The Next Play: Top women’s and men’s basketball teams clash, and the Canes come home
We’re still months away from March but two of the Triangle’s college basketball teams have games with top-five opponents this week.
N.C. State’s game with No. 1 Purdue and North Carolina’s battle with No. 4 UCLA, both being played on neutral courts, bring a March Madness feel to the holiday season.
College football take’s the spotlight on Wednesday when the early signing period arrives for high school seniors.
Elsewhere, the Carolina Hurricanes continue a western swing through Canada before they return to the United States and eventually home ice later this week.
Here’s a look at what lies ahead:
Big time basketball
A fun week on the hardwood starts Sunday when N.C. State and Purdue clash at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Purdue attained the nation’s No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history on Monday only to lose 70-68 at unranked Rutgers on a Ron Harper, Jr. buzzer-beater that’s in contention for play of the year. The Wolfpack (7-2) enter Sunday’s 2 p.m. game, which will be televised by the Big Ten Network, after beating Bethune-Cookman, 65-48, on Thursday night at Reynolds Coliseum.
After playing Purdue at the Brooklyn Nets’ home court, N.C. State heads to another NBA arena on Friday to face Richmond at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
North Carolina plays Furman Tuesday at the Smith Center before heading west for its top-five showdown. The Tar Heels will play UCLA at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday at 3 p.m. on CBS.
No. 3 Duke (7-1), off since losing 71-66 at Ohio State on Nov. 30 when it was ranked No. 1, returns to the Cameron Indoor Stadium court Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. game with S.C. State. The Blue Devils also have home games Thursday at 7 p.m. against Appalachian State and Saturday at 4 p.m. with Cleveland State.
Top women’s teams in action
On the women’s side of things, No. 19 Duke (8-0) gets a chance to knock off the nation’s No. 1-ranked team when South Carolina (9-0) comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday night on ACC Network.
N.C. State, ranked No. 2, has a pair of home games at Reynolds Coliseum this week: Sunday with St. Mary’s at 2 p.m. and Thursday night at 6 p.m. against Georgia.
Canes return home
On the ice, the Carolina Hurricanes play Sunday night at the Vancouver Canucks and Tuesday night at the Minnesota Wild to complete a five-game road swing.
The Hurricanes have a home game Thursday night with the Detroit Red Wings before the Los Angeles Kings play the Canes at PNC Arena on Saturday night.
This story was originally published December 12, 2021 at 6:30 AM.