UNC basketball survives late mistakes against Miami. 4 takeaways from Tar Heels’ win
At halftime here on Saturday at Miami, North Carolina faced the specter of losing its second consecutive game, a dubious achievement the Tar Heels had avoided since back-to-back losses against Connecticut and Kentucky back in December. A defeat here at the sold-out Watsco Center also would’ve been UNC’s third loss in four games, a first this season.
It would not have been time to panic, not exactly. And yet it would not have boded well for a team that is attempting to rise along with the stakes and the time of year. February is not March, and we’re a long way, yet from the win-or-go home finality of the college basketball postseason. Still, at halftime against the Hurricanes, it felt like UNC was up against it for the first time this season.
It felt like the Tar Heels needed to answer a challenge, about their mettle or capabilities or maybe both; and that without the answer they sought — the one they provided, in time, however wobbly it was — they risked their season turning in a direction they’d rather avoid. And so crises avoided, for now. And perhaps for the foreseeable future, after UNC’s needed, tough-it-out, 75-72 victory on Saturday.
It was a victory that felt more like a survival, with the Tar Heels’ once-comfortable second-half lead whittled down to two points with 40 seconds left; with a sloppy UNC turnover from there on an out of bounds play, with the Tar Heels missing free throws and giving the Hurricanes a chance right up until time expired.
And then: an exhalation.
Even before all of that, it was hardly easy. The Tar Heels squandered a 12-point first half lead, trailed at halftime and a festive home crowd was at its loudest and most vibrant very early in the second half (until the final minutes, that is) with the Hurricanes trying to take control. And then came a quick 10-0 UNC run, and that sound road teams savor when they enter noisy and hostile buildings: silence.
A four-point deficit not long after halftime turned into a 10-point UNC lead with about 10 minutes remaining. From there it was another test of resolve for the Tar Heels, led by 25 points from RJ Davis, and a question: Could they hold on and avoid too much drama down the stretch? The answer: Well, no.
But the Tar Heels did hang on.
Here are the takeaways from UNC’s victory:
The ending was ugly. Tar Heels fortunate to hang on
All you need to know about the final minutes for UNC: It didn’t make a shot from the field during the final four minutes, seven seconds. And it missed three free throws, which helped the Hurricanes stick around. In addition to the missed shots, both from the field and at the line, the Tar Heels committed four turnovers in the final four minutes, too.
In other words, they did about everything they could do to lose. And yet still won.
There are those highlight-reel moments in any given season that are looked back upon and celebrated. The final four minutes here, for UNC, offered the complete opposite. And yet any team that has the kind of aspirations UNC has needs to find a way to persevere without its best.
“I like 20-point wins — that would be great,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “But Miami’s a really good team and we haven’t had very much success against them of late, and especially here. And so because of their athleticism and their ability to score in a number of different positions, we always know that no lead is safe. And they continued to fight and we made a couple more plays down the stretch.”
UNC took no time to respond from the letdown against Clemson, BUT ...
If the Tar Heels’ performance in a loss against Clemson on Tuesday could be characterized as a post-Duke hangover (and that described it well), then how best to put their start here at Miami on Saturday?
Was it an awakening? A revitalization? A statement, of sorts? All of those things, yes.
It was, without question, exactly what UNC needed. The Tar Heels opened a 15-4 lead during the first four-plus minutes against Miami, prompting Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga to call a timeout. It was the reverse of UNC’s start on Tuesday, when it trailed 15-2.
The good vibes continued for the Tar Heels, at least for a while, and they led 20-8.
But then came, well, the “but” of the whole thing.
After building that 12-point lead, the rest of the half belonged to Miami. The Hurricanes outscored UNC 33-20 during the final 12-and-a-half minutes before halftime. Part of it was that Miami increased the intensity and the defensive pressure. Open looks became fewer.
But part of it, too, could be attributed to the Tar Heels’ sloppiness and failure to execute. UNC during one stretch missed 17 of its 20 attempts from the field – and no team is capable of winning with that kind of percentage. Fortunately for UNC, its start was so good that it mitigated the cost of how it played throughout the majority of the first half.
Its halftime deficit was 41-40, but it could’ve been worse. And then came
RJ Davis sees your tougher defenses and raises ... his game?
One of the emerging challenges over the past couple of weeks for UNC is how teams have chosen to defend RJ Davis, the Tar Heels’ senior guard and arguably the leading candidate for ACC Player of the Year honors. Davis is in the midst of a fantastic season – among the best of any guard in the nation.
And yet his limitations are his limitations, with his size, and teams have tried to get physical with him. Duke did its best to try to take him out of his game last week. Clemson was effective, too, in limiting Davis’ movement and making things more difficult on him.
He still got his points in both — 22 against Clemson, 17 against Duke – but they came with more difficulty.
It was a little less so here on Saturday, especially during the first half. Sixteen of Davis’ 25 points came during the game’s first 20 minutes, as did four of his five 3-pointers. The scoring and shooting exhibition were more in line with what Davis has done throughout most of the season — not that Miami played him any softer than most teams have recently.
Davis did his part (and more) with his scoring. He also spent the better part of the afternoon chasing around Nijel Pack, the Hurricanes’ potent guard. Though has become one of the ACC’s best offensive players this season, Davis said he has tried to elevate his performance just as much on the other end of the court.
That, he said, is “a key emphasis for me, especially if I want to play at the next level — just to take that defensive challenge, any night.”
Pack finished with 20 points, but only two of those came in the second half, when Davis was his primary defender. Certainly, that limited his ability on offense, though he still received plenty of defensive attention — so much that it helped Elliot Cadeau find an opening for a breakout of his own.
Speaking of Cadeau: a breakout offensive performance
If Cadeau can score consistently, or at least provide the threat of making some outside shots more than once every couple games, it’s a game-changer for UNC. The freshman point guard, who reclassified and graduated high school a year early, has done a lot of things right for the Tar Heels.
Most things, really. He’s been the passer they expected. His vision is as advertised. His defense has come a ways since the start of the season. But scoring, and especially shooting, have been weak points for him, and recently teams have been daring him to shoot.
Perhaps that changes some after what he did at Miami. Not only did Cadeau make his first 3-pointer since a Dec. 29 victory against Charleston Southern, but he also made two 3s in the same game for the first time all season. His 19 points were a career high, to go along with eight assists.
Cadeau opened up afterward and said his shooting slump had affected his confidence. He’d missed his previous 12 3-point attempts entering Saturday, and was on such a cold streak that defenses were backing off of him. Saturday will help, though Cadeau is naturally hard on himself.
“That’s just how I am,” he said. Which is why is mind was on something other than his scoring.
“When I look at this game, I just see five turnovers,” he said. “I see a couple when we really needed to score. And that’s what I see. I don’t really see 19 points.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2024 at 6:25 PM.
