- You could say that things in Raleigh hadn’t exactly gotten off to a good start for N.C. State basketball this season. You COULD say that. After losing five straight game — all ACC contests — the Wolfpack went on the road to Pitt Tuesday night, and thanks to 14 points from this guy…
Shown here: Maverick Rowan, not comedic actor Michael Cera.
…State scooped up their first conference win of the season, defeating Pitt 78-61. Cat Barber was ridiculous again: 31 points (14-14 from the charity stripe), eight assists and seven rebounds. State’s off now until a Saturday matchup against No. 20 Duke. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
- North Carolina hasn’t lost since waaaayyyy back on December 12th: when Javan Felix sank a jumper at the buzzer, giving Texas a two-point victory. And recently, the Tar Heels have looked pretty freaking awesome. According to KenPom, UNC ranks No. 2 in the nation in offensive efficiency: they’re scoring 123 points per 100 possessions, which is v good (Notre Dame and Duke rank No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, in this metric). Tonight, the Heels are home to visiting Wake Forest; the Demon Deacons are faced with the arduous task of trying to rebound from a 28-point thrashing to Syracuse by entering the Dean Dome and playing perhaps the best team in America. UNC — a 16.5-point favorite tonight — will look to go 6-0 in league play tonight, too.
- I mean, guys, Atlanta can’t be happy about this one. First, the Carolina Panthers win the NFC South three consecutive years; and now that very same team co-opted ATL’s beloved Waffle House. Don’t believe me, eh? Well, MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ THE FRIGGIN WALL STREET JOURNAL ONCE EVERY BLUE MOON. Because this week, the Panthers and their love of all things holy and delicious drew national headlines.
- The Charlotte Hornets will look to make it two straight tonight when they travel to OKC for a showdown with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder. These two teams met in Charlotte the first week of January; OKC won easily, and Wednesday night could be some of the same. The Thunder aren’t the Warriors or Spurs or maybe even the Cavs, but they’re in the next tier of title contenders. At times OKC’s defense has been shaky at times, especially with big man Enes Kanter on the floor, but on offense they’ve been predictably explosive: the Thunder possess the No. 2 offense in the NBA. Tip-off at 8 p.m.
- Everyone in North Carolina looks forward to this date: When Cameron Indoor Stadium hosts some of the best cagers in the Tar Heel State for a little game of basketball. No, I’m not talking UNC-Duke; instead, I’m talking about the 2016 Media Hoops Game, which is set for February 9th. I look forward to being embarrassingly out of shape with all of you!
- The Golden State Warriors finish up a three-game road trip tonight in the Windy City against former Buzz Williams favorite Jimmy Butler and the Bulls. Harrison Barnes, back from injury for two weeks, has just now rejoined the stating lineup for Golden State (pushing former Mount Zion product Brandon Rush back to the bench), and Steph Curry is still doing all kinds of awesome things. The Dubs are currently 38-4 on the season; this is insane.
- There are three other ACC hoops games tonight, including two featuring top 25 teams: Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, No. 15 Miami at Boston College (look out, Eagles), and No. 17 Louisville hosting Florida State.
- SNOW!
