UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Win in Ugly Fashion
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
North Carolina’s Nassir Little (5) grabs the ball while Kenny Williams falls and tangles with Luke Maye (32) during a play against Harvard’s Mason Forbes and Henry Welsh (44) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Tar Heels basketball team came out much better to start the game against Harvard than they had in their last few games. In the first half, the Heels jumped out to an early lead, but they would allow Harvard to stick around as they got stagnant on offense due to poor shooting and shot selection. In the second half, UNC would continue to shoot poorly, but was able to get points in transition and off turnovers.
The Heels’ defense was excellent throughout the game as they held Harvard to 39 percent shooting, forced 22 turnovers, and even held Harvard scoreless for a stretch of 8 minutes, which allowed North Carolina to extend their lead to double figures. The Tar Heels scored 21 points off Harvard’s turnovers as UNC shot just 42 percent from the field and was able to pull away from Harvard late in the game in what was an ugly 20-point win.
UNC Game Stats
1 2 T
#15 North Carolina 41 36 77
Harvard 31 26 57
North Carolina MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL TO PF PTS
L. Maye 28 5-11 1-4 3-4 7 2 0 0 2 14
G. Brooks 17 2-6 0-0 3-4 3 0 0 0 2 7
C. Johnson 31 5-13 2-5 1-2 4 1 3 5 1 13
K. Williams 28 4-6 1-3 2-2 3 0 2 1 0 11
C. White 27 4-11 0-4 5-5 4 4 2 1 0 13
N. Little 22 4-7 1-2 3-3 7 0 2 1 2 12
B. Huffman 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0 1 0
S. Rush 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B. Robinson 14 0-2 0-1 2-2 2 3 0 1 1 2
S. Woods 12 0-3 0-0 0-0 2 3 1 2 2 0
A. Platek 2 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
K.J. Smith 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L. Black 12 2-2 1-1 0-0 1 2 2 0 2 5
C. Ellis 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 26-62 6-21 19-22 38 15 12 11 13 77
41.9% 28.6% 86.4%
Harvard MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL TO PF PTS
C. Lewis 22 4-5 0-0 1-2 7 1 1 0 0 9
D. Djuricic 15 3-7 1-3 0-0 2 2 0 2 1 7
J. Bassey 26 2-4 0-1 0-4 11 1 1 3 3 4
C. Juzang 30 2-6 2-4 3-3 2 4 0 4 1 9
C. Johnson 21 1-9 1-6 0-0 2 2 0 4 0 3
R. Baker 13 4-6 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 10
H. Welsh 11 1-6 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 1 3 2
M. Forbes 19 2-3 0-0 1-2 2 0 0 0 0 5
K. Catchings 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0
R. Haskett 10 1-1 1-1 0-0 2 3 0 1 1 3
N. Kirkwood 18 1-4 1-3 2-2 2 1 1 2 2 5
S. Freedman 10 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 0 4 2 0
T. McCarthy 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 21-54 8-24 7-13 34 15 4 22 16 57 38.9% 33.3% 53.8%
UNC Bright Spots
The Tar Heels cut down on their turnovers in this game.
Luke Maye had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Cameron Johnson had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals.
Coby White had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
Nassir Little had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals.
Kenny Williams had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to work on their half-court offense. They get stagnant on offense at times. They need to work on ball movement, moving without the ball, and just have better decision-making in their shot selection and passing.
Final Observations
The Tar Heel basketball team finishes 10-3 in non-conference play and are 7-0 at home. UNC haven’t played great lately, but they have stepped up their play on defense and the freshmen seem to be getting more comfortable on the court. They need to continue to get better and address their weaknesses if they want to mature into the team that they know they can become as ACC conference play starts.