UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Starts Off Slow Then Take Command

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The Tar Heels basketball team looked to go 4-0 on the season as they played against Elon on Wednesday night. In the first half, Elon came out hot from the three-point line, hitting their first four threes in the game to give them an early 9-point lead. Meanwhile, North Carolina struggled to score and had 7 turnovers in the first half, which caused them to trail 33-32 at halftime.

UNC started the second half with 8-0 run, giving them the lead and the momentum going forward in the game. Armando Bacot came up huge in the second half as he had 18 second-half points, helping the Tar Heels pull away from Elon and to a 14-point win.

UNC Game Stats

                                         1          2          T

#5 North Carolina    32        43        75

Elon                            33        28        61

North Carolina

                        FG       3PT     FT       REB    AST    STL     TO       PTS

G. Brooks       6-12    0-0      2-5      6          3          2          1          14

A. Bacot         9-14    0-0      4-7      14        2          2          1          22

C. Anthony    4-14    0-5      1-2      10        8          0          4          9

L. Black          2-6      2-4      1-2      4          1          0          1          7

C. Keeling     4-9      1-4      0-0      1          1          0          1          9

S. Rush         0-1      0-1      2-2      1          0          0          0          2

W. Miller         0-1      0-0      0-0      2          0          0          0          0

B. Huffman   1-1      0-0      0-0      2          0          0          0          2

J. Pierce         1-4      0-2      4-5      8          2          0          1          6

A. Platek        2-6      0-3      0-0      2          2          0          1          4

TEAM             29-68  3-19    14-23  56        19        4          10        75

                        42.6% 15.8% 60.9%

Elon

                        FG       3PT     FT       REB    AST    STL     TO       PTS

S. Wright        1-2      1-1      0-0      0          1          0          0          3

F. Poser         3-5      0-0      0-0      0          0          0          2          6

H. Woods       4-14    4-10    6-6      7          3          2          0          18

H. McIntosh   1-7      1-3      0-0      3          4          0          3          3

M. Sheffield  7-20    4-9      1-1      4          3          2          4          19

C. Hannah    1-2      0-0      0-0      2          0          0          0          2

K. Wooten     0-1      0-1      2-2      1          0          0          0          2

A. Pack          0-2      0-0      0-0      1          0          0          1          0

Z. Ervin          3-10    2-8      0-0      4          0          1          0          8

TEAM             20-63  12-32  9-9      26        11        5          10        61

                        31.7% 37.5% 100.0%

UNC Bright Spots

Armando Bacot had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Garrison Brooks had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Cole Anthony had 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to do a better job of coming out with energy and urgency to start games. They have made a habit of coming out slow and sluggish early on this season, which is not good.

UNC also need to improve their three-point shooting as they shot 15% from the three-point line tonight and improve their free-throw shooting as they shot 60% from the line tonight.

Final Observations

The Tar Heel basketball team is still trying to establish their identity as a team early on this season. However, North Carolina is finding ways to win even with a short-handed 7-man rotation due to injuries.

Brandon Robinson is coming back soon so that should be a huge boost on the offensive end and as a leader on the court going forward.

Christian Keeling is starting to find his stroke and Armando Bacot played like a man among boys around the rim. UNC just need Black, Pierce, and Keeling to be in catch and shoot mode more often. In the next few games, we will see how good this team is as the competition gets more difficult.