UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Digs a Big Hole to Come Back From Again

by Derrick Clyburn

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This is becoming unacceptable. The Tar Heels basketball team started the game slow again. They got down by as much as 17 points in the first half before going on a 10-0 run to end the half. Turnovers and poor shot selection continues to plague North Carolina early in games. UNC must have more focus and attention to detail during the games on both ends of the floor.

Roy Williams is still playing 10 players trying to find the right combinations. When the Tar Heels trapped and pressed they caused the Wolfpack a lot of trouble. North Carolina had plenty of opportunities to take the lead but missed lay ups or took bad shots that bailed State out on several occasions. Dribble penetration hurt the Tar Heels all game. North Carolina had four players in double figures led by Armando Bacot who had 16 points and 6 rebounds.

UNC Game Stats

1	2	T
#17 North Carolina	42	34	76
NC State		49	30	79

North Carolina
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	A	TO	Min	+/-
1 BLACK 	6	2-5	0-0	2-2	3	4	2	29	-9
2 LOVE 		11	3-14	0-4	5-5	4	4	2	28	4
4 DAVIS 	11	5-14	1-4	0-0	3	3	3	36	2
5 BACOT 	16	7-9	0-0	2-4	6	0	3	24	14
15 BROOKS 	10	5-14	0-0	0-1	7	1	3	30	-7
3 PLATEK 	8	3-4	1-2	1-1	3	1	1	10	3
11 SHARPE 	6	3-6	0-1	0-0	7	1	3	14	-16
13 KESSLER 	3	1-1	0-0	1-2	6	0	1	12	4
14 JOHNSON 	2	1-2	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	5	-3
24 WALTON 	3	1-1	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	12	-7
TOTALS		76	31-70	2-12	12-17	45	15	18	200
			44.3%	16.7%	70.6%

NC State
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	A	TO	Min	+/-
4 HELLEMS 	1	0-8	0-3	1-2	5	1	2	34	0
5 ALLEN 	6	2-5	0-1	2-2	4	1	2	25	-2
10 BEVERLY 	8	2-5	2-5	2-6	3	3	3	29	-3
15 BATES 	14	7-11	0-0	0-0	7	0	0	36	11
24 DANIELS 	21	8-13	2-3	3-5	5	3	3	28	4
1 SEABRON 	5	2-7	0-0	1-2	7	1	2	12	-1
2 MOORE 	17	6-11	3-4	2-3	1	0	0	15	5
3 HAYES 	7	3-3	1-1	0-0	1	1	2	11	6
11 GIBSON 	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	10	-5
TOTALS		79	30-64	8-17	11-20	34	10	14	200
			46.9%	47.1%	55.0%

UNC Bright Spots

Armando Bacot 16 points and 6 rebounds.

R.J. Davis had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

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

Garrison Brooks had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

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 six out of their first seven 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 stop dribble penetration and stay on the 3 point shooters. A wing player has to be able to hit perimeter shots to space the floor and open avenues for the big men.

Final Observations

The keys for UNC to have more consistency this season starts with the guards having solid balanced first halves without turning the ball over and taking bad shots. Secondly, North Carolina must play with the defensive intensity in the beginning of the games that they have shown when they come back from all of the big deficits in previous games. Thirdly, they must find someone who can consistently hit outside shots to open up the floor for the big men.

Hopefully, Roy and his staff can get these things ironed out soon. This UNC team always plays hard but they must clean up the miscues if they want to reach their ultimate goals in the post season.