UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Holds Off Stanford

by Derrick Clyburn

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The Tar Heels basketball team is learning how to win. Last year they folded in many games down the stretch. North Carolina has a better defensive team and more depth that gives them the advantage in a 40 minute game.

Stanford gave a great effort led by former North Carolina recruit Zaire Williams, but UNC outrebounded them 43-23. The Tar Heels are very young with six freshmen and they had a lot of unforced turnovers with 24 to be exact, but UNC still found a way to win. North Carolina had five players in double figures and was led by Caleb Love who had 16 points and 3 rebounds.

UNC Game Stats

1	2	T
#14 North Carolina	29	38	67
Stanford		33	30	63

North Carolina 67
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	PF	A	TO	Min	+/-
1 BLACK 	10	3-5	0-0	4-6	7	1	1	4	34	-3
2 LOVE 		16	6-18	2-6	2-2	3	3	2	5	36	5
4 DAVIS 	11	3-8	2-4	3-3	4	3	1	3	27	5
5 BACOT 	10	4-5	0-0	2-3	6	2	0	4	20	8
15 BROOKS 	10	4-8	0-0	2-5	9	4	1	0	29	0
3 PLATEK 	4	1-3	0-1	2-2	1	1	0	2	16	7
11 SHARPE 	4	2-3	0-0	0-0	7	2	4	3	19	14
13 KESSLER 	0	0-0	0-0	0-3	0	4	0	0	9	-16
14 JOHNSON 	2	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	2	2
24 WALTON 	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	1	2	2	2	8	-2
TOTALS		67	24-52	4-12	15-24	43	22	11	24	200

UNC Shooting	FG	FG%	3FG	3FG%	FT	FT%
1st Half	13-30	43%	1-6	17%	2-4	50%
2nd Half	11-22	50%	3-6	50%	13-20	65%
Game		24-52	46.2%	4-12	33.3%	15-24	62.5%

Stanford 63
		Pts	FG	3FG	FT	REB	PF	A	TO	Min	+/-
1 DAVIS 	18	6-13	1-2	5-5	4	3	4	2	39	-4
2 WILLS 	12	5-9	0-1	2-4	1	2	1	1	35	-6
3 WILLIAMS 	10	4-9	2-4	0-0	4	4	1	3	30	4
13 DA SILVA 	13	4-8	1-3	4-5	1	4	0	2	22	-4
14 JONES 	3	1-9	1-9	0-0	5	2	2	2	36	-6
10 MURRELL 	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	1	5	-6
20 TAITZ 	1	0-0	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	1	8	2
22 KEEFE 	3	0-2	0-0	3-4	2	2	1	1	17	-1
32 KISUNAS 	3	0-0	0-0	3-4	2	1	0	0	9	1
TOTALS		63	20-51	5-20	18-24	23	19	9	13	200

UNC Bright Spots

Caleb Love had 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

R.J. Davis had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Garrison Brooks 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Armando Bacot had 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Leaky Black had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Needs Work

North Carolina needs to play with more urgency and cut down the unforced turnovers. 24 turnovers will get you beat in most games

The Tar Heels have get better at the free throw line. They were 15-24 for 62%.

The team needs more time on the court together to develop their chemistry and the freshmen need to keep learning the system.

Final Observations

This North Carolina team has won games three different ways and have not play well yet. That can be a good thing if they can lock in and stay focused on each possession. Rebounding has been their calling card early this season. It has given them extra possessions.

A freshman has led the team in scoring in every game. So they are making their presence felt. In each game, the team should get better, develop, and grow. Next up is Texas for the Maui Invitational Championship.