Written by Clark Gerber, a contributor for WRAL Sports.

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This is March!

The most beloved month for every fan of college basketball has arrived.

The first weekend of March kicked off with exciting rivalry basketball games in North Carolina.

NC State took an 8-point advantage at halftime on Saturday in Chapel Hill, but was unable to withstand a strong second half comeback by UNC. Four of the Tar Heels’ starters scored in the double digits, with Harrison Ingram leading the way with 22 points.

After halftime, they scored 17 points more than the Wolfpack and ultimately secured a relatively comfortable home victory, maintaining their position at the top of the ACC Standings.

On Sunday, the women’s team from North Carolina had the opportunity to showcase their skills. Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly collaborated to score a total of 35 points on Senior Day for the Tar Heels, resulting in a close 4-point win over Duke to conclude the regular season.

Courtney Banghart’s team delivered a much-needed performance, especially after losing their last two games.

The University of North Carolina’s women’s basketball team, known as the Tar Heels, has been assigned the 8th seed for the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro. Their first game will take place on Thursday against Miami.

Duke, seeded 7th, is scheduled to play the victor of the Pitt vs. Georgia Tech match in the second round on Thursday. If they are victorious, they will progress to face NC State, ranked 2nd, in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

Returning to the men’s team, NC State suffered another defeat in their rival match on Monday evening. Despite DJ Burns scoring 27 points, the Wolfpack could not hold on and ultimately lost by 15 points at home to Duke.

At the 12-minute mark, the Blue Devils were behind by one point, but they ultimately won the game with a final scoring run of 34-18.

Duke University is scheduled to welcome North Carolina for a game at the end of this week. The victor of this match will likely secure the top seed in Washington, D.C. for the conference tournament next week.

LeBron James and Caitlin Clark achieve significant accomplishments in their respective fields.

If you’re a fan of records, impressive numbers, notable names, and basketball, this past weekend was a dream come true.

LeBron James and Caitlin Clark are possibly the most well-known figures in the entire world of sports, and they both just solidified their exceptional status in history.

Recently, on Saturday, LeBron took the spotlight as he accomplished a remarkable feat in the NBA by becoming the first player in history to score 40,000 points in his career. It’s an astounding achievement, setting a new record. However, it wasn’t until I put it into perspective that I truly understood the magnitude of his accomplishment.

Assuming a new player joins the NBA and consistently scores 30 points per game, without ever missing a single regular season game, for a total of 16 seasons.

If a legendary player of this caliber were real, they would still not reach the 40,000-point milestone. They would fall short by 640 points.

The significance of LeBron achieving this milestone should not be overlooked. It is truly astonishing that he has maintained such a high level of skill for so many years while also managing to avoid serious injury. This is truly a feat of miraculous proportions.

I am uncertain if anyone will ever surpass his scoring record once he’s finished.

In terms of achievements in scoring, Caitlin Clark, a standout in Iowa’s women’s basketball team, achieved a new feat on Sunday by surpassing “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s record in Division I for most career points. This record has stood for 54 years for both men and women.

Certain individuals with more experience may mention that Maravich did not have the advantage of a 3-point shot (or his first year as a college player) in order to achieve 3,667 total points throughout his career. However, it should also be acknowledged that Maravich had the advantage of being given the green light to shoot whenever he pleased. He averaged over 38 shot attempts per game throughout his career.

Caitlin Clark attempts about 20 shots per game and has a higher career shooting percentage (46.5%) compared to Maravich’s (43.8%). She also averages three more assists per game.

Clark deserves some recognition for helping to bring about a new era in which women’s college basketball has the potential to become more popular than men’s basketball. It is at least heading in that direction.

The game on Sunday against Ohio State, ranked No. 2, had an impressive audience of 3.4 million viewers. This was higher than both TNT’s NBA Opening Night games and Victor Wembanyama’s debut on ESPN in the NBA.

Women’s college basketball viewership has supposedly increased by 60% on all networks. It is anticipated that this year’s tournament may break viewership records.

The phenomenon of Caitlin Clark, ladies and gentlemen.

The Hurricanes suffer a collapse and loss to the Jets.

During an 82-game regular season, it’s expected to have some disappointing games. However, the Hurricanes’ defeat against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon was their worst in quite some time.

Just before the second intermission, Sebastian Aho’s power play goal gave the Canes a 3-0 lead, making it seem highly likely that Carolina would secure their third consecutive win.

The following events go against any rational explanation. In the third period, Carolina let in an easily scored goal, causing a sudden surge in scoring opportunities. Winnipeg scored five consecutive goals in the last 20 minutes of the game, two of which were by former Hurricane player Nino Niederreiter, resulting in a 5-3 victory in Raleigh.

Many of the Hurricanes described the loss as “embarrassing,” which may greatly affect the remainder of the season.

Is the upcoming Friday deadline for the NHL Trade causing the Carolina team to reevaluate their approach, given their historically aggressive nature? Has their latest defeat affected their decision-making in any way as they consider potential trades?

as the team has made several moves to improve their roster.

The Panthers have wasted no time this offseason in making changes to their roster in order to strengthen their team.

The Carolina Panthers were expected to face a challenging offseason. With a poor record of 2-15, no first round draft pick, and a newly restructured front office, it was bound to be a rough journey.

As the NFL free agency approaches the following week, the true and unpleasant state of the Panthers is becoming apparent.

On Tuesday afternoon, the most significant update was announced – Carolina has utilized the franchise tag on their top edge rusher, Brian Burns. This tag falls under the “non-exclusive” category, allowing Burns to engage in negotiations with other teams beginning next week.

If another team offers Burns a contract, the Panthers have the option to either match the offer and retain Burns, or decline it and let him go while receiving two future first round draft picks as compensation for their decision.

Brian Burns did not have his best season in 2023. His 8 total sacks were the lowest since his rookie season and reports are that he and the Panthers are still far apart on any long-term deal negotiation.

It’s possible that Carolina may execute a tag-and-trade in the near future. While this may disappoint fans initially, it could actually benefit the team in the long run.

Unfortunately, the hope of adding star wide receiver Mike Evans to our team from Tampa Bay has been extinguished. The Buccaneers have secured him for an additional two years, disappointing Panther supporters.

The team is likely to release cornerback Donte Jackson and tight end Hayden Hurst in the near future. Therefore, if you were not previously convinced, you should be now: a complete offseason overhaul is on the horizon.

Russell Wilson makes the wrong kind of history

Many other NFL teams, such as the Denver Broncos, are also planning major changes in the upcoming months. They face a difficult situation as they prepare to release quarterback Russell Wilson when the new league year begins next week.

Denver has recently announced a significant move that has caught public attention on Monday. This decision is noteworthy due to its implications of an $85 million financial penalty over the course of the next two years. Essentially, even though Russell Wilson is not currently a part of the team, his salary will still impact Denver’s cap space. This showcases the extent to which Denver was determined to part ways with him.

The transfer resulted in the ex-NC State quarterback shattering the previous record for the largest dead money penalty in the league. In fact, it surpasses Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ current record ($40.5 million, set in 2022) by more than double.

Wilson’s record during his two seasons with the Broncos was 11 wins and 19 losses. He was unable to bring the team to the playoffs. His time in Denver is most notably marked by inadequate time management under former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, the rallying cry “Broncos Country Let’s Ride,” and now, the unprecedented dead cap amount.

Also, we mustn’t overlook the Dangerwich from Subway.

“Don’t get too down, Panthers fans! It could be worse.”

Professional golfers are similar to average individuals.

If you have golfed before, you may have experienced a successful hole on the green turning into a disastrous one.

It is a common frustration in sports and it experiences by everyone, including professional athletes.

One notable example is when professional Belgian golfer Thomas Detry had a disastrous performance on the 6th hole during last Friday’s Cognizant Open in Palm Beach Gardens.

On his third attempt, Detry’s shot landed within 6 feet of the hole, providing an opportunity for an effortless par. However, he proceeded to putt five times from there, resulting in a quadruple bogey for the hole. Ouch, that’s painful.

The horrific series resulted in Detry’s score dropping to 11-over par for the tournament, essentially extinguishing any chance of him qualifying for the next round.

The overlooked aspect in this scenario is that many of us would have given up after the third putt and accepted a double bogey. However, the regulations are more stringent on the PGA Tour, thus Detry had to persevere through every discouraging missed shot.

I hope the 31-year-old can recover swiftly and never has to experience anything similar in the future.

See you next week!

Source: wralsportsfan.com