LEXINGTON, Ky. — Dexter Strickland sat quietly in a corner of the North Carolina locker room in Rupp Arena Saturday afternoon.

After talking about all the “little mistakes” that led to No. 5 Carolina’s 73-72 loss to No. 1 Kentucky, Strickland said he wants the rematch.

“Oh, absolutely,” the former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star told SNY.tv. “Absolutely, we gotta get them.”

A year ago, of course, the two college basketball heavyweights met twice, with Carolina winning the regular season encounter at home and then losing the big one in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in Newark. (more…)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — On the eve of the big Carolina-Kentucky game, John Calipari said he hopes to continue the series after this year.

“Roy [Williams] and I have talked and both of us still want to play the series,” Calipari said Friday. “It’s important for both programs, but there’s only so many games you can play.”

The two storied programs will meet for the 12th straight year, and have continually re-upped a series of two-year, home-and-home affairs. (more…)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s not whether you’re No. 1 during the regular season that matters.

It’s whether you’re in the top spot when it’s all over.

Nobody knows that better than Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose team is currently No. 1 entering Saturday’s much-hyped matchup with his former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick teammate Dexter Strickland and No. 5 North Carolina at Rupp Arena.

Like Kentucky, Gilchrist’s St. Patrick team was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of last year. (more…)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Bring on John Henson and North Carolina.

That’s what Anthony Davis said after nearly pulling off only the second  triple-double in Kentucky history as the No. 1 Wildcats routed St. John’s 81-59 in the Big East/SEC Challenge at Rupp Arena.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” the 6-foot-10 Davis said after notching 15 points, 15 rebounds and 8 blocks. “Henson plays just like me. He’s a great shot-blocker and I just can’t wait to go against him Saturday.” (more…)

Nate Britt is a Carolina Tar Heel.

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Britt chose the Heels over Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia, Villanova and Arizona.

“At the end of the day, North Carolina felt like home to me,” Britt told FiveStarBasketball.com in an exclusive interview.

The Rivals No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2013, Britt figures to compete with 2012 signee Marcus Paige in the post-Kendall Marshall Era. Marshall could opt to leave for the NBA after this season or next. If he stays through his senior year, he and Britt would play together for one season. (more…)

Brice Johnson is a Tar Heel.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward ranked No. 15 at his position by Rivals tweeted the news Wednesday morning.

“I will be a UNC Tar Heel,” tweeted Johnson, from Cordova (S.C.) Edisto High.

Having chosen the Heels over N.C. State and Florida, Johnson joins a stacked recruiting class for Roy Williams that includes center Joel James, point guard Marcus Paige and wing J.P. Tokoto.

“He’s a terrific up and down the court player,” ACC recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger told ACCSports.com. “He plays hard the whole time. He’s slender now but he’s a wiry guy. He’s tougher than he looks and he’s extremely aggressive around the basket. And he’s not a bad shooter.

“If he improves his shot out to 3-point range then we might be talking about him down the road as a combo forward. Right now he’s a four.”

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North Carolina could get a special guest visitor during Mitch McGary’s official visit this week.

T.J. Warren, McGary’s Brewster (N.H.) Academy teammate, plans to stop by for an unofficial while McGary is on campus through Wednesday.

“He’s going to go by North Carolina when Mitch is there on his official,” Brewster coach Jason Smith told FiveStarBasketball.com.

Click here to read the full story FiveStarBasketball.com.

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ELIZABETH, N.J. — Dexter Strickland has already won a championship in high school.

Now he’s a member of a North Carolina team ranked No. 1 in the college basketball preseason and seeking an NCAA championship.

“It feels good [to be ranked No. 1], and also it brings a little pressure,” Strickland said earlier this week during a run at St. Patrick. “But at the same time we need that to help us have motivation during the season. Everybody’s coming out for us, and everybody has us marked down on the calendar, but that’s a good thing for us. (more…)

By ALEX KLINE 

The past 24 hours have been big for Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

T.J. Warren, a 2012 in-state forward, made his way to Chapel Hill late Thursday night, and Williams made a bold move the day after Warren had visited rival N.C. State.

“UNC just offered me face to face,” he said by text. The ACC powerhouse was not finished though.

Later that night, Jabari Parker’s mother, Folola Finau-Parker, received an important call. ”My wife just had a talk with Roy Williams of UNC,” said Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father. “He made an offer to Jabari.” (more…)

Kaleb Tarczewki’s Final 3 has turned into a Final 4.

The 7-footer from Claremont, N.H., said Kentucky is now on his short list along with Kansas, Arizona and North Carolina.

“They’re on the list,” he said by phone from the adidas Nations event in Los Angeles. “They came in pretty late.

“They’ve been coming to a lot of games, so I’ve seen them in the court and I’ve talked to them. You know, Kentucky’s Kentucky. It’s kind of hard to not let them into recruiting.” (more…)