Comeback complete: Three takeaways from UNC basketball’s win over No. 18 UCLA at MSG
It’s still hard thinking of North Carolina playing UCLA in an ACC-Big Ten matchup.
That could take some more time in this new normal of college basketball. But it was a big pre-Christmas matchup Saturday, the Tar Heels and Bruins going at it in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
It was a thriller, too, and a huge, 76-74 comeback win for the Tar Heels. UNC took a 75-74 lead on R.J. Davis’ two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, then made a defensive stop as UCLA’s Sebastian Mack tried to drive the lane against Elliot Cadeau but missed his shot.
Freshman Drake Powell ended up with the loose ball, and he finished it off for UNC with a free throw.
After hard-to-stomach losses against such Top 10 teams as Kansas, Auburn and Florida, when the Heels could not produce the finishing touches, they did Saturday.
“Down the stretch, I thought we were really good on both ends of the floor,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Our execution was really good defensively, we rebounded, we took care of the basketball. ...
“I always say for us to be efficient offensively, we’ve got to live in the paint and live at the free-throw line. We went to the free-throw line 35 times. And we outrebounded them. And down the stretch, we got a stop and got the rebound. That’s something we haven’t done in past games.”
For UCLA (10-2), 12th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, UNC was not a Quad-1 opponent. But for the Heels (7-5), No. 46 in the NET, the Bruins were a Quad-1, and the kind of opponent they badly needed to defeat.
UCLA, riding 26 points from versatile forward Tyler Bilodeau and 22 from sophomore guard Sebastian Mack, led nearly the entire game, building a 40-32 halftime cushion and expanding the lead to 16.
But it was was tense down the stretch and a majority of UNC fans in the arena gave it a homecourt feel, urging on the Tar Heels, who were playing in throwback road jerseys.
“It’s always electric playing at the Garden,” R.J. Davis said. “It’s historic, with the players who have played here.. But overall, just the energy. We made a run our fans got so loud you couldn’t hear on the court.”
UCLA kept a comfortable lead much of the second half until Bilodeau fell into foul trouble and had to sit — “I’ve got to be smarter and not take silly fouls,” Bilodeau said.
Bilodeau was called for his fourth foul with 11:45 left in the second half and the Bruins leading by 14. When he finally returned about six minutes later, the UCLA lead was three points, and Bilodeau would later miss four free throws.
The Tar Heels began to push, cutting into the lead as the young and the old — freshman Ian Jackson (24 points) and Davis (17) — led the way.
Jalen Washington’s putback for UNC tied the score 72-72. But Davis was called for charging with 48 seconds remaining, then for a blocking foul that had UNC fans stomping mad.
Mack made a pair of free throws with 36.7 seconds to push the Bruins back to a two-point lead, but Davis was fouled with 22.2 seconds showing. He missed the first of two foul shots, then made the second.
Jackson, a freshman who played his prep ball at Our Saviour Lutheran School in the Bronx, gave the Heels a high-energy, productive game. A quick-twitch type, he had a career-high in points to lead the Heels
UNC still after that fast start
In hockey, the parlance is always about “starting on time.” Fail to do that and you can often be chasing the game.
The Heels know about chasing.
After all their first-half problems against quality opponents this season, the Tar Heels were determined to come into the Garden and do something about those slow starts at the worst times.
Powell, again in the starting lineup, hit a jumper for starters, the ball getting a favorable roll. UNC had the early lead.
And then UCLA reeled off the next nine points. And then the Bruins led by as many as 13 points (31-18) during the first half before settling on a 40-32 halftime lead.
The Bruins’ offense was too smoothly run as UCLA shot 53% from the field — 6 of 11 on 3-pointers — and had 12 assists on 16 made baskets. That’s high efficiency, easily offsetting the Bruins’ 10 first-half turnovers.
Bilodeau a load for UCLA
Bilodeau is UCLA’s leading scorer and knows what to do with the ball on the offensive end — that is, attack.
The 6-9, 230-pound junior started the game by going eye-to-eye with UNC’s Ven-Allen Lubin and knocking down a couple of 3’s from the top of the key.
Out came Lubin and in came Ty Claude, the 6-7 graduate transfer from Georgia Tech. Bilodeau promptly posted up low and scored, drawing a foul and converting a 3-point play.
The Heels also had the 6-10 Washington matched up on Bilodeau. Once, R.J. Davis had him after a switch.
The Heels’ lack of size on the defensive end can be glaring at times. They lost the game to Florida in Charlotte when they were unable to keep the Gators away from the offensive boards in the final minutes. They did a better job against UCLA but found Bilodeau a tough matchup.
Early in the second half, the Heels made a push to get within 46-41. Bilodeau sized up Lubin on the baseline, then drove past him for a reverse layup. Moments later, he drained a 3 for a 51-41 lead. Later, another 3 for a 56-43 lead.
Cadeau can be puzzling
Cadeau can be something of a basketball enigma.
The sophomore has all the basketball smarts. He knows the game. He knows how to play point guard. He’s strong. He has good instincts. All that.
But watching Cadeau in the first half on Saturday can raise questions about his inner confidence, his mindset. Another question: Will he see his minutes decrease if there’s not better play as the ACC season rolls along?
Cadeau started Saturday, but Davis was the one handling the ball a lot as Cadeau sat and watched. Jackson made the most of his minutes in the first half, scoring 13 points, bringing the energy.
Cadeau, to his credit, did his part in the second-half comeback, finishing with five assists. And he was the one who refused to let UCLA’s Mack win it with his last-gasp shot at the end.
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 5:48 PM.
