UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Bounces Back at Home Against the Yellow Jackets 

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team got some home cooking getting back to the Dean Dome for the first time since before Thanksgiving. They played against Ga. Tech in front of an eager Smith Center crowd looking for a win to end the 4 game skid.

The Tar Heels started out at a good pace going back and forth with the Yellow Jackets in the first 17 minutes of the game. Then they went on an 18-5 run to take an 11-point half-time lead. North Carolina was moving the ball and attacking the basket led by R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot.

In the second half, the Tar Heels continued to move the ball, make the extra pass, and get the lead to 19 points. They looked more like the North Carolina team that everyone expected to see starting the season. This was their best game on both ends of the floor so far this year. R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot led all scoring with 22 and 21 respectively.

UNC Game Stats

	1	2	T
Georgia Tech 6-4	26	33	59
North Carolina 6-4	39	36	75

North Carolina

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
R. Davis	22	10	3	8/13	1/2	5/6	3	35	1	0	4
A. Bacot	21	13	1	8/16	0/1	5/9	1	34	0	1	0
P. Nance	11	6	2	3/4	1/2	4/4	2	31	0	0	1
C. Love	10	3	5	4/12	1/6	1/1	0	31	0	0	4
L. Black	1	5	1	0/4	0/1	1/2	2	35	3	0	1
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
S. Trimble	4	2	3	1/5	0/1	2/2	1	15	1	0	0
T. Nickel	2	0	0	1/1	0/0	0/0	0	5	0	0	0
J. Washington	2	0	0	1/1	0/0	0/0	0	2	0	0	0
P. Johnson	2	2	0	1/1	0/0	0/0	2	12	0	0	1
Total	75	41	15	27/57	3/13	18/24	11	–	5	1	11

Georgia Tech

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
M. Kelly	15	4	0	6/12	3/8	0/0	2	33	3	0	2
J. Moore	15	5	1	6/10	1/2	2/2	4	28	2	1	2
D. Coleman	13	1	0	4/7	3/5	2/2	1	30	0	1	1
J. Franklin	0	0	1	0/1	0/0	0/0	1	6	0	0	0
D. Smith	0	4	3	0/5	0/2	0/0	0	23	1	1	0
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
L. Terry	9	2	1	3/8	2/6	1/2	2	25	0	1	0
R. Howard	6	2	1	3/3	0/0	0/0	4	26	0	0	4
K. Sturdivant	1	2	3	0/6	0/3	1/2	0	16	0	0	1
T. Maxwell	0	1	0	0/2	0/0	0/0	2	6	1	0	0
J. Meka	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	4	8	1	1	0
Total	59	22	10	22/53	9/25	6/8	20	–	8	5	10

UNC Bright Spots

RJ Davis had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Armando Bacot had 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Peter Nance had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Caleb Love had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels have to do a better job defending the three-point line. Their screen defense has to be much better. They need to do a better job of fighting over screens and running the opponent off the line.

The Tar Heels also need to make better entry passes to cut down on the turnovers.

Final Observations

The Tar Heels improve to 6-4 on the season. It was good to see them break that 4 game losing streak. North Carolina made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to Bacot. This is the way that they need to play inside out moving forward. It puts great pressure on the opponents’ defense. They need to continue to move the ball and make the extra pass to get the great shot. North Carolina finally dominated the boards with a 41-22 advantage.

Now, they need to build off this win today and continue to develop chemistry and work on their identity to maximize their potential. Next up is The Citadel on Tuesday at 7 pm.