North Carolina basketball report (4)

Game of the Week: BC at N.C. State women, Thursday at 7 p.m.
Kay Yow always wanted more fans at women’s basketball games. Attending this game would be a fitting tribute.

Game of the Week II: Duke at Wake Forest, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Blue Devils defend their No. 1 (RPI) ranking against the No. 12 Demon Deacons.

Game of the Week III: UNC at N.C. State, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
This game will have to be State’s Super Bowl.

Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology: Bracket | Story

Rankings (results through Sunday’s games)
RPI rankings, team (overall record, record vs. North Carolina teams)

1. Duke (18-1, 3-0)
Last week: 1
Bracketology: No. 1 seed in the Midwest, vs. Southland champion
beat UNC Asheville, Davidson, N.C. State

7. North Carolina (16-2, 1-1)
Last week: 7
Bracketology: No. 2 seed in the South, vs. Ivy League champion
beat UNC Asheville
lost to Wake Forest

Tyler Hansbrough: 22.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, .537 2-point percentage and .842 free throw percentage

His brother — Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame: is sitting out this season after transferring from Mississippi State.

Tyler: 10th in the country in scoring.

Ty Lawson: fifth in assists (6.7).

12. Wake Forest (16-1, 5-0)
Last week: 11
Bracketology: No. 1 seed in the West, vs. Big Sky champion
beat N.C. Central, UNC Wilmington, Winston-Salem State,
East Carolina, North Carolina

37. Davidson (15-3, 3-1)
Last week: 31
Bracketology: No. 8 seed in the East, vs. Virginia Tech
beat N.C. State, Appalachian State, Elon
lost to Duke

Stephen Curry: 29.3 points, 6.4 assists, 2.95 steals, .553 2-point percentage, .385 3-point percentage and .854 free throw percentage

Curry: first in scoring, ninth in assists and seventh in steals.

His brother — Seth Curry, Liberty: 20.7 points, .506 2-point percentage, .386 3-point percentage and .781 free throw percentage

110. N.C. State (10-7, 4-2)
Last week: 117
beat High Point, UNC Greensboro, Winston-Salem State, East Carolina
lost to Davidson, Duke

166. East Carolina (7-8, 3-2)
Last week: 174
beat Campbell, UNC Wilmington, UNC Greensboro
lost to N.C. State, Wake Forest

Brock Young: first in assists (8.2).

180. Gardner-Webb (6-10, 2-1)
Last week: 193
beat Western Carolina, High Point
lost UNC Asheville

193. UNC Charlotte (6-12, 1-1)
Last week: 206
beat UNC Greensboro
lost to Appalachian State

203. UNC Asheville (6-11, 3-3)
Last week: 189
beat Western Carolina, Gardner-Webb, High Point
lost to Campbell, North Carolina, Duke

234. Western Carolina (7-9, 2-3)
Last week: 219
beat UNC Greensboro, Elon
lost to Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State

255. Appalachian State (6-10, 4-3)
Last week: 272
beat UNC Charlotte, Campbell, Elon, Western Carolina
lost UNC Wilmington, UNC Greensboro, Davidson

270. UNC Wilmington (5-16, 2-2)
Last week: 289
beat Appalachian State, N.C. Central
lost to Wake Forest, East Carolina

280. N.C. A&T (5-11, 1-0)
Last week: 273
beat Winston-Salem State

Thomas Coleman: ninth in blocks (2.89).

281. Elon (3-11, 0-4)
Last week: 288
lost to Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Davidson,
UNC Greensboro

305. Campbell (5-12, 1-2)
Last week: 301
beat UNC Asheville
lost to East Carolina, Appalachian State

322. UNC Greensboro (2-14, 2-4)
Last week: 317
beat Appalachian State, Elon
lost to UNC Charlotte, N.C. State, East Carolina, Western Carolina

330. Winston-Salem State (2-13, 1-3)
Last week: 315
beat N.C. Central
lost to Wake Forest, N.C. State, N.C. A&T

333. High Point (2-14, 1-3)
Last week: 337
beat N.C. Central
lost to N.C. State, Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville

Cruz Daniels: ninth in blocks (2.89).

338. N.C. Central (1-20, 0-4)
Last week: 334
lost to Wake Forest, UNC Wilmington, High Point,
Winston-Salem State

Nine of the 19 North Carolina teams (47 percent) rank in the bottom 26 percent of the sport.

Kay Yow (1942-2009)

RALEIGH (AP) | N.C. State’s Kay Yow, the Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach who won more than 700 games while earning fans with her decades-long fight against breast cancer, died on Saturday. She was 66. | ESPN.com

Yow coached the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team to a gold medal in 1988, won four ACC tournament championships, earned 20 NCAA tournament bids and reached the Final Four in 1998.

But for many fans, Yow was best defined by her unwavering resolve while fighting cancer, from raising awareness and money for research to staying with her team through the debilitating effects of the disease and chemotherapy treatments. In her final months, Yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bones.

She never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were other patients with “harder battles than I’m fighting” and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.

“Almost everybody is dealing with something,” Yow said in a 2006 interview.

Yow’s story touched players, fans | The News & Observer

Yow’s considerable efforts will live on | ESPN.com

ESPN videos: Remembering Yow | Yow’s Legacy

WRAL video: Yow: 38 years of coaching, inspiration

Halls of Fame: Basketball | N.C. Sports

Thoughts with Yow

Goes without saying, but our thoughts and prayers are with N.C. State women's basketball coach Kay Yow as she is in a local hospital battling stage 4 cancer as her Wolfpack prepares to take on Miami.

"Yow's longtime oncologist, Dr. Mark Graham, recommended that she enter the hospital," said the N&O. "Graham said that the overall complexity of Yow's care prompted him to make that decision. ...

"Yow, who has coached with metastatic breast cancer since 2004, is said to have not felt well while resting at her Cary home. She had not been hospitalized during the four games she missed earlier in the season.

"Yow, in her 34th season with the Wolfpack, missed her first game this season on Dec. 22 and would miss four before taking a leave of absence. Graham advised that it was best for Yow to 'focus on her disease and its treatment, which she will need to do for the foreseeable future.'

"Graham said Wednesday that Yow's status for in-home care or hospital care would be determined 'day to day.' He would not disclose the name of the hospital or speak directly about Yow's care."

I had the pleasure of interviewing Coach Yow as a student reporter years ago, and she went above and beyond giving me the time and attention I deserved for a piece on which I was working. Keep fighting, Coach Yow. We're all with ya.