UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Starts Slow Again

by Derrick Clyburn

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The Tar Heels basketball team started the game slow again. Iowa started the game shooting the lights out. They went on an 8-0 run which ballooned to 16 point lead in the first half. Iowa hit nine 3 pointers before intermission and 17 for the game.

North Carolina settled down going inside to their big men but were still down by 12 at the break. UNC ratcheted up their intensity on defense and made a game of it in the second half. They even took the lead briefly on several occasions before running out of gas and the big men being in foul trouble. The Tar Heels had five players in double figures led by Garrison Brooks who had 17 points and 8 rebounds.

UNC Game Stats

1	2	T
#16 North Carolina	31	49	80
#3 Iowa			43	50	93

UNC		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	PF	A	TO	Min	+/-
1 BLACK 	9	4-10	1-1	0-0	9	2	2	1	28	-17
2 LOVE 		11	4-13	1-4	2-3	4	1	6	4	32	-17
4 DAVIS 	12	4-8	2-5	2-4	2	1	8	3	33	-10
5 BACOT 	4	2-4	0-0	0-0	11	5	0	2	22	-2
15 BROOKS 	17	7-11	0-0	3-3	8	4	2	2	33	-4
3 PLATEK 	10	3-7	2-3	2-2	1	0	0	2	16	-6
11 SHARPE 	13	5-6	0-0	3-6	6	4	1	3	14	-4
13 KESSLER 	2	1-3	0-0	0-2	1	1	0	0	6	-5
14 JOHNSON 	2	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	4	-1
24 WALTON 	0	0-2	0-2	0-0	2	0	3	1	12	1
TOTALS		80	31-65	6-15	12-20	47	18	22	18	200

Shooting 	FG	FG%	3FG	3FG%	FT	FT%
1st Half	13-32	41%	2-8	25%	3-4	75%
2nd Half	18-33	55%	4-7	57%	9-16	56%
Game		31-65	47.7%	6-15	40.0%	12-20	60.0%

Iowa		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	PF	A	TO	Min	+/-
3 BOHANNON 	24	8-17	7-16	1-2	0	0	6	4	31	12
5 FREDRICK 	21	8-11	5-7	0-0	0	1	0	1	34	3
10 WIESKAMP 	19	7-12	5-7	0-0	9	3	5	3	32	12
30 MCCAFFERY 	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	4	2	0	17	5
55 GARZA 	16	6-20	0-1	4-8	14	4	2	1	35	9
1 TOUSSAINT 	6	2-3	0-1	2-3	1	2	3	1	12	13
2 NUNGE 	4	2-9	0-5	0-0	3	3	2	0	22	3
15 MURRAY 	3	1-1	0-0	1-1	1	0	0	0	7	9
22 MCCAFFERY 	0	0-3	0-3	0-0	4	0	2	0	11	-1
TOTALS		93	34-76	17-40	8-14	38	17	22	11	200

Shooting 	FG	FG%	3FG	3FG%	FT	FT%
1st Half	15-35	43%	11-22	50%	2-4	50%
2nd Half	19-41	46%	6-18	33%	6-10	60%
Game		34-76	44.7%	17-40	42.5%	8-14	57.1%

UNC Bright Spots

Garrison Brooks 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.

R.J. Davis had 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Day’Ron Sharpe had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Caleb Love had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Andrew Platek had 10 points and 1 rebound.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels have to start the game off better with more focus and intensity. They have been down by 8 or more points four out of their first five games. The slow starts are because of the freshmen backcourt. They have to take command of the game from the beginning, but they have too many turnovers and take too many bad shots to start the games.

North Carolina needs to defend the 3 point shot better. They gave up 17 3 pointers for the game. They have to close out under control and not go for so many pump fakes.

Final Observations

This is not a time to panic yet. This is just a big learning curve that falls mainly on the backcourt’s shoulders. They have to learn how to control tempo and pace without turning the ball over. North Carolina has the big men to dominate the paint. All the guards have to do is give go post-entry passes, attack the basket, hit their free throws, and take care of the ball. Which is easier said than done, but the Tar Heels will only go as far as the guards take them. It doesn’t help that they don’t have any cupcakes to help them build confidence. Up next is Ohio State.