UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Routs Boston College on the Road

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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After two weeks off, the North Carolina basketball team returned to action against Boston College on Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels came out and played one of their best games of the season. The Heels set the tone early defensively and it carried over the remainder of the game.

UNC held Boston College to just 20 first-half points on 16% from the field. North Carolina’s defense allowed them to get out in transition and got their offense going. Once they got comfortable offensively, the Heels broke the game wide open and led by as much as 31 in the first half. After trailing Boston College 4-2 early in the game, Carolina outscored Boston College 44-12 for the remainder of the first half and led 49-20 going into halftime.

In the second half, North Carolina continued to dominate Boston College on both ends of the floor and the Eagles just had no answer for them. The Heels held Boston College to just 31% from the field for the entire game and their defense was the driving force of their dominance in this game.

The Tar Heels’ offense was also very good throughout the game with great ball movement and player movement, which allowed them to score with ease. UNC shot 52% from the field, made 11 threes on 47%, and shot 84% from the free-throw line. Four players scored at least 17 points in the game, which included Caleb Love, Armando Bacot, RJ Davis, and Brady Manek. Ten total players got in the scoring column today and UNC led by as much as 36 points in the second half, which was their largest lead against any opponent since 2017. This was one of the Tar Heels’ more complete games of the season and it led to their 91-65 victory over Boston College.

UNC Game Stats

1st     2nd     TOT

North Carolina 49      42      91

Boston College 20      45      65

North Carolina

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
D. Garcia F	2	0-3	0-0	0-0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
A. Bacot F	29	6-9	1-1	5-5	3	8	11	2	3	1	1	3	18
R.J. Davis G	28	5-5	2-2	5-5	0	3	3	3	0	0	2	2	17
C. Love G	26	7-11	4-6	4-4	0	4	4	2	1	0	0	0	22
L. Black G	23	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	6	6	5	1	1	1	2	0
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
D. Farris F	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. McAdoo F	6	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	0
B. Manek F	25	7-14	2-7	1-1	1	6	7	1	0	0	1	1	17
C. Lebo  G	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D. Dunn G	11	2-4	1-1	1-2	1	2	3	1	0	0	0	1	6
D. Styles G	10	2-5	0-1	0-2	0	3	3	0	0	0	1	1	4
A. Harris G	14	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	2	2
K. Walton G	19	2-7	1-4	0-0	0	2	2	1	1	0	0	2	5
TEAM		32-61	11-23	16-19	7	35	42	17	6	2	9	16	91
		52.5%	47.8%	84.2%

Boston College

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Q. Post F	17	1-7	0-3	1-2	4	5	9	1	0	2	0	3	3
J. Karnik C	27	2-10	1-4	2-4	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	1	7
J. Zackery G	30	4-8	2-3	3-3	1	2	3	1	1	0	1	3	13
D. Langford Jr . G	33	3-10	0-0	2-2	0	3	3	2	1	0	2	2	8
M. Ashton-Langford G	34	5-12	0-2	2-2	0	3	3	4	1	0	3	2	12
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
G. Thompson F	11	2-3	2-3	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	6
T.J. Bickerstaff F	17	2-5	1-2	3-4	2	2	4	1	0	0	1	1	8
A. Kenny F	4	0-1	0-1	2-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
J. Vander Baan C	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	2	0
K. Jones G	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
B. Galloway G	18	2-10	2-10	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	6
TEAM		21-67	8-28	15-19	12	23	35	12	3	3	8	16	65
		31.3%	28.6%	78.9%

UNC Bright Spots

Caleb Love had 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Armando Bacot had 18 points 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block,

RJ Davis had 17 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Brady Manek had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to continue to work on cutting down on their turnovers and not allowing straight-line drives to the basket defensively.

Final Observations

The Tar Heels move to 10-3 on the season and are 2-0 in the ACC with both wins coming on the road. This was a great start to the new year and this performance is definitely something they can build on going forward.

In this game, you saw the North Carolina players settling in their roles very nicely and getting back to that Carolina basketball identity. The freshmen were even allowed to get some much-needed minutes because of the blowout, which should help them build more confidence and get more comfortable on the court.

The Tar Heels came out and played with a lot of purpose, energy, intensity, and attention to detail on both ends of the floor. That is something they need to bring to each and every game remaining if they want to reach their potential. Something to keep your eye on is Dawson Garcia and his status going forward since he exited the game early in the first half with an injury and never returned. Next up is Notre Dame on Wednesday at 9 P.M.