UNC-NC Central Preview: Season-Opening Homestand Brings In Eagles

No. 18 North Carolina (3-0) vs. NC Central (1-3)
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Smith Center
Friday, Nov. 14 — 9 p.m.
ACC Network (Doug Sherman, Chris Spatola)

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Quotables

“I think it’s very valuable for those guys … it is a wonderful opportunity for a number of guys that will get extended minutes and help us with our depth moving forward.” — Coach Hubert Davis on the chance to build UNC’s depth during Seth Trimble’s absence.

“I think I have the space to be more comfortable. I think that, maybe, I was a little bit nervous, which is why I missed a lot of shots tonight. … With more time on the court, I’ll get more and more comfortable.” — UNC guard Luka Bogavac, after making his first start for the Tar Heels in Tuesday night’s defeat of Radford.

Pregame Notes

Luka Bogavac Leads Scoring in First Start: The European import Bogavac, who’s from Montenegro, topped the Tar Heels in scoring with 19 points two nights ago, in his first career start at Carolina. He connected on three 3-point makes, dished out five assists and swiped two steals. Bogavac shook off a frigid start from deep to help 18th-ranked Carolina overcome some early bumps and comfortably beat Radford 89-74. He missed his first five shots from 3-point range, and was held to one point through the first 14 minutes of game time. But Bogavac went on to make three of his next six attempts beyond the arc, heating up in the second half and shooting 5-of-10 from the field across the game’s final 20 minutes.

Bogavac plugged into the starting lineup for the injured Seth Trimble. The senior guard and team leader broke a bone in his left forearm on Sunday during a team workout. He had surgery on Monday, and has been wearing a cast on his left arm, from his elbow to his hand.

UNC’s schedule allows some degree of leeway during Trimble’s absence. Friday night continues a stretch of three straight buy games against mid-major opponents. Overall, the Tar Heels’ five home games in a row to open this season comprise the longest homestand in any part of a season since UNC played six consecutive home games in December 2013. Carolina is 180-18 against in-state, non-ACC teams, and has won 50 straight such matchups.

The Tar Heels are projected as favorites in 15 of their next 16 games, according to Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball database. The lone exception there is UNC’s trip to Kentucky in early December, as part of the annual ACC-SEC Challenge. Following that tough road test, Carolina currently isn’t a projected to be an underdog until Jan. 24, when it travels to play at Virginia.

Looking at NC Central: NC Central is in search of its first victory against a Division I program. The Eagles dropped their first three games of the new season, falling hard on the road to NC State (by a margin of 114-66), Virginia (81-62) and Appalachian State (76-54). NCCU picked up its first win on Wednesday night, defeating Division II program Bluefield State 77-61.

NC Central brought in 10 newcomers, including four transfer additions from outside the Division I ranks (two from Division II, and one apiece from junior college and the NAIA). NCCU has an experienced roster with 11 upperclassmen, including eight seniors, two juniors and one graduate. The Eagles are one of the shortest teams in college basketball, though, ranking No. 331 nationally with an average height of 76.3 inches (or just over 6-foot-4), per KenPom. For comparison, Carolina is the fifth-tallest team in the country with an average height of 79.2 inches (or over 6-7).

The Eagles are led by longtime coach LeVelle Moton, who’s in his 17th season. Under Moton, NCCU has produced 12 winning seasons and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Moton was an assistant at NC Central for two seasons, before being promoted to head coach in March 2009. Moton starred as a player at NCCU from 1992-96, earning CIAA Player of the Year honors as a senior. He’s still the school’s all-time leader in 3-point makes (213) and ranks third in career scoring (1,714 points).

Two-Man Scoring Attack: Guard Gage Lattimore and big man Khouri Carvey do most of the heavy lifting on offense for the Eagles, supplying 24 points and 16.3 points per game, respectively. No other players for NC Central average more than 5 points per game. Lattimore and Carvey have combined for more than 62 percent of the Eagles’ scoring production here in the early season.

The sophomore Lattimore transferred to NCCU after playing one season at Seton Hill, a Division II program. He averaged 10.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 42.1-percent shooting from 3-point range last season. The 6-foot-2 Lattimore took home MEAC Player of the Week honors on Monday. He finished with a career-high 38 points and rained in nine successful 3-pointers in the win against Bluefield State. He also played all 40 minutes in the losses to Virginia (25 points, five made 3-pointers) and NC State (20 points).

Carvey is in his first season at NC Central, too. He earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors to open the new season. Carvey transferred in from Morehead State, after appearing in 21 games and starting once last season. He leads NCCU in rebounding, grabbing 9.5 boards per game. He has produced two double-doubles this season, including a performance of 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists against Virginia.

Last Meeting: Carolina rallied out of a first-half deficit to take care of NC Central 73-67 in December 2020. The Tar Heels had fallen in an 11-point hole eight minutes into the game. Armando Bacot paced UNC with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Day’Ron Sharpe chipped in 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Tar Heels shot a dreadful 13 percent from 3-point range (2-of-15).

Series History: UNC leads the all-time series 3-0. All three meetings have been played at the Smith Center. The Tar Heels rolled past the Eagles 89-42 in November 2009, and won 76-60 when these programs matched up again in November 2014.

Projected UNC Starters
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 10 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 spg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 19.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3 apg, 2 spg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 17.3 ppg, 7 rpg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 7.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 11.3 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3 rpg

Projected NC Central Starters
1 Kyric Davis (Sr., 6-5, 202) — 4.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
2 Dionte Johnson (Sr., 6-0, 200) — 4.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg
7 Khouri Carvey (Sr., 6-9, 232) — 16.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3 apg
11 Gage Lattimore (So., 6-2, 190) — 24 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2 apg
13 Jonathan Dunn (Sr., 6-7, 208) — 2.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg

UNC Info
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

NC Central Info
Schedule/Info
Roster & Bios
Stats