UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Makes a Statement to Open ACC Play
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson (13) drives to the hoop as Pittsburgh’s Terrell Brown (21) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in Pittsburgh. North Carolina won 85-60. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
The Tar Heel basketball team played their first conference game of this season against Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. In the first half, the UNC played well on offense but struggled to defend against dribble penetration and defend without fouling, which resulted in Pittsburgh being in the bonus six minutes into the game keeping the game close early on. After this, North Carolina switched their defense to a 2-3 zone and held Pittsburgh to just one field goal for the last 12 minutes of the first half.
North Carolina’s Coby White, right, tries to get a shot around Pittsburgh’s Kene Chukwuka (15) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in Pittsburgh. North Carolina won 85-60. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
In the second half, the Tar Heels overwhelmed Pittsburgh on both ends of the floor and extended their lead to as many as 33 points. Kenny Williams dealt with foul trouble throughout the entire game, but Brandon Robinson was huge coming off the bench in Kenny’s place with his hustle and defensive intensity. UNC once again played very well defensively as they held Pittsburgh to just 30 percent from the field for the game. They never trailed during the game and Coby White led the team in scoring with 22 points as UNC starts off conference play 1-0.
UNC Bright Spots
Coby White had 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Luke Maye had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Cameron Johnson had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to do better job of stopping dribble penetration and playing defense without fouling.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels basketball team needed to start off conference play the right way and that’s what they did. UNC played with much more composure and poise in this game than they had shown in previous road games this season. They faced some adversity with Pittsburgh being in the bonus early in the first half and Kenny Williams being in foul trouble throughout the entire game.
North Carolina needs to continue to have that type of composure and poise going forward. Defensively, UNC held its third straight opponent to 60 points or less. North Carolina has shown some areas of improvement on defense but still needs to continue to make progress each game.