UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Wins Ugly On the Road

by Derrick Clyburn

This was a game of surviving on the road for this North Carolina basketball team. Some would say that this should have been an easy victory against Notre Dame without their two star players Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell out with injuries but the Tar Heels didn’t take advantage of it. UNC was outrebounded 45-27 by the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame seemed to get to every loose ball. In the end, the Tar Heels made the plays down the stretch to escape with their first ACC road win. Luke Maye led North Carolina with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

UNC Game Stats

North Carolina

Box Score     FG   3PT   FT   REB  AST STL BLK  TO   PF  PTS

1. Pinson           4-7    1-1     4-6     7       4       1       0       0       1       13
2. Maye              8-14 1-3     1-2     11      3       3       1       0       3       18
3. Berry II          5-11  3-6     2-2     2       3       0       0      0       2       15
4. Johnson        2-10 1-5     2-2     4       2       0       0       2       0       7
5. Williams       2-7    0-3     1-3     3       3       2       1        2       5       5
6. Brooks          2-2    0-0     0-0     3       1       0       1       2       0       4
7. Manley         3-5    0-0     1-2      4       0       0       1       1        1       7
8. Platek           0-0   0-0     0-0     0       0       0       0       0       1       0
9. Felton           0-2    0-2     0-0     0       0       0       0       0       1       0
10. Robinson    0-3    0-1     0-0     1         0       1       0       0       2       0

TEAM    26-61   6-21    11-17   37     16     7       4      7      16      69

42.6%   28.6%   64.7%

Notre Dame

Box Score      FG    3PT     FT  REB  AST STL  BLK  TO  PF   PTS

1. Geben             4-9    1-1     5-6     9       1       0       3       1       4       14
2. Mooney         2-5    1-3     0-0     5       0       0       1       1       2       5
3. D.J. Harvey   4-13  1-6     0-1     8       2       0       0       0       1       9
4. Pflueger       2-6     1-2     2-2     3       4       1       0       5       3       7
5. Gibbs            6-20  3-6     4-4     5       6      0       0       3       3       19
6. Burns            1-3     0-0     0-0     0       0      0       0       0       0       2
7. Torres          0-3     0-0     0-0     5       0      0       0       0       3       0
8. Djogo           4-7      3-6     1-2      4       0       0       0       1       0       12

TEAM   23-65   10-24  12-15  45    13     1      4       11      16      68

35.4%   41.7%   80.0%

UNC Bright Spots

Luke Maye had his 10th double-double with a career-high 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists.

Joel Berry had 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Theo Pinson had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to start the game and maintain more energy on both ends of the floor and the freshmen bigs must continue to play stronger around the basket. Especially when playing on the road.

Final Observations

A win is a win no matter how ugly. There is plenty of room for improvement for the Tar Heels.  Their level of play on the road must get better if they want to accomplish their goals in the ACC. I think Roy has to find more minutes for Sterling Manley. They struggled to rebound with the smaller lineup. Pinson needs to continue attacking the basket. UNC needs him to score more to take pressure off of Berry and Maye.