Welcome to the ACC: Three takeaways from UNC basketball’s home win over SMU
Those who like to scour and analyze the NCAA’s NET Rankings likely knew that North Carolina was ranked No. 42 and Southern Methodist No. 43 entering Tuesday’s game at the Smith Center.
So much for rankings.
On the court and playing 40 minutes head to head, the Tar Heels were a much better team, taking an 82-67 victory over the ACC newbie.
It was SMU’s first basketball visit to Chapel Hill as an ACC member, and the Mustangs arrived leading the conference in scoring and 3-point shooting. SMU also arrived after an 89-62 drubbing by Duke, their first ACC loss — something of a reality check — after picking up victories over Boston College and Virginia during a seven-game win streak.
The Tar Heels (10-6, 3-1 ACC) did not need another big scoring game from freshman guard Ian Jackson this night, nor a late-game comeback. It was Jackson’s roommate and fellow freshman Drake Powell who got the Heels rolling Tuesday, nailing 3-pointers and scoring 14 of his 17 points in the opening half.
R.J. Davis had a team-high 26 points for the Tar Heels, who followed up their scintillating comeback win Saturday at Notre Dame with an impressive showing at home. Davis’ deep 3 late in the game, a bank at the end of the shot clock, earned the biggest hand of the game, but he soon left after being popped in the nose and bloodied.
Jackson closed with 18 points, ending his run of four consecutive games of 23 or more. But he had 15 points in the second half and was UNC’s top rebounder in the game with seven.
With Seth Trimble back in the UNC lineup after missing three games, adding his defensive intensity, the Tar Heels forced the Mustangs into a 33.3 % shooting game. SMU could not make its 3’s (4-18) and had its big guys — 7-2 Samet Yigitoglu and 6-11 Yohan Traore among them — miss a number of short shots and putbacks.
The Tar Heels led 39-24 at halftime as the Mustangs shot 25% percent from the field. It didn’t get much better for SMU (11-4, 2-2 ACC), which fell behind by 25 points in the second half and had coach Andy Enfield hit with a technical foul.
“That was a big win for us at Notre Dame and we started out from the jump tonight against SMU,” Powell said. “We just want to continue to grow as a team.”
Next up for the Heels: a trip to Raleigh to face N.C. State at the Lenovo Center on Saturday.
Three takeaways from the Tar Heels’ win:
SMU offense goes flat
Try winning a basketball game in the ACC shooting 33% from the field and even worse most of the night. Just not happening.
SMU was averaging 85.4 points a game and had scored 100 or more four times this season. The Mustangs came to UNC believing they could push the pace and keep pace with the Tar Heels.
But the Mustangs were undone by contested shots, rushed shots and missed easy shots. The Tar Heels were active defensively. UNC coach Hubert Davis rotated his big men and often had two on the floor to double up in the pivot on the SMU bigs.
The Tar Heels were able to match SMU’s rebounding for the game as everyone did their part in going to the boards and use their quickness to beat the taller Mustangs to the ball. SMU led the ACC in both rebounding margin and offensive rebounds per game.
“We know we’re a small team but one thing coach Davis always talks about is heart over height,” R.J. Davis said. “We don’t have 7-footers but we do have heart and we have a gritty team and we found a way.”
Hubert Davis called SMU’s Matt Cross a “matchup nightmare” -- Cross finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds but UNC limited the impact of the bullish 6-7, 230-pound forward.
Trimble has winning return
Trimble was back for the Tar Heels and back to giving the Heels added versatility, especially on the defensive end, in the lineup.
Trimble missed three games with an upper-body injury and his return date seemed uncertain, but he was able to squeeze in practices Sunday and Monday, and was ready by Tuesday’s late game time. He did not start but quickly was on the court and in the thick of things.
“I expected him to be a little rusty because he hadn’t played in a long time, but I’m so happy he’s back,” Davis said. “Having him on the floor makes us a really good basketball team.”
Trimble at times was used defensively on SMU’s Boopie Miller, who was averaging 15.8 points a game — about the same as his production at Wake Forest last season. Miller can be streaky good but missed seven of his eight shots in the first half and had two points, finishing with 9 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Not that Miller was the only one missing. SMU was 8-of-32 from the field in the opening half, shooting 25% and showing an inability to hit from the perimeter or use its size inside.
Zone not the answer
The Mustangs made an interesting defensive choice, opening the game in a zone and showing 1-3-1 and 2-3 looks.
The strategy initially worked in that it cut off driving lanes for, say, UNC’s Jackson and forced some indecision at times by the Heels in their halfcourt offense.
Powell had a solution: find a spot in the right corner and drill 3-pointers. The freshman knocked down a trio of 3s from the corner in the opening half in scoring his 14 points.
“He gave us a huge lift at the start of the game,” Hubert Davis said. “It took us a while to get into a rhythm. His 3’s really opened things up for us.”
So much for the zone. SMU’s Enfield had to match up in a man to man after the opening eight minutes, after falling behind by 10 points.
Jackson did not have a point, missing his first four shots, until late in the first half. That came after Powell missed the front end of a one-and-one at the foul line, racing in to grab rebound and finding Jackson open for a 3-pointer.
The second half was better for Jackson, who absorbed one crunching hit on a drive that was ruled a flagrant-1 foul against Yigitoglu. “I’m thankful Ian was able to pop right back up,” said Hubert Davis.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 11:21 PM.
