computerized system that calls balls and strikes is being tested during Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games starting Thursday after four years of experiments in the minor leagues. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is an advocate of the Automated Ball-Strike System, which potentially as early as 2026 could be used to aid MLB home plate umpires, but not replace them. Starting in 2024, MLB focused testing on a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each original call. Data from the spring training test could cause MLB to make alterations to the system for Triple-A games this season.… Continue Reading