UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Cruise in Game One Against Va. Tech
by Derrick Clyburn
North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks (15) and guard Brandon Robinson (4) react during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia Tech at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Tar Heels basketball team won their first game of five which is their goal to stay alive and have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. UNC controlled the boards with a 45-30 advantage and had four players score in double figures led by Garrison Brooks who had 20 points and 4 rebounds.
North Carolina knew that this was a win or go home scenario for them and they made the best of it by having a balanced offense. Coach Williams even added a wrinkle to his playbook by implementing the pick and roll with Anthony and Brooks that led to three dunks.
UNC Game Stats
1 2 T
North Carolina 32 46 78
Virginia Tech 26 30 56
North Carolina
Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/-
1 BLACK 5 2-4 0-1 1-2 6 4 0 26 10
2 ANTHONY 10 3-10 1-3 3-5 8 4 4 34 27
4 ROBINSON 17 5-8 5-6 2-2 6 2 0 31 31
5 BACOT 12 5-9 0-0 2-2 11 0 1 29 13
15 BROOKS 20 6-11 0-0 8-10 4 2 1 34 25
3 PLATEK 6 2-5 1-2 1-2 0 0 1 7 -5
11 RUSH 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 -1
13 FRANCIS 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
22 MILLER 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2 0
25 ELLIS 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 -1
30 SMITH 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 -1
32 PIERCE 4 2-3 0-0 0-0 5 1 0 15 5
34 O’HAN 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 -1
35 MCADOO 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 -1
55 KEELING 4 1-5 0-1 2-2 3 1 0 18 9
TOTALS 78 26-56 7-13 19-25 45 14 8 200
46.4% 53.8% 76.0%
Virginia Tech
Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/-
2 NOLLEY II 10 4-11 2-6 0-0 3 1 1 28 -26
3 BEDE 5 2-6 0-3 1-2 5 5 1 33 -20
4 ALLEYNE 2 0-6 0-2 2-2 1 0 1 15 -17
14 HORNE 6 2-8 2-6 0-0 4 0 1 26 -10
23 RADFORD 4 2-6 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 20 -10
0 CATTOOR 14 5-11 4-10 0-0 3 0 0 26 -12
1 WILKINS 0 0-2 0-1 0-0 3 2 0 11 3
11 PALMER 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
15 CONE 11 3-11 2-8 3-3 1 1 0 25 -8
21 OJIAKO 4 0-1 0-0 4-4 7 0 1 14 -12
24 JOHNSON 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
TOTALS 56 18-62 10-36 10-11 30 11 7 200
29.0% 27.8% 90.9%
UNC Bright Spots
Garrison Brooks had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Brandon Robinson had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Armando Bacot had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Cole Anthony had 10 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to work on their on the ball defense and help-side defense. Several times they were lazy on the defensive end when rotating or keeping their man in front of them.
Final Observations
North Carolina got the job done. One down and four to go. They did a good job of playing inside out and not forcing a lot of bad shots. Cole Anthony needs to step it up with his play. He had 9 points against Duke (4-14) and 10 points tonight going 3-10 from the field. That’s around 30% from the field in two games. He has to be more efficient.
I’m proud of Brandon Robinson. He lit up from the three-point line going 5-6 from the field. It was great to see Christian Keeling come back from the ankle injury he suffered in the first half. UNC needs all players on deck to accomplish the goal they have set in front of them. Next up is Syracuse at approximately 9:30 on ESPN2.