UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Bounces Back With a Win Against the Scrappy Hokies

by Derrick Clyburn

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The North Carolina basketball team had a bad week of performances on the road against Miami and Wake Forest. This home game was the remedy that was needed for the Tar Heels to get back in the winners’ column and build some much-needed confidence.

Va. Tech didn’t make it easy for the Tar Heels. They followed the same plan that was successful for the previous opponents. The Hokies used pick and rolls, and dribble drives on offense, and switching defenses to keep the Heels in front of them on the perimeter.

North Carolina found ways to keep the Hokies at bay with strong drives to the basket. Drawing fouls that created free throw opportunities. UNC went 22-26 from the free-throw line. The Tar Heels had five players score in double-figures for the first time of the season led by Caleb Love with 22 points and 5 assists. Also, UNC got a much-needed contribution from Leaky Black with 10 points.

UNC Game Stats

               1st     2nd     TOT

North Carolina 37      41      78

Virginia Tech  33      35      68

North Carolina

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
A. Bacot F	—	7-19	0-0	0-0	8	11	19	1	0	1	2	5	14
B. Manek F	—	5-12	4-8	1-2	3	5	8	3	1	1	1	1	15
R.J. Davis G	—	3-9	1-4	8-9	0	4	4	2	1	1	1	3	15
C. Love G	—	5-14	3-8	9-11	0	2	2	5	1	0	2	0	22
L. Black G	—	3-5	2-4	2-2	2	3	5	2	3	1	1	3	10
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. McKoy F	—	0-3	0-1	2-2	2	2	4	0	0	0	0	2	2
P. Johnson G	—	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
K. Walton G	—	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM		23-63	10-25	22-26	16	27	43	13	6	4	7	15	78
		36.5%	40.0%	84.6%

Va. Tech

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
K. Aluma F	—	7-15	1-2	4-4	1	5	6	3	0	1	2	4	19
J. Mutts F	—	8-15	1-3	1-4	1	9	10	2	1	1	2	4	18
H. Cattoor G	—	4-9	3-6	2-3	1	6	7	0	1	0	1	1	13
N. Alleyne G	—	4-8	2-4	0-0	0	5	5	0	0	0	1	3	10
S. Murphy G	—	1-4	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	4	0	0	2	4	2
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. Haynes F	—	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
D. N’Guessan F	—	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
S. Pedulla G	—	2-5	0-2	0-0	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	3	4
D. Maddox G	—	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
TEAM		27-58	7-18	7-11	5	27	32	13	2	2	9	21	68
		46.6%	38.9%	63.6%

UNC Bright Spots

Caleb Love had 22 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds.

Brady Manek had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.

R.J. Davis had 15 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.

Armando Bacot had 14 points, 19 rebounds, and 1 steal.

Leaky Black had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to continue to work on slowing down the dribble drives and they need to finish stronger around the basket. They have missed close to 25 layups in the last two games which totally unacceptable.

Final Observations

The season isn’t over for the Tar Heels as many prognosticators are suggesting. North Carolina is one game out of first place with only three losses. Yes, they have had some very poor performances of late, but it is not over.

The Tar Heels have to keep fighting and take it one game at a time. They have a great chance to make up some ground in the win column with 6 out 8 of their games being at home in the Dean Doom.

We know that they have some glaring weaknesses on the defensive end and the guard play has been inconsistent. If the coaching staff can devise some schemes to mitigate those weaknesses they will have an opportunity to become a better team. The players must buy into the team concept more. Next up is Boston College Wednesday at 7 pm on Bally Sports South.