CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolinas players came to preseason camp talking about building on an 11-win season that ended with a pair of frustrating losses.It was a positive sign for fifth-year coach Larry Fedora.Its a good thing, that you dont have to worry about them being satisfied with what they did, Fedora said Friday after the first preseason practice. That was just a new bar that was set.The Tar Heels (11-3) matched a program record for wins, swept through their league schedule to win the Atlantic Coast Conferences Coastal Division and play then-No. 1 Clemson in the ACC title game. But the Tar Heels lost that one in a shootout, then lost to Baylor in another high-scoring contest in the Russell Athletic Bowl to end the year.UNC again has a high-scoring offense to lean on led by new starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky, and featuring key returnees like tailback Elijah Hood and receiver Ryan Switzer. And that could help mask some of the defensive questions that loomed large in those losses to a pair of powerful offenses to end the year.Most notably, UNC gave up a program-record 645 yards rushing to Baylor in the bowl loss.That unit, which lost leaders Jeff Schoettmer and Shakeel Rashad, gets a stiff test in the opening game against Georgia in Atlanta on Sept. 3.We didnt end the year the way we wanted to, Fedora said. Theyve had a bad taste in their mouths for 220 days now. They know theyre about 28 days from the possibility of getting that bad taste out of their mouth.The defense improved from a record-setting, poor performance in 2014 to a bend-but-dont-break unit in its first year under defensive coordinator and former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. That unit spent most of last year relying on basics, while the spring drills and preseason camp will allow that unit to add more looks to that unit now that the Tar Heels have a year of experience in Chiziks system.Weve been installing all year long, all summer, ever since the new round of freshmen got in, said junior defensive tackle Nazair Jones, a third-team all-ACC pick by the media last season. So weve caught those guys up. Now were re-teaching everything just to start with the fundamentals since its the first day, but besides that, were already adding stuff to our playbook and getting ready for the year.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at
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http://collegefootball.ap.org .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. AUBURN, Ala. -- Mustapha Heron had his first career double-double -- 24 points and 10 rebounds -- Danjel Purifoy scored 16 points, and Auburn beat Eastern Kentucky 85-64 Thursday night in a Cancun Challenge game.Heron shouldered the load, but Auburn needed a team effort to keep its season-opening win streak alive.The Tigers led 10-2 but went cold while Eastern Kentucky (1-2) rallied and stayed ahead until two and a half minutes left in the first half. Purifoy hit a 3-pointer amid a 9-2 run and Auburn led 37-34 at halftime.The Colonels (1-2) closed to within 38-39 early in the second half on Jaylen Babb-Harrisons layup. Auburn pulled away on a 15-2 run and led 65-50 after a free throw by Heron and Eastern Kentucky got no closer.Auburns 34.5 shooting percentage in the first period became a scorching 56.7 percent in the second half as the Tigers broke the game open.Theyre a good team, and you cant give a team like that second- and third-chance opportunities, and thats what we did, Eastern Kentucky coach Dan McHale said. We allowed them to impose their will, and they made us pay.The Tigers (3-0) were by propelled by Heron, a freshman, who connected on all eight of his field goal attempts, but only made seven of his 13 free throws.Auburn outrebounded the Colonels 51-30, but made 25 of 41 free throws (61 percent), which helped Eastern Kentucky stay close for most of the game.I thought that we were obviously, our physicality -- the difference between the OVC and the SEC showed up on the boards, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. And obviously we took advantage of some things. I dont think that our offensive execution is not whhat it needs to be.dddddddddddd Were going to spend some time doing a better job with that.Nick Mayo led the Colonels with 22 points and five rebounds, and Dillon Avare added 14 points.THE TAKEAWAYAuburn: The Tigers finish their opening homestand 3-0 and head to Cancun, Mexico, on a roll.Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels drop the first of two games against Power 5 opponents and fall below .500 on the season.HE SAID ITInteresting. Weve struggled from the free throw line and we were shooting great in the preseason and we actually shot more free throws this week than we have in a while. I think Im not going to shoot any more free throws and just let them do it on their own because that could have been an issue in the outcome. -- Auburn coach Bruce PearlMAJOR MILESTONEAuburn guard Ronnie Johnson finished with 13 points, but it was a seemingly meaningless layup midway through the second half that mattered the most. With those two points, Johnson eclipsed 1,000 total points for his career. Johnson, a graduate transfer, scored 697 points in his first two years at Purdue and had 291 at Houston last year.STARTING HOTWith the win, Auburn moves to 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12. Its the second time in 12 years thats happened on The Plains.UP NEXTAuburn travels to Cancun to play Texas Tech on Tuesday for the Tigers first away game, and theyll look to keep Bruce Pearls best start at Auburn going.Eastern Kentucky also plays the Red Raiders in Cancun, but the Colonels take on Texas Tech on Saturday. ' ' '
