UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Virginia 71-63 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Cruises past the Cavaliers
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Virginia on Saturday night as they looked to string a couple of wins together. The Tar Heels came out hot and were clicking on cylinders offensively in the first half. The Heels did a great job of moving the ball around to the open man and getting quality shots every time down the court. They shot 57% from the field with more than half of their field goals scored in the first half being three-pointers. North Carolina made 9 of 15 three-pointers, tying the most three-pointers made in a half for UNC. Because of UNC’s hot shooting, it seemed Carolina played even harder defensively and they were able to pull away from Virginia midway through the first half with a 16-point lead going into halftime.
In the second half, the Tar Heels didn’t shoot as well as they did in the first half but played well enough on both ends of the floor to maintain control of the game for the final 20 minutes. Despite not shooting well after halftime, UNC made sure to attack the rim and draw fouls to get to the free-throw line often. Defensively, they were forcing them off the three-point line and forcing them into contested shots all night long. The Heels held Virginia under 40% from the field and were in total control of the game down the stretch as they picked up their 18th win of the season. Pete Nance was excellent on both ends of the floor all night long and led the way with 22 points and 4 blocks.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 6 Virginia 21-6 | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| North Carolina 18-11 | 42 | 29 | 71 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| P. Nance | 22 | 2 | 2 | 7/10 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| R. Davis | 16 | 10 | 4 | 5/10 | 2/4 | 4/4 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Bacot | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4/6 | 0/0 | 3/4 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| C. Love | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2/12 | 1/8 | 5/6 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| L. Black | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| P. Johnson | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3/4 | 2/3 | 0/2 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Dunn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Trimble | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Washington | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 71 | 37 | 12 | 22/47 | 10/22 | 17/22 | 14 | – | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| J. Gardner | 19 | 12 | 1 | 9/17 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 4 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| A. Franklin | 14 | 4 | 1 | 6/14 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Clark | 9 | 2 | 5 | 3/9 | 1/1 | 2/3 | 4 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Vander Plas | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3/8 | 2/4 | 0/2 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Beekman | 8 | 4 | 6 | 4/11 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| I. McKneely | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2/6 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Shedrick | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Dunn | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 63 | 32 | 14 | 27/68 | 4/12 | 5/11 | 18 | – | 7 | 2 | 3 |
UNC Bright Spots
Pete Nance had 22 points, 4 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds.
RJ Davis had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Armando Bacot had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Caleb Love had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels’ shot selection and decision-making need to be better. Especially when they have double-digit leads, they tend to take bad shots, and have unforced turnovers, which allows teams to stick around.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 18-11 on the season and 10-8 in ACC play. The Heels got their first Quad 1 victory of the season, which is a huge booster for the NCAA tournament resume. After a couple of weeks of mediocre basketball played by this North Carolina team, they finally look to be playing a better brand of basketball. They are playing team basketball offensively and are more locked in defensively.
Coach Davis still needs to play the bench more and the Tar Heels must continue to bring a sense of urgency to every game with an NCAA tournament bid on the line. However, they have everything they need to make a late-season run but must be consistent with their play. Hopefully, this game will be something they can build on going forward as they approach their final two games of the regular season and the ACC tournament. Next up is Florida State on Monday, February 27th at 7:00 P.M.