UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. San Diego St. 95-68 Win

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Stomps the San Diego St. Aztecs and Shows the Basketball World They Are Supposed to Be In the NCAA Tournament

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team faced off against the San Diego St. Aztecs in the NCAA Play-in game on Tuesday night. There was a great deal of media uproar and dissent throughout the country last couple of days where sports analysts and pundits felt that the Tar Heels didn’t belong in the field of 68. Well well well, the Tar Heels at least quieted down those naysayers for a few days.

North Carolina started the game with energy, effort, and intensity on both ends of the floor, but it was the defense that dictated the game. The Tar Heels were facing the #1 ranked defense in the country but they moved the ball to the open man and attacked the basket and the the Aztecs had no answer to stop the Heels. UNC hit 7 of 9 3-pointers in the first half and shot over 60% from the field. The Heels got just about any shot that they wanted. They would go into intermission up by 24 points.

In the second half, North Carolina continued to attack the basket and hit shots to open the lead to as many as 40 points. They gave the Aztecs no hope for a comeback. The Tar Heels defense continued to pressure and harass San Diego St. allowing them to only shoot 39.7% from the field and 29% from the 3-point line. The Heels stayed hot in the second half with 10 players scoring points and 4 players in double figures led by RJ Davis with 26 points having one his most efficient games of the season going 8-12 from the field and 6-6 from the 3-point line. They go on to thrash the Aztecs by 27.

UNC Stats

Final

	1	2	T
UNC	47	43	95
SDSU	23	45	68

UNC Bright Spots  

RJ Davis had 26 points and 2 assists. 

Seth Trimble had 16 points and 3 rebounds. 

Ven Allen-Lubin had 12 points and 3 rebounds. 

 Jaelyn Withers had 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist.  

Elliott Cadeau had 9 points, 12 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 1 block.

Needs Work  

The Tar Heels must prioritize every possession on both sides of the floor. Every play and possession matters and should be just as important as the last. They were a little lazy with their passes early in the first half which led to 6 turnovers. It’s win or go-home time so leave it all on the floor every time you play.  

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels improved to 23-13 and have an opportunity with each win in the NCAA tournament to advance to the next round. They showed the world what kind of team they can really be tonight. If they bring the same level of intensity on defense and are hitting shots they have a chance against any opponent in the field. They are playing to their strength now and will be a very dangerous team going forward. No one wants to have to deal with the Carolina team we saw tonight. They are playing with house money with nothing to lose. Next up is Ole Miss on Friday at 4:05 pm on TNT.