UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Stall Against Michigan

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The Tar Heel basketball team played their second game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and started the game on a 16-7 run. Michigan countered with a run of their own and took the lead. North Carolina struggled to guard the three-point line, dribble penetration, pick and roll, and to keep Michigan off the offensive glass. Michigan even outscored them32-24 in the paint. UNC looked lost on the court for a good portion of the game and had no energy and effort, especially as Michigan went on a 19-0 run and was up by as many as 24 points.

Even though the Tar Heels didn’t play particularly well in the game, they did not give up and went on a run of their own to get the game back within reach. However, Michigan’s big lead was too much to overcome and North Carolina was unable to complete the comeback.

UNC Game Stats

1          2          T

#6 North Carolina    34        30        64

Michigan                   39        34        73

North Carolina

                        Pts      FG       3FG    FT       REB    A         TO       Min     +/-

1 BLACK       2          1-2      0-0      0-0      1          0          1          21        -13

2 ANTHONY 22        8-17    2-7      4-6      7          3          3          33        3

4 ROBINSON 9         4-8      0-3      1-2      3          4          0          32        5

5 BACOT       6          3-10    0-0      0-0      6          0          3          21        -17

15 BROOKS 13        6-13    0-0      1-4      8          0          3          33        -5

3 PLATEK     4          1-3      0-1      2-2      0          0          0          17        -23

11 RUSH       0          0-0      0-0      0-0      0          0          0          0          1

22 MILLER    0          0-0      0-0      0-0      0          0          0          2          2

30 SMITH      0          0-0      0-0      0-0      0          0          0          1          1

32 PIERCE   1          0-3      0-2      1-2      1          1          0          17        -12

42 HUFFMAN 4        2-2      0-0      0-2      1          0          0          6          13

55 KEELING 3          1-3      0-0      1-2      2          0          1          16        0

TOTALS             64     26-61  2-13    10-20  36        8          11        200

Michigan

                        Pts      FG       3FG    FT       REB    A         TO       Min     +/-

2 LIVERS      12        5-13    2-7      0-1      4          3          1          35        10

3 SIMPSON  7          3-4      1-1      0-0      2          6          1          17        3

15 TESKE     10        4-8      2-4      0-1      8          1          3          33        8

21 WAGNER 3          1-6      1-5      0-0      5          3          4          33        10

55 BROOKS 24        9-14    4-6      2-4      5          0          4          39        8

00 DEJULIUS 11      5-9      1-3      0-0      1          2          1          23        6

11 CASTLETON 4    1-1      0-0      2-2      3          0          0          7          1

23 JOHNS JR. 2        0-1      0-0      2-2      3          0          1          13        -1

TOTALS               73        28-56  11-26  6-10    34        15        16        200

UNC Bright Spots

Cole Anthony had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Garrison Brooks had 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels really struggled on the offensive end early in the game. The offense was stagnant, without a lot of movement, which caused them to struggle to score.

UNC also struggled to guard the three-point line and to guard dribble penetration. They need to do a better job of playing team defense.

They allowed too many offensive rebounds in the game and need to do a better job of crashing the defensive glass.

Final Observations

This is the second year in the row that the Tar Heels have lost to Michigan. Michigan’s bigs tend to give the Heels major problems because they are skilled and shoot the three. North Carolina did not look focused in this game as they had several lapses on defense and struggled to get into a rhythm on the offensive end.

However, UNC did show resiliency in the final 10 minutes as they brought the 24-point lead down to 8 points. This Tar Heels’ team is young and inexperienced so as fans we should expect growing pains. Their schedule is tough so these early hardships that they endure will prepare them for late February and March when tournament time comes around. North Carolina plays another game tomorrow so it will be good to see how this team bounces back after a tough loss.