UNC basketball hands NC State its worst loss of season. Tar Heels now 11-0 at home
What else did you expect on Roy Williams Day at North Carolina?
On a day the Tar Heels honored their former coach with a banner in the rafters, Carolina defeated N.C. State in a way that would make Williams proud.
Williams’ record against the Wolfpack during his 18 seasons at UNC was 33-5. Tack on five more wins from his time at Kansas, and his 38-5 overall record is as one-sided as Saturday’s game.
The Heels (15-6, 7-3 ACC) never trailed and, really never sweated in jumping out to a 25-point halftime lead en route to an 100-80 victory.
In addition to Williams being celebrated, Carolina’s 1982 national championship team was also recognized during a timeout in the second half. Most of the team was present, including Michael Jordan, who sat courtside at the scorer’s table during the game.
“To have Michael here and Buzz Peterson and Matt Doherty, and the ‘82 team and for our guys to be able to see them and see the bond that they have had for so many years because they have shared experiences of playing together and being a team,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “It really encouraged them and gave them a great visual of what it’s like to be a team and what it means to be successful here at North Carolina.”
Jordan addressed the team after the game and the gist of his speech was to play with passion. Jordan’s presence in particular served as an added boost for the Heels.
“When I knocked down my first 3, I looked right at him,” UNC guard Caleb Love said. “It wasn’t intentional, but I looked at him and we kind of made eye contact. It’s just crazy to see him there. He’s the greatest to ever play his game and so to see him sitting sideline and watching us play, and us playing good. It’s just inspirational.”
UNC forward Armando Bacot made a bit of history too. Bacot’s 18 points put him over 1,000 for his career and made him the 79th player in program history to achieve the feat. Bacot’s 13 rebounds gave him another double-double after having his streak of 10 games snapped against Boston College.
“All the alums coming back, seeing the championship team and then honoring coach Williams and us getting to talk to them after the game, I mean, it all was just great,” Bacot said. “And it’s just a special night for Carolina.”
Here’s what we learned in the Heels’ win:
Return of 3-point bombs
Carolina led the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage until its consecutive losses to Miami and Wake Forest, when it shot a combined 12-for-58 from behind the arc.
UNC nearly reached its season-high by halftime, with 10 makes. It didn’t take long after intermission for Love to knock down the 13th 3, besting their previous mark of 12 against Purdue.
The Heels finished with 15 3-pointers, two shy of the program record of 17 set against Florida State on Jan. 25, 1995.
“We had 17 assists as a team, that’s really cool, it’s special,” said forward Brady Manek, who led the way with five 3s and finished with 17 points. “You get guys looking for other guys. There were several times they were drive and kicks to the corner, drive and kick to top the key, posts feeds -- I mean, we did it all. We were having really good time out there and you could tell that everybody was glad to see everybody succeed.”
After a shooting historic low 29 percent from the field against Boston College, there were no indicators that the Heels would light it up other than Leaky Black’s assurance after the game that it wouldn’t happen again. And even Black prefaced his statement with, “I don’t want to jinx it.”
Seamless backcourt
Love and R.J. Davis turned in one of their best games as a duo in ACC play. The Wolfpack was third in ACC play in turnover percentage, but its pressure never affected the Heels’ play. Davis and Love, Carolina’s primary ball handlers, each had just one turnover. In two games against the Pack last season, they combined for 12.
The pair started the game off either scoring or assisting for 15 of UNC’s first 17 points. It continued from there as Love finished with a team-high 21 points and five assists. Davis had 17 points and four assists.
Hubert Davis pointed out that the Heels entered the game 7-0 when Love had five or more assists, 8-0 when Black had three or more assists and 10-4 when R.J. Davis had more assists than turnovers.
“:I said we got to get back to sharing the basketball,” Hubert Davis said. “I love their ability to score. But when we consistently pass up good shots to get great shots, and we’re sharing the basketball and it’s a combination of ball movement plus player movement, I think we’re really good offensively. And I think we shoot the ball really well.”
The backcourt helped lead Carolina to its fifth most offensively efficient game, according to Ken Pomeroy, in the last four seasons.
Can the Heels bottle this one up?
Carolina’s three home wins this week erased the stench of its two road losses to Miami and Wake Forest. But with a trip Tuesday to Louisville, the question remains can the Heels show the focus and execution they did in the first half on the road?
The Cardinals appear re-energized after coach Chris Mack stepped down last week. They played Duke tough before losing 74-65 on Saturday. Carolina will need more of an effort like it attacked N.C. State with as opposed to the listless performances against the Hurricanes and Deacons.
If there’s one thing that they need to carry over, it’s the defensive performance that held N.C. State’s leading scorer Dereon Seabron to just two points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field. Seabron, who was averaging 19.0 points per game, had previously scored double figures in every game this season.
“The coaches are just preaching not got get fat and happy,” Black said. “Because previously, we win a game we play good then we’ll come out, lay an egg and it feels like the end of the world. So we just got to use this momentum and keep building on this.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2022 at 4:08 PM.