UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Cruise Past the Wolfpack

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The Tar Heels basketball team is getting better. In their rematch against NC State on Saturday afternoon, the North Carolina basketball team played some of their best basketball of this season. The Tar Heels controlled the game from start to finish. In the first half, they came out with much more energy and effort than they had in the past few games.

The Heels controlled the pace of the game and were much better defensively than they were in the last game against NC State. In the second half, UNC extended their lead to as much as 14 and never let the lead get below 6. The Tar Heels made a constant effort to get the ball inside to their big men and it made the game much easier for them. This led to North Carolina clicking on all cylinders on the offensive end, outscoring NC State 48-38 in the paint and shooting 54% from the field for the game.

The Heels also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Wolfpack 44-30. This was arguably North Carolina’s best overall game of the year with five players scoring in double figures, with Armando Bacot leading the way with 17 points and 8 rebounds which led to their 86-76 win.

UNC Game Stats

1	2	T
North Carolina	43	43	86
NC State	33	43	76

North Carolina
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	A	TO	Min	+/-
1 BLACK		4	2-3	0-0	0-0	5	2	0	34	14
2 LOVE		15	6-15	0-2	3-4	2	5	5	29	11
5 BACOT		17	8-12	0-0	1-4	8	1	0	28	10
15 BROOKS	4	2-5	0-0	0-0	4	1	2	21	3
24 WALTON	8	3-6	2-5	0-0	1	4	1	23	12
0 HARRIS	10	4-5	1-2	1-2	2	0	1	11	1
3 PLATEK	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	1	2	0	8	-9
4 DAVIS		10	3-6	1-1	3-5	2	3	2	16	-1
11 SHARPE	16	8-13	0-0	0-1	10	0	2	24	11
13 KESSLER	2	1-2	0-0	0-2	3	0	0	6	-2
TOTALS		86	37-68	4-11	8-18	44	18	13	200	
			54.4%	36.4%	44.4%


NC State
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	A	TO	Min	+/-
0 FUNDERBURK	14	4-9	0-0	6-9	4	0	0	24	-6
4 HELLEMS	11	5-11	1-3	0-0	7	1	2	23	-4
5 ALLEN		6	2-9	0-4	2-2	3	1	0	28	-3
10 BEVERLY	12	5-10	2-4	0-0	0	4	3	34	-6
24 DANIELS	21	9-16	3-5	0-0	5	2	2	39	-9
2 MOORE		0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	4	-4
3 HAYES		2	1-4	0-1	0-1	1	0	1	16	-8
11 GIBSON	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	2	-2
15 BATES	10	5-6	0-0	0-1	6	0	1	30	-8
TOTALS		76	31-66	6-18	8-13	30	9	11	200	
			47.0%	33.3%	61.5%

UNC Bright Spots

Armando Bacot had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Dayron Sharpe had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Caleb love had 15 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds.

Anthony Harris had 10 points and 2 rebounds.

RJ Davis had 10 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels must do a better job of cutting down on their turnovers. They had 18 turnovers for the game. They must make better decisions with the ball and make a constant effort to make the easy play more often.

They also need to be better at the free throw line. They shot 44% in this game, which is totally unacceptable.

Final Observations

The Tar Heels get their fifth win in ACC play and are now 6-0 at home for the season. The Heels played one of their better games of the season today and seem to be improving each game. They had the most efficient game of the year shooting 54% from the field and had the most points of the year with 86 points.

This game was the total opposite of what happened in Raleigh during the first matchup, which shows the strides the team has made so far this season. The freshmen are getting more comfortable in each game and the roles are becoming more defined for each player.

Anthony Harris continues to be a huge addition with energy and effort out there on the floor and just his unselfish play. For this team to get even better, Garrison Brooks needs to play much better and they need to continue to cut down on their miscues on both sides of the floor if they want to reach their full potential. Next up is Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.