Miami, FL

Davis Explodes For 42 In 75-71 Win Over Miami – University of North Carolina Athletics

Published

2 years ago

February 27, 2024

Davis Explodes For 42 In 75-71 Win Over Miami – University of North Carolina Athletics

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—RJ Davis set career highs with seven three-pointers and 42 points as ninth-ranked North Carolina held on for a 75-71 home win over Miami on Monday night.

Adding six rebounds in his most dominant performance in a career-best season, Davis posted his third 30-point game in 2023-24 (and his fourth career). He broke Tyler Hansbrough’s Smith Center scoring record of 40 set against Georgia Tech in 2006.

It was the most points by a Tar Heel in any game since Shammond Williams had 42 in double overtime at Georgia Tech on February 8, 1998, and the most in a regulation game since Charles Scott had 43 against Wake Forest on January 17, 1970.

Davis was the only Tar Heel to score in double figures. Harrison Ingram recorded eight points and 10 rebounds, and Armando Bacot added five points and 12 boards.

“For me to have a performance like that tonight means the world to me,” Davis said to a throng of reporters afterward. “I’m just locked in. I’m confident in myself and in my shot. I’m also getting open. My teammates are doing a great job of setting screens and finding me to make these shots. Once I get in my groove like that, it feels like I can’t miss. I actually feel like I could have had 50, but I missed free throws and whatnot. I just felt good. The ball felt good, the shots felt good, everything felt great tonight.”

No matter how impressive, Davis’ heroics almost weren’t enough.

UNC led by 13 with 3:45 remaining in the second half before Miami used an 11-0 run to pull within two at 72-70 in the final minute. Carolina shot just 12 for 21 from the free throw line, missing several key attempts in the tense final minutes.

In the end, Jae’Lyn Withers sealed the win when he rebounded a missed free throw by Seth Trimble with 2.6 seconds left and hit two free throws of his own.

“J-Wit had to step up and make two free throws,” Tar Heel head coach Hubert Davis said. “J-Wit and Harrison [Ingram] kept the ball alive on free throws. Those are the little things that we talk about on a daily basis that make big things happen.”

UNC improved to 22-6 overall and 14-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the victory, maintaining its perch atop the conference standings.

“That was a valiant effort on our part, but RJ Davis had the answer every time we made a run,” Miami head coach Jim Larranaga said. “He’s a fantastic player.”

Carolina, which beat Miami, 75-72, in Coral Gables on Feb. 10, swept the season series with the Hurricanes. The Tar Heels moved to 12-1 at home this season and 39-6 in three seasons under Hubert Davis.

Miami lost its seventh consecutive game and its 10th in 13 outings, falling to 15-14 (6-12 ACC).

Davis scored 21 of his points in the first half, outscoring the rest of his teammates, 21-16. He grabbed six rebounds to give him 502 in his career. He is the first player in UNC history to compile 1,800 points, 200 three-pointers, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career.

“That might be the best performance I have ever seen by anyone on my team,” Ingram said of Davis’ effort.

Davis outscored all other Tar Heels, 42-33, in the game. It was the first time a Carolina player outscored the rest of his teammates since January 29, 1983, when Michael Jordan scored a career-high 39 of UNC’s 72 points vs. Georgia Tech.

“What he did tonight, he’s been doing all season,” Hubert Davis offered. “He put the team on his back. It wasn’t just points. I thought he was great defensively. He took care of the basketball, distributed, rebounded and boxed out. And, of course, we needed every bit of his 42 tonight.”

How It Happened
First Half
• After missing 13 of 14 field goal attempts in Saturday’s win at Virginia, Davis made his first two tries before the game’s first media timeout and started the game 3 for 3.
• Davis scored 18 of UNC’s first 30 points and finished with 21 in the half.
• The Hurricanes hit 8 of 13 first-half three-point attempts (61.5 percent). The Tar Heels, meanwhile, were 5 for 14 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes, including 3 of 4 by Davis.
• Miami shot 4 for 19 from two-point range prior to halftime.
• The Tar Heels hit five of their last six shot attempts, shot 46.9 percent overall and posted a 20-8 edge in points in the paint in the half.
• Bacot had just two field goal attempts and two points in 17 first-half minutes.

Second Half
• Carolina scored back-to-back buckets coming out of the break to take a 41-32 lead and force a quick Hurricane timeout with 19:16 to go.
• Despite Davis’ big day, the Tar Heels could not put the Hurricanes away. Miami hit six second-half three-pointers and had three different players connect at least four times from behind the arc.
• Miami went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 72-70 in the final minute of play.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• After a week off between the wins over Virginia Tech (Feb. 17) and at Virginia (Feb. 24), the Tar Heels played their second game in three days.
• The game was Hubert Davis‘ 100th as the Tar Heel head coach. He is 71-29 and has the fourth-most wins among UNC coaches in their first 100 games.
• Carolina is 28-10 all-time against Miami. That includes a 21-9 series advantage since the Hurricanes joined the ACC and a 13-5 edge in Chapel Hill.
• Miami hit 14 three-pointers and 10 two-pointers in the game. The ‘Canes were 14 for 30 from three-point range (46.7 percent) but 10 for 31 from two-point range (32.3 percent).
• Davis posted his 18th 20-point game of the season, the most games with 20+ by a Tar Heel since Justin Jackson had 19 during the NCAA championship of 2016-17. Carolina is 13-5 when Davis scores 20 or more.
• Davis scored 21 points in each half and has four 20-point halves this season. He had 21 against Arkansas in the second half and 23 in second half against Wake Forest.
• Davis outscored the rest of UNC in the first half (21-16), marking the second-straight game and third time this season a Tar Heel has outscored the rest of UNC in the first half (Cormac Ryan outscored UNC in the first half against Virginia, Davis out-scored UNC in the first half against UConn).
• It was Davis’ third game this season with 10+ field goals, his ninth game with 25+ points and his third with 30 or more.
• Davis has led UNC in scoring 20 times this season, and UNC is 15-5 in those games.
• Davis is the seventh Tar Heel to score 42 or more points in a game (joins Scott, Williams, Bobby Lewis, George Glamack, Lennie Rosenbluth and Billy Cunningham).
• Bacot made his 103rd consecutive start and grabbed 12 rebounds. He has 1,628 career boards and passed Louisville’s Charlie Tyra (1,617) for 12th place in history.
• Davis shot 14 for 22 from the floor and the rest of the UNC team was 13 for 39 (33.3 percent).
• UNC has won 12 games in a row when leading at halftime and is 52-5 under head coach Hubert Davis when leading at the break.
• Carolina has out-rebounded its opponents 17 consecutive times and is 14-3 in those games.
• The UNC defense has held opponents below 40 percent shooting in 30 of 56 halves and 13 of 28 games this season.

Up Next
Carolina will continue its three-game homestand when it hosts NC State in the Smith Center on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.

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Miami, FL

Texas A&M takeaways: Aggies offense sputters in playoff loss to Miami

Published

19 minutes ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M takeaways: Aggies offense sputters in playoff loss to Miami

Battered Aggie Syndrome strikes again.

Texas A&M football’s season ended in the first round of the College Football Playoff, falling Saturday to Miami 10-3. The Aggies’ offense stood on the 5-yard line with 24 seconds left and a chance to tie the game when Hurricanes defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted quarterback Marcel Reed, ending the dream of a CFP quarterfinal against Ohio State.

MORE: Recap from Texas A&M’s College Football Playoff loss to Miami

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Texas A&M outgained Miami 326-278 in total yards of offense and ran 26 more plays. However, the Aggies lost the turnover battle three to one and failed to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

Here are some takeaways from Texas A&M’s loss:

Texas A&M’s inability to capitalize

After tying the game 3-3 to start the fourth quarter, Texas A&M found momentum when safety Dalton Brooks ripped the ball out of Malachi Toney’s hands with 7 minutes, 11 seconds left. The Aggies recovered the fumble at their own 47-yard line, but were unable to make anything of the field position, punting after a single first down.

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The defense had held firm for all of three quarters, allowing a field goal and holding Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck to 80 passing yards. But the offense was a different story, as untimely turnovers and inaccurate passes from Reed kept the unit from ever finding a rhythm.

Reed’s best drive of the day came after Miami went up 10-3. With just under two minutes remaining, he led the Aggies 70 yards in 10 plays. He made quick decisions, used his legs effectively and connected with wide receiver KC Concepcion for a 14-yard completion to set up first-and-goal. But the Aggies couldn’t close out the drive.

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed (10) is tackled during the round one College Football Playoff game against Miami at Kyle Field on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 in College Station, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman

Aggies’ run defense collapses

The Aggies allowed 38 yards rushing in the first half, stonewalling the Hurricanes’ offensive line and running back Mark Fletcher Jr. But Miami began to get its run game churning in the third quarter, rushing for 47 yards on nine attempts. An injury at the end of the period to Aggies defensive lineman Albert Regis — one of their best run defenders — exacerbated the issue. Fletcher proceeded to rip off a 56-yard run with 4:01 remaining, which set up the game-winning 11-yard jet sweep pass to Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney.

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The Aggies allowed 91 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, despite holding the Hurricanes to 85 yards for the rest of the game.

A special teams spectacle

With winds gusting up to about 30 mph, each team’s kickers struggled to find the uprights in Kyle Field.

Aggies kicker Jared Zirkel began the day by mis-hitting a 22-yard attempt, allowing Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain to block the low-driven kick. Miami’s Carter Davis, who’d missed only two kicks all season, saw his 47-yard field goal in the second quarter fly wide right of the post. He missed attempts from 40 and 35 yards as well.

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Instead of sticking with Zirkel, A&M head coach Mike Elko turned to former starter Randy Bond, who was 11-for-18 entering the game. The kicker took advantage of his opportunity, tying the game on a 35-yard field goal despite a bad hold.

Elko dug into his bag of tricks toward the end of the second half. Aggies punter Tyler White faked a punt with less than two minutes remaining in the half, but defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe failed to bring in White’s pass.

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Miami, FL

Why did Carson Beck transfer to Miami? Revisiting ex-Georgia QB’s move

Published

12 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Why did Carson Beck transfer to Miami? Revisiting ex-Georgia QB’s move

This time last year, Carson Beck had his first College Football Playoff start taken away from him due to a season-ending elbow injury in the SEC Championship game.

Fast forward a year and the veteran quarterback is set to make that long-awaited start against No. 7 Texas A&M at noon ET inside Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Only, it isn’t happening with the team he led to the CFP last season.

Instead, it comes with No. 10 Miami, which, just like Beck, is making its debut in college football’s biggest stage.

“It’s honestly unreal to just kind of step back and look at the whole of everything that’s happened,” Beck said in a Dec. 17 interview. “And it’s surreal to get to this point, honestly and to realize everything I’ve been through and realize the adversity that I’ve had to face and overcome.”

Beck has led the Hurricanes to a 10-2 record this season and is looking to lead the program to its first CFP win. Should Miami pull off the upset against Texas A&M, the Hurricanes will advance to the Cotton Bowl CFP quarterfinal against No. 2 Ohio State on New Year’s Eve.

Here’s a look back at why Beck transferred to Miami:

Where did Carson Beck transfer from?

Beck transferred from Georgia. He spent five seasons with the Bulldogs, with his final years coming as the starting quarterback.

Why did Carson Beck transfer to Miami?

The decision by the ex-Georgia quarterback to enter the portal was a head-scratching one to an extent, largely because he announced on Dec. 28 on his social media he was declaring for the NFL draft.

“I will forever cherish the memories that have been made,” Beck wrote in that initial NFL declaration post. “Thank you Dawg Nation for the time I’ve been here and to those who’ve supported and believed in me, thank you. It’s been an incredible journey and all these moments have ultimately led me to take the next step in my football career.”

He officially announced on Jan. 9 he was entering his name into the NCAA transfer portal. He announced his decision to return home to the state of Florida to play for the Hurricanes on Jan. 10. As noted by USA TODAY Sports’ Matt Hayes, Georgia wanted to keep Beck in Athens. One of the Bulldogs’ SEC rivals, Alabama, also showed an interest in Beck before he committed to Miami.

As for the reason behind Beck’s decision to transfer, that can likely be pointed to his season-ending elbow injury that he sustained during the SEC championship. Since he needed surgery to repair his UCL in his throwing arm, Beck wouldn’t have been able to throw during the heart of the NFL draft workout schedule with teams.

“This is my future, and I think that this decision is one of the better decisions I’ve made,” Beck said at ACC Kickoff in July. “Just trying to develop those relationships and that camaraderie, it’s just reinforced my decision in a positive way.”

Carson Beck stats

Here’s a look at Beck’s career stats at Georgia and Miami:

2021 (Georgia): 10 of 23 passing (43.5%) for 176 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions
2022 (Georgia): 26 of 35 passing (74.3%) for 310 yards with four touchdowns
2023 (Georgia): 302 of 417 passing (72.4%) for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions; 116 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 60 carries
2024 (Georgia): 290 of 448 passing (64.7%) for 3,485 yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions; 71 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 55 carries
2025 (Miami): 263 of 353 passing (74.7%) for 3,072 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; 39 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 38 carries

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Miami, FL

Jumpshots Galore: Keys for the Miami Heat to overcome the Boston Celtics

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Jumpshots Galore: Keys for the Miami Heat to overcome the Boston Celtics

The Miami Heat will face off against the Boston Celtics, who are ahead of the Heat by half a game in the Eastern Conference standings, on Friday night.

Here are some things they will need to hone in on to end up on the other side of the game with a win:

Be careful what you wish for: The Heat, for several years now, no matter what defensive scheme they’re deploy, are going to give up a high volume amount of threes. The Celtics, who take the fourth-highest amount of shots from three, will gladly take the Heat up on their offer. Unlike the Brooklyn Nets, who also like to take a ton of threes, the Celtics convert them at a decent clip.

The Heat will have a lot to be wary of in this aspect, as eight or nine of their ten rotation players are either high-volume three-point shooters or threats to ge them up. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Josh Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh combine to shoot around 43 threes per game.

The Celtics take the lowest percentage of shots coming at the rim, with the lowest free throw rate and eighth-lowest percentage of shots coming from the short mid-range, but make them at a high level. Additionally, they take the second-highest amount of long mid-rangers and also convert those at an elite clip.

Time to break the slump: The Heat will need to hit some threes if they want to win this game. On defense, the Celtics, like the Heat, are going to play the gaps and allow opponents to take shots beyond the arc. They give up the eighth-highest percentage of opponent shots coming from three, (Heat sixth-highest).

Since Dec. 3rd (the first loss in their recently snapped five-game losing streak), the Heat have converted just 29.4 percent of their threes. Although they got away with another stinker from three against the Nets on Thursday, that type of shooting will likely not cut it against a Celtics defense that allows the second-lowest percentage of opponent shots at the rim.

The Celtics foul at one of the highest rates in the league, and with the Heat’s preference of taking shots in the paint combined with their recent stretch of rough three-point shooting, they will need to hit their free throws in this one. This has been a struggle for the Heat, who rank among the bottom 10 in free throw percentage in the NBA.

Possession Battle: A big part of the Celtics’ somewhat unexpected early-season success has been their ability to consistently win this aspect of the game.

They have the fourth-best offensive rating in the league, and, on top of their high-level shotmaking, they have the best turnover percentage and the fifth-best offensive rebound percentage in the league. They also do a good job of turning teams over.

The Celtics’ weak point in this aspect has been their defensive rebounding, another similarity they share with the Heat, giving up the fourth-highest offensive rebound percentage. The offensive glass is not exactly the Heat’s strong suit, but with Kel’el Ware likely starting again, they will have the opportunity to out-size them and, ideally, get extra opportunities.