UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Bounce Back with Tough Road Win Against Va. Tech
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
Coming off a disappointing loss to Pittsburgh Wednesday night, the North Carolina basketball team looked to bounced back as they traveled to face off against Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon. It was close in the first few minutes of the game as Virginia Tech led early on and both teams traded baskets. The Tar Heels kept it close though as they picked up their defense and they took the lead with 5 minutes left in the first half.
After the Heels took the lead, they went on a run led by great defense that turned into transition offense, which allowed them to have an 8-point lead going into halftime. North Carolina shot 53% from the field, made 7 threes, and had 3 players in double figures all in the first half alone. This was all while holding Virginia Tech under 40% from the field.
In the second half, UNC picked up their defensive intensity and made a more concerted effort to get the ball to Armando inside. As a result, Armando Bacot scored all his 12 points in the second half and Carolina extended their lead to as much as 14. Caleb Love also played one of his better games with 21 points, 7 assists, and only two turnovers.
However, even though the Heels were up by double figures, the game was not over yet as the Heels offense got stagnant and they went cold from the field. Virginia Tech would take advantage and go on an 11-2 run to cut the Tar Heels lead to 5. The game would be tight down the stretch and Carolina would have to display some toughness and grit to hold the Hokies off. Caleb Love hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the game and the Heels would pull off their 65-57 win.
UNC Game Stats
1st 2nd TOT
North Carolina 38 27 65
Virginia Tech 30 27 57
North Carolina
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |||||||||
| A. Bacot F | 38 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | |||||||||
| B. Manek F | 37 | 6-12 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |||||||||
| R.J. Davis G | 31 | 4-10 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |||||||||
| C. Love G | 39 | 6-12 | 3-8 | 6-6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 | |||||||||
| L. Black G | 34 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |||||||||
| P. Johnson G | 7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| D. Styles G | 7 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||
| K. Walton G | 7 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| TEAM | 22-49 | 8-22 | 13-15 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 65 | ||||||||||
| 44.9% | 36.4% | 86.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||
Va. Tech
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| K. Aluma F | 31 | 6-13 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| J. Mutts F | 37 | 5-12 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| H. Cattoor G | 34 | 2-7 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| N. Alleyne G | 27 | 4-13 | 1-6 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| S. Murphy G | 24 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| D. N’Guessan F | 11 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| S. Pedulla G | 17 | 3-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| D. Maddox G | 19 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| TEAM | 24-64 | 5-26 | 4-6 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 57 | |
| 37.5% | 19.2% | 66.7% |
UNC Bright Spots
Caleb Love had 21 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Brady Manek had 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Armando Bacot had 12 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
R.J. Davis had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to learn that when their outside shots are not falling to do a better job of attacking the basket to put pressure on the defense and create better shots for everyone.
The Tar Heels also need to cut down on their turnovers and the guards need to do a better job of getting the team into the offense quicker. Down the stretch of the game, the Heels took entirely too long to get into their offense and it led to a couple of shot clock violations and bad shots at end of the shot clock.
Final Observations
This was a much-needed win for the Tar Heels after that very disappointing loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Heels have been up and down all season long as consistency continues to be a problem. However, they were up this game which is what was needed to keep their NCAA Tournament spot secured.
The Tar Heels need to make sure every game moving forward they show up to play with a sense of urgency as every game is very important to their NCAA tournament resume. The coaching staff must make sure they are prepared and ready to play and be willing to do whatever it takes to win these remaining games of the season. Even if it means playing the bench players more when the starters aren’t playing well. The Tar Heels cannot afford to drop any more games against teams they are better than. It will not be easy, but they must bring it every game. Next up is Louisville on Monday night at 7:00 P.M.