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Quick Hitters – UNC vs. NC State

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 85-79 home win over NC State on Tuesday night.

Condensed Game:

Highlights:

  • Can’t underestimate the role the crowd played in the victory. How cool that a full (and loud) crowd will turn out for a 10-17 team to play a late game on a school night. Really grateful for the Carolina faithful. It felt really good for the Tar Heels to get a big win tonight against an in-state rival who is currently vying for an NCAA Tournament birth. Hopefully the Heels can build on this momentum!
  • For a moment, this game had the makings of the same story line we’ve seen time after time in this 2019-20 season. Carolina held an 11-point lead with 8:00 remaining and still a 10-point lead with 5:00 to go. However, NC State cut the lead to three with 2:00 remaining. Unlike other experiences though, the Heels were able to make winning plays down the stretch, including going 7-for-8 from the foul line in the final 0:40.
  • The most consequential stretch of the game came after NC State opened up a seven point lead with 14:45 left in the game. The Heels responded with a quick 9-0 spurt from 13:51-12:12. That run extended out to 22-4, giving Carolina a 67-56 lead with 8:33 to play.
  • There was question about Garrison Brooks’ ability to play after the illness he had been suffering from and the eight pounds he lost as a result. It’s safe to say he did just fine. Following in the lineage of recent Pack-killers Marcus Paige and Luke Maye, Brooks dropped in 30 points and nine rebounds. If you’re keeping track at home, that 55 points against NC State this season.
  • Brooks was also able to exorcise some free throw demons this evening. After going 0-for-7 and 0-for-5 from the line respectively against Boston College and Duke respectively, Brooks went 14-for-16 tonight including making six out of six in the final 0:41. The junior big man did his best Tyler Hansbrough impersonation by getting four separate and-ones (three of which he converted the free throw).
  • Let’s not forget that NC State jumped out to a 10-0 lead while making their first four shots (13-2 extended). During that same stretch Carolina was busy turning the ball over five times in the first 3:30. The Heels eventually settled in and ran off a 9-0 over the course of two minutes from 15:40-13:45 to cut the deficit to 13-11.
  • After the Wolfpack’s initial 10-0 lead, the Heels clawed back to take a 38-37 lead off a Garrison Brooks shot in the paint with 1:00 to go before halftime. After a sloppy sequence from both teams, a Leaky Black lay-up at the halftime buzzer made it 40-37 Heels at the half.
  • NC State foul trouble in the first half contributed to Carolina’s ability to get back in the game. Three important Wolfpack players (Hellems, Bates, and Daniels) each picked up two fouls before halftime. While Carolina didn’t take advantage as much as they would have desired, they were able to grab the lead.
  • Cole Anthony had an under-the-radar 19 points. This is a tell-tale sign of the freshman starting to settle in to the game, getting teammates involved, and then calling his own number when the time is right. He also did a great job in getting back on defense during a NC State fast break which allowed Christian Keeling to catch up and block the shot from behind.
  • Speaking of Keeling, what a night for the grad transfer! Before the Louisville game, he had not hit multiple threes in a game this season and now he’s done so in back-to-back contests. Keeling poured in a total of 16 points and the 6’3” guard was second on the team in rebounds with seven.
  • Keeling has now scored in double-digits in five of the past seven games (and he had nine in the two in which he didn’t hit double-digits). He’s averaging 12.4 points per game over that seven game stretch. It’s been really fun to watch Keeling find his offensive stride in the latter part of the season; you just wish it could be for a more successful team in terms of wins and losses.
  • Armando Bacot was curiously ineffective tonight against the Wolfpack, despite having registered a double-double against them in the first meeting in Raleigh. The freshman only played 13:26 total, and just 5:36 in the second half. Bacot picked up his second foul with 10:54 remaining in the first half and never really seemed to find his stride after that.
  • The victory loss kept Carolina from tying the 1950-51 team for the longest losing streak in program history.
  • It’s worth noting that both teams were sloppy with the ball early. They combined for 12 turnovers in the first seven minutes.
  • Carolina did all of this tonight while shooting just 3-for-16 from three.
  • One of the big factors was offensive rebounding (surprise, surprise). Carolina hauled in nearly double what State did (13-7) and held a similar edge in resulting second-chance points (13-6).
  • Carolina scored 80 points for just the fifth time all season. Interestingly, it was only the second win in those five games (Miami being the other occurrence).
  • Justin Pierce didn’t have an overly impactful game in the scoring column but he did snag four offensive rebounds, got three steals, and had two assists. It felt like both he and Keeling were all over the court. It showed in the final tally. Carolina was +25 with Pierce on the floor and +24 with Keeling on the floor.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a road game against Syracuse on Saturday, February 29. Tip is at 4:00pm ET on ESPN.

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Quick Hitters – UNC vs. Virginia

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 64-62 home loss to Virginia on Saturday night.

Condensed Game:

Highlights:

  • Well here we go again. Same script for the last three Saturdays in a row: Carolina home game. Saturday night. Comes down to last possession. Tar Heels lose. February 1 against Boston College (terrible foul called against Brandon Robinson). February 8 against Duke (let’s not talk about it). February 15 against Virginia (last second three). These poor Tar Heels just cannot catch a break.
  • Unlike last week against Duke, Carolina made offensive plays down the stretch, including sinking free throws. It’s just that Virginia had one more play in them and Carolina couldn’t make the defensive stop.
  • If you’re keeping track at home, Carolina has lost four of their last five at home (Miami being the lone win). Those four losses have been by a combined eight (8!) total points and two of the games have gone to overtime. You just can’t make this stuff up.
  • The team that showed up tonight was much more the team was saw last Saturday against Duke than the imposters that played in Winston-Salem last Tuesday. They moved the ball better, hustled more, and generally looked like a Roy Williams-coached team.
  • It’s been well documented that Carolina has struggled offensively all year long. For just the third time all season, the Heels hit 50 percent of their shots tonight (25-for-50, exactly 50 percent). And of course that happened against the team ranked 4th in defensive efficiency in KenPom. And of course Carolina still lost.
  • Garrison Brooks’ vision must be much improved from his troubles on Tuesday night against Wake Forest. Even though Brooks wore his goggles again, he scored 20 points tonight, many of which came from the mid-range game. He also made his second career three-pointer. Similar to junior and senior Tyler Hansbrough, if Brooks can continue to consistently hit these deeper shots away from the rim, he will be a very dangerous man. This also opens up more operating room for a more traditional, back-to-the-basket big man.
  • Turnovers were an issue tonight, especially early. As has happened with regularity this season, the team had more turnovers than assists (15-14). Armando Bacot was the main culprit tonight, surrendering five turnovers against zero assists. The freshman was a rebounding machine (16), but found himself in trouble often tonight against Virginia’s pesky defensive scheme.
  • A positive note about the turnovers: The Heels committed their ninth (in their first 19 possessions) with 9:18 left before halftime. However, they cleaned up their act and only committed one more in the half, and six total more for the game.
  • Christian Keeling continues to shoot well and hit double-digits for the fourth straight game. Keeling came up huge in the final minute, burying three free throws to give Carolina a one-point lead with 10 seconds to go. One thing Keeling will need to pay more attention to is getting his feet behind the three-point line. Three separate shots tonight could have been threes if he was just a couple inches further back.
  • Good to see Brandon Robinson back in uniform, although he didn’t play. Today marked the two week point since his injury.
  • Poor Cole Anthony took a shot to the face, just above his eyebrow, and bled a good deal. He just can’t seem to catch a break. After receiving medical attention in the locker room, he eventually came back in. Here’s video of the play:
  • This game moved quickly. Much of that can be attributed to the lack of fouls and foul shooting. The teams combined for just 22 total free throws. The first free throws of the game didn’t happen until 12:30 had already elapsed.
  • Carolina drew three charges in the first half (Christian Keeling, Justin Pierce, Andrew Platek).
  • As part of the offensive struggles, it’s plainly evident that several players are hesitant to shoot when they get a good look from three. There seems to be a lack of confidence. The open shots are coming within the flow of the offense, but players are reticent to pull the trigger.
  • This turned out to be one of the more fun Virginia games of recent memory. Both teams scored in the 60s. There were seven ties and 16 lead changes.
  • It’s a quick turnaround to playing in northern Indiana on Monday night. The Fighting Irish will also be flying back up after playing Duke on Saturday. Which Tar Heel team will show up?

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a road game against Notre Dame on Monday, February 17. Tip is at 7:00pm ET on ESPN.

https://twitter.com/tarheelhoopblog/status/1228910156798402560

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Quick Hitters – UNC vs. Duke

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 98-96 home overtime loss to Duke on Saturday night.

Condensed Game:

 

Highlights:

 

  • I sit here on my couch five hours after the game ended and I am still numb. I am still confused. I am still heartbroken. None of that compares to how the players and coaches must be feeling.
  • Bottom line: if you hit your free throws you win this game. Overall, Carolina went 21-for-38 (55.3 percent) at the free throw line. The most painful thing is that the Heels made just five of 10 in the final 1:11 of regulation. If the Heels make any of those five misses, Tre Jones is never in the position to potentially send the game to overtime.
  • Speaking of that end-of-regulation scenario, how (painfully) ironic that it was nearly identical to the end of the Clemson game? Against Clemson, Carolina forgot to foul up three in the waning seconds and gave up the game-tying three. Against Duke, Carolina did foul (maybe a little too quickly) and everything went the Blue Devils’ way to force overtime.
  • Sticking with free throws, you really have to feel for Garrison Brooks. He went 0-for-7 against Boston College. If he makes any of those, Carolina wins. Tonight he went 0-for-5 (including missing the front end of a 1-and-1. If he makes any of those, Carolina wins. Outside of the missed free throws and five turnovers, Brooks played a really strong game. He shot efficiently (9-for-12 for 18 points) and played solid defense on Player of the Year candidate Vernon Carey.
  • Guess how many shots Garrison Brooks took over the final 8:50 of regulation and the 5:00 of overtime? TWO (And both were off broken plays. On the first, Pierce randomly found Brooks in the lane when he got trapped on the baseline. On the second, Brooks received the ball in a late shot clock situation and had to hoist a shot. There were ZERO times when he received an intentional post feed in a scoring position, which had worked so well earlier in the game.
  • How many times has it happened this year? Carolina builds up a double-digit lead, only to fumble it away at the line or with late turnovers. Tonight, the Heels led by 13 with 3:55 left, 10 with 2:10 left, seven with 1:11 left and five points with 20 seconds left in overtime. It’s like there’s this one missing piece, this one play and if Carolina could just get that they would come out on top.
  • Okay, let’s talk about some positive things. We must turn the tide. Christian Keeling is having his best stretch as a Tar Heel. Against Florida State and Duke, two of the best three teams in the ACC, he has scored double digits back-to-back for the first time all season. In those two games he has hit 10 of his 17 shots, two of three three-pointers, and all five of his free throws.
  • Fellow grad transfer Justin Pierce also had a good night, scoring 11 points. The two combined for 24 points in their first ever Duke game.
  • Pierce scored five straight points for Carolina in what looked like it would be the most important stretch and turning point of the game prior to the outcome being what it was. With 1:51 left before halftime and Carolina clinging to a four point lead, Armando Bacot picked up his second foul and went to the bench to join Garrison Brooks and Leaky Black in the two-foul club. Seldom used Walker Miller came in to guard Vernon Carey, who already had amassed 16 points. In those 111 seconds, Carolina stretched the lead to nine (plus-five in this span) with a line-up of Cole Anthony, Christian Keeling, Justin Pierce, Andrew Platek, and Walker Miller. Each team had three possessions. Duke missed a three, hit two free throws (Carey), and had a turnover. Carolina had a Pierce lay-up, a Pierce three, and a Platek (incredibly athletic double-pump) lay-up. Holding off Duke in this stretch to close out the front half (and instead expanding the lead) should have been a huge deal, but instead it will be shelved right alongside Marcus Paige’s three in the 2016 National Championship game. Here’s Platek’s lay-up:

 

  • Also lost to history will be Brooks’ block on Cassius Stanley with seven seconds remaining in regulation to stop Stanley from tying the game. In the moment, it felt like a game-saving play. Sadly it will just be a footnote.
  • Despite all three of Brooks, Bacot, and Black having two first half fouls, the Heels managed the foul trouble (mostly) wisely and none fouled out in regulation (although Bacot and Black both did in overtime). In his postgame comments, Bacot lamented that he could have secured one of the free throw rebounds had he been in the game. Roy Williams pointed out that Leaky’s defense on Tre Jones would have been beneficial when Jones put the Duke team on his back.
  • Let’s go back to Walker Miller. What must have been going through his head when Bacot fouled out, Brooks was back in the locker room with an injury and he had to step to the free throw line in a tie, overtime situation against Duke? Miller made one of two (although the first nearly dropped as well) to give the Heels a one-point lead which would not be relinquished until the final six seconds of overtime.
  • Duke landed the first punches in overtime, taking a five-point lead just one minute into the extra session. While it appeared the Heels might be out of gas, they responded with an 11-1 run to take a five point lead with 20 seconds left. Unfortunately they never scored again and the Blue Devils reeled off seven straight for the final 98-96 tally.
  • You never want to blame the refs (especially when you miss 17 free throws), however the previously mentioned Duke 7-0 run was helped by an egregious no-call with 12 seconds left and Carolina up one. Brooks inbounded the ball to Platek, who was bumped, resulting in the ball going out of bounds and being awarded to Duke. So rather than shooting two free throws with 12 seconds left and leading by one (with a chance to go up by three), Carolina had to defend, which lead to the game-winning play. Here’s the no-call:

 

  • Andrew Platek will be quite frustrated with himself for shooting 1-for-4 from the free throw line at the end of regulation and feel like he cost the team the game, but he did some great things. Earlier in the second half, he hit both parts of a one-and-one. On two important plays in the second half, he doubled on Carey, who spun right into the waiting Platek. The first occurrence resulted in a Duke turnover. The second time Carey bulldozed Platek and picked up his fifth foul.
  • As strange as it sounds, Vernon Carey fouling out was a blessing in disguise for Duke. The freshman big man scored 18 in the first half, but had as many points as I did in the second half (zero). He fouled out with Carolina up 13 (77-64) and over the course of the final four minutes of regulation, Duke outscored the Heels 20-7. Carey’s absence opened up the floor for Duke to attack off the dribble, which they did at will.
  • So many good things to be said about what happened in the first 37-38 minutes of the game. Carolina played with intensity. They moved the ball well: assists on 10 of the first 14 field goals. They had a balanced scoring attack: seven Tar Heels scored multiple baskets in the first half and five finished in double-figures. They gang rebounded: seven players had four or more rebounds. Every time Duke punched or threatened, Carolina answered. They were disruptive on defense. Bacot ran the floor really well. On more than one occasion, I uttered: “That’s a Carolina fast break!” Here’s a great example of one of those fast breaks (Kendall Marshall pitch-ahead style):

  • Cole Anthony felt like he was more in the flow of the offense tonight. There was more cohesion. He took fewer shots, made a higher percentage of those shots, got more teammates involved, grabbed 11 rebounds, and hit nine of his 10 free throws. Of course he’s only played 12 college basketball games, so he still made some freshman mistakes. One in particular came with 2:00 left in regulation. Carolina was up nine and Duke applied pressure. Anthony got sped up and didn’t pull the ball back out when he got across the timeline to run some clock, but rather pushed on towards the basket for a difficult and contested lay-up. Duke quickly converted the miss into a three-pointer. Down to a six-point lead with 1:45 to go. From there the game turned into the parade to the free throw line, which we already know how that turned out.
  • As has happened seldom this year, the Tar Heels both hit the 80-point plateau (and in fact scored a season high 96) and achieved a 50 percent field goal success rate. In fact, the first half Carolina shot 59 percent and scored 44 points (the most Duke had given up in a first half this season).
  • Leaky Black played a solid and diverse game before fouling out. He finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and a career-high nine assists; just a few plays shy of a double-double. Black also seems to have a knack for hitting the first shot of the game. He’s done so multiple times this season, and did so again tonight.
  • Something to keep an eye on: Tonight we saw Leaky Black play some point guard, and Cole Anthony slide over to shooting guard. Not sure if it will be a look Coach Williams employs more, but could be a good wrinkle in the offense.
  • A painful number to see: Carolina led the game for 41:50. Duke led for just 1:47. The game was also tied for 1:23.
  • Just to say it again: Carolina had a double-digit lead as late as 2:07. Very (very) eerily similar to the Clemson loss.
  • Joel Berry was honored at halftime tonight and his jersey hung in the rafters. Great to have him in the house for a game where his late-game sure-handedness and clutch free throw making ability would have come in handy. Here’s video of the halftime ceremony:

 

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

 

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a road game against Wake Forest on Tuesday, February 11. Tip is at 8:00pm ET on ACC Network.

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Quick Hitters – UNC @ Florida State

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 65-59 road loss to Florida State on Monday night.

Condensed Game:

Highlights:

  • The stat that tells you everything you need to know about this game: After leading for most of the game, Carolina missed 17 shots in a row from 16:22-to 5:23 of the second half. Yes, you read that right: Over the course of 10:59 of game time (more than one-fourth of the game) the Tar Heels missed or were blocked on 17 (SEVENTEEN!) straight field goals.
  • It was a low scoring first half and a rather close game. However, Carolina led 28-20 with 2:30 remaining before halftime. But the Seminoles went on a 9-0 run over those final 150 seconds to take a 29-28 lead into the locker room. Still, the Heels led most of game (18:27-15:28), but the Noles went up five with 10:00 to go and never really looked back.

  • The last ditch effort came with 51 seconds remaining. Christian Keeling hit a three to cut the lead to four. Florida State committed a turnover on the inbounds pass, but the Heels couldn’t convert a bucket and were never able to get the game down to one possession.
  • Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot, who have been so important for Carolina in recent weeks, combined for just 11 points and 10 rebounds. That is the second-lowest combined total in a game for both stats this season. The Heels need that out of both players individually to be competitive.

  • Brooks’ five points was his lowest scoring output of the season.
  • Brooks and Bacot also struggled with foul trouble throughout the game. Bacot picked up his third foul with just shy of 16:00 remaining and Brooks picked up his fourth with just over 10:00 to go. Neither player fouled out, but the foul trouble with a thin front line leads to the ineffective play evidenced in the stats above.
  • Impressively, Carolina only committed nine turnovers against Florida State, who averages 18 forced turnovers per game. However, credit Florida State’s disruptive defense for wreaking havoc in passing lanes and keeping the Heels outside the perimeter time and time again.
  • As imagined following his rough ankle injury at the end of the Boston College game, Brandon Robinson was unable to play tonight. The absence of his shooting was a glaring hole as the Heels worked to fight back late in the game. In his absence, the rest of his teammates made six three.
  • Jeremiah Francis has played a similar role in each of the last two games. He comes in after the under-4:00 media timeout of the first half, plays around 3:00 and doesn’t play again in the second half. This is an effort to both give Cole Anthony a breather and protect Francis’ knee issues.
  • Cole Anthony was once again Carolina’s leading scorer with 16, but he took 22 shots to get there. While Anthony was admittedly an ineffective shooter prior to his surgery, he is certainly working his way back into playing form currently.
  • Anthony will also be frustrated with himself for going 3-for-8 from the free throw line after shooting a perfect 14-for-14 on Saturday. Two of these misses were each the front end of 1-and-1s with the Tar Heels trailing by five in the second half.
  • As a team, Carolina continues to struggle from the line, shooting just 64.7 percent (11-for-17) tonight.
  • Let’s take some time to be encouraged by some positives. Christian Keeling poured in a season high 14 points, six of which came as Carolina was trying to get back in the game at the end. He also had a great sequence midway through the first half where he made a deep jump shot to tie the game, got a block on the next possession (leading to a Leaky Black fast break lay-up), and then got a steal on the next possession (which he finished off himself). In fact, it was a great series for the whole team, who grabbed another steal on the next possession (Black) resulting in a Bacot dunk and a six point lead.
  • Leaky Black had a solid game, scoring in double-figures (10) for the third time in the past five games. Black was a stat-stuffer, also collecting five rebounds, three assists (just one turnover), one block and two steals.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a home game against Duke on Saturday, February 8. Tip is at 6:00pm ET on ESPN.

https://twitter.com/tarheelhoopblog/status/1224559467511107584

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Quick Hitters – UNC vs. Boston College

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 71-70 home loss to Boston College on Saturday evening.

Condensed Game:

Highlights:

  • If there was any remaining hope for an NCAA Tournament birth, this loss was likely the last nail in that coffin. The goals now for this team are to continue to get better throughout the remaining 10 conference games, look to make an ACC Tournament run, and the hopefully play in some type of postseason tournament.
  • In the recent games that have come down to one possession at the end (Clemson, Virginia Tech, and today), the Tar Heels just haven’t been able to make a final winning play. That said, in each instance there were multiple plays and scenarios earlier in the game that could have mitigated the necessity for a game-winning shot.
  • As was much publicized over the past couple days, Cole Anthony returned to action today. He didn’t start, but did play 25 minutes. Anthony was clearly rusty coming out of the gate and out of sync with his teammates on multiple occasions. The star freshman shot a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line, had 26 total points, five rebounds, three assists, and just one turnover.
  • One question coming into the game was, “How will the starting line-up be affected by Cole Anthony’s return?” Today’s answer: “It wasn’t.” Anthony will certainly be back in the starting rotation sooner than later, but not in this first game back. Leaky Black, Andrew Platek, Brandon Robinson, Garrison Brooks, and Armando Bacot, who have started the last several games together, did so again today.
  • Jeremiah Francis was also able to return to action today, however he played just 2:39 and only in the first half. The coaching staff is clearly taking a cautious approach to his health.
  • A Tar Heel who was not quite as fortunate today on the injury front was senior Brandon Robinson. With Carolina clinging to a one-point lead and 17 seconds remaining, Robinson fouled Jared Hamilton on a three-point shot. When the players came to the ground Robinson once again sprained his right ankle (in addition to fouling out). No determination yet on his timetable to return. P.S. So as to avoid a fine, we’ll stay away from decrying the foul call on this play:

https://twitter.com/Kyle__Boone/status/1223774583112773632

  • Carolina got Boston College’s starting backcourt into some serious foul trouble (thanks mostly to Cole Anthony’s attacking of the rim), but could not finish the job of fouling out either player. Duke transfer Derryk Thornton, in particular, was (ahem…forgive me for the upcoming cheesy dad joke) a thorn in Carolina’s side. After he picked up his fourth foul with 10:06 left in the game, Thornton scored or assisted on 20 of Boston College’s remaining 23 points.

  • Despite a hot start to the game and another double-double (his eighth in the last nine games), what Garrison Brooks will likely remember most from this one (and be most frustrated by) is his 0-for-7 mark at the free throw line (all in the second half). While the missed free throws didn’t lose the game, it will be hard for Brooks to reconcile that making just two of those shots would have won the game.
  • Even with picking up his fourth foul with 8:32 remaining, freshman big man Armando Bacot also secured a double-double (his third in a row and fourth in the last five games), finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Bacot continued his improved free throw shooting, achieving a 7-for-8 mark.
  • Brooks and Bacot once again dominated from the tip, scoring or assisting on Carolina’s first 10 points. However, Cole Anthony checked in right around this time and took six of Carolina’s next 10 shots. Anthony will need to find a way to mix his ball-dominant style of play with the pound-the-ball-inside approach that has given Carolina success of late.
  • The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle, 42-35 and dominated the offensive glass 16 to seven. Despite that dominant advantage, Carolina held just a nine to eight lead in second chance points. The offensive rebounding advantage only translates to a full advantage when Carolina converts second chance points at a high rate.
  • Assist numbers were way down today. The Heels managed just nine on 22 made baskets. In fact, the team committed more turnovers (12) than they dished out assists (nine).
  • With Anthony and Francis back in the line-up, Carolina now has the capability to comfortably go nine-deep into the bench. Unfortunately, with Robinson’s injury and unknown return, that depth may once again be in jeopardy.
  • Sterling Manley and Anthony Harris were both on the bench in suits today. It was encouraging to get to see both players able to sit with their team during the game. Hopefully, they will be able to push each other as they work diligently on their respective recoveries from leg injuries.
  • Boston College built a ten-point lead (48-38) with 12:12 remaining in the game. Carolina responded with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to get back in the game. The game was back and forth the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than three over the final 5:00.
  • There was an eerily similar to the end of the Clemson game feeling that took place at the 3:00 minute mark. Hanging onto a three-point lead, Carolina gave up a jumper and promptly turned the ball over on the inbounds pass. The Heels forced a missed shot but couldn’t secure the rebound and wound up surrendering another basket and the lead. At that moment there was a twinge of “Oh no, not again!” in my head. Here’s the first part of that sequence:

  • Despite not pulling out the win, there were several strong plays down the stretch. Justin Pierce had an incredible tip-in off a Cole Anthony miss. A couple of possessions later, Brandon Robinson had a nice drive and lay-up to grab a one-point lead. On the next possession, Bacot found Brooks for a lay-up plus the foul. Brooks missed the foul shot, but Carolina got the offensive rebound, resulting in two of Cole Anthony’s 14 free throws. Here’s video of the Pierce tip-in:

  • The inexperience of working a player back in reared its ugly head in the final three Tar Heel possessions. In each of those, Boston College went to a zone defense. On two of the three possessions (including the final shot), Cole Anthony took a contested late shot clock three that missed. On the other possession Cole Anthony split the defense for a runner in the lane. Not once in those three possessions did Brooks or Bacot have an opportunity to make a winning play inside. Here’s the final play:

  • Back to the drawing board. The Tar Heels have a tough week ahead of them. They face a quick turnaround in Tallahassee on Monday night against Florida State before hosting Duke in the Dean Dome on Saturday.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a road game against Florida State on Monday, February 3. Tip is at 7:00pm ET on ESPN.

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Quick Hitters – UNC @ NC State

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 75-65 road win over NC State on Monday night.

Condensed Game:

Highlights:

  • How exactly did Carolina follow-up their success from Saturday’s win over Miami when they went on the road to play a potential NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent in NC State? They follow it up with another win. This has to be a great feeling for those young men and coaches who have continued to work tirelessly to get better.
  • As has often been true this season, Garrison Brooks deserves the statistical accolades and top billing, but tonight we must start with Brandon Robinson. This poor guy has had a rough go of it in the 2019-20 basketball season. A sprained ankle in the exhibition game kept him out of the first four games of the year. He missed another just last week recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident. He’s hobbled off the court in multiple other games to get ankles re-taped. Tonight he fought through tweaking his right ankle and some sort of rib injury. On three different occasions he left the court for medical attention. But he just kept coming back, and in total played 29:32. Despite his aching midsection, Robinson secured an important offensive rebound in the closing minutes and, as you undoubtedly saw, nailed four straight free throws to close the game (after his teammates had just missed five straight). Robinson definitely wins tonight’s “tough little nut” award.
  • Okay, now it’s your turn Mr. Brooks. Brooks was an absolute beast out of the gate. He scored the first two Carolina points with 17:10 left in the first half and by the time the clock showed 14:24 he was up to 10 points. Just to make sure you get what a big deal that is – Carolina as a team has rarely scored 10 points in a three-minute span this season and here Garrison Brooks was doing that all by himself. He got back on the double-double train (seven in the last eight games) by finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. What a season this guy is having. Here are some of Brooks’ highlights from tonight:
  • Carolina has been at their strongest when both big men contribute in big ways. Tonight was no different. Armando Bacot had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. He was a steady 7-for-11 from the free throw line. Bacot’s most impressive stretch was two and-one potential plays just before halftime. He completed the first free throw, but missed the second. But as you might guess (because this is what he always does apparently), Brooks was there for the offensive rebound and putback. Here’s the first of the two plays before halftime:
  • The Heels were one made field goal and five points away from back-to-back games of 50% field goal shooting and reaching 80 points. They shot 49.1% (28-for-57) from the field. Making one extra of those shots would have put the team over 50%.
  • Andrew Platek’s assist-to-turnover numbers were negative (1:2) for the first time since he’s been in the starting line-up, but he contributed in multiple other ways. He played solid defense and contributed eight points (on 4-for-5 shooting). The biggest of those buckets helped push the Carolina lead back to 10 after an NC State surge. The Wolfpack had cut the lead to four with 6:36 left. Platek and Leaky Black both scored and with 3:47 remaining Platek received an outlet pass from Garrison Brooks, found NC State’s transition defense in a state of disarray (even though four of them were back on defense) and promptly drove for an easy lay-up. The Heels never led by fewer than eight points the rest of the way. Here’s video of Platek’s lay-up:

  • Justin Pierce and Christian Keeling didn’t have overwhelming nights, but did contribute seven straight Carolina points midway through the second half to push a three-point lead back to eight.
  • Injury watch: Jeremiah Francis sat out again. Today marked the six-week point for Cole Anthony following his surgery. You have to think he’ll be back sooner rather than later.
  • As I’ve documented, Carolina has pushed to double-digit leads in multiple ACC games that they’ve lost this year. Thankfully, in this one they were able to maintain their lead. Had the Heels held on against Clemson and Virginia Tech, they would be 5-4 in the ACC and tied for fifth, rather than sitting alone in 12th.
  • The possibility of a loss similar to Clemson was present in the closing minutes. Carolina was up 10 with 2:00 to go. Rather than standard turnovers, they missed five straight free throws (three of which were the front end of one-and-ones), which might as well have been turnovers. Unlike Clemson though, NC State couldn’t capitalize and Brandon Robinson sealed the deal. The most glaring difference tonight (at least Roy Williams would say so) is that Carolina had three timeouts for those final minutes.
  • Carolina showed strong road resilience tonight. NC State jumped out to a 7-0 and 9-2 lead. However, the Heels employed traps and quickly tied the game at 12 behind the Garrison Brooks barrage. The basket that tied the game at 12 featured multiple misses and offensive rebounds right at the rim for Carolina before Brooks finally got the tip-in. My family was watching the game at a restaurant and my four-year-old said “miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, HE DID IT!”
  • The Tar Heel resilience allowed the team to grab its first lead at 16-14. They eventually took a 39-35 advantage to the locker room and never trailed in the second half.
  • NC State made a lay-up with 6:36 remaining and didn’t score again until 1:35 remained in the game. Tough to win with a 5:00 scoring drought to essentially close out the game.
  • Despite Brooks’ gaudy scoring numbers, three other Tar Heels reached double figures in the scoring column (Bacot, Robinson, and Black each had 11).

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a home game against Boston College on Saturday, February 1. Tip is at 6:00pm ET on ACC Network.

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Quick Hitters – UNC @ Virginia

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 56-47 road loss to Virginia on Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville.

DISCLAIMER: I know you’re ready to freak out. Carolina has lost three of four. They haven’t looked good or in sync while doing so. The injuries seem to be torpedoing this season’s chances. But hear this: Patience, friend, patience. It’s December. This team is trying to work in a lot of new players. This team is trying to get players back from injury and integrate them. This team is trying to find offensive flow. This team is trying to find shooters. All I can say to remind you to be patient is this: There’s a man at the helm of this program that always finds a way. There’s a man at the helm of this program who is currently fifth all time in Division 1 coaching wins. There’s a man at the helm of this program who is already in the Hall of Fame. You don’t achieve these heights without a couple seasons of bringing together a young squad for the good of the name on the front of the jersey. Patience.

Highlights:

Condensed Game:

 

  • Let’s start with some happy things, shall we? Armando Bacot, who appeared to quite severely sprain his ankle against Ohio State on Wednesday and was expected to be out “indefinitely”, was able to not only play, but start against Virginia. No clue how this happened, but his presence was a welcome return. Here’s Bacot talking about how he was able to get back on the court so quickly:
  • In the same vein of comebacks, two Tar Heel freshmen returned from injury to play their first collegiate minutes. Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris, both of whom suffered knee injuries in high school, were able to play (and score) after being cleared. If either, or both, are able to provide backcourt depth and/or the opportunity for Cole Anthony to move off the ball from time-to-time, it will be a big boon.
  • The final piece of good news for this space is that the back-to-back games against the top-two defensive rated teams in the country are now behind us.
  • Of course, against those two teams, Carolina managed to eclipse 50 points exactly zero times. In the Roy Williams era, these have been just the seventh and eighth games in which the Tar Heels have scored under 50. As you can imagine, this is the first time in that period that sub-50 point games have happened back-to-back. Interestingly, all eight sub-50 points have happened since the 2010-11 season.
    • Virginia | 47 | 2019-20
    • Ohio State | 49 | 2019-20
    • Michigan State | 45 | 2017-18
    • Virginia | 49 | 2017-18
    • Virginia | 43 | 2016-17
    • NC State | 46 | 2014-15
    • Syracuse | 45 | 2013-14
    • Boston College | 48 | 2010-11
  • I’m just going to start hitting you with ugly numbers. Ready?
    • The teams combined for 0 (ZERO!) first half fast break points.
    • Carolina had one assist in the first half.
    • Both teams had more turnovers than made field goals in the first half (Carolina 6-5, Virginia 8-5).
    • With 5:49 left in the first half, only one player on either team had multiple made field goals.
    • For the game, Cole Anthony had zero assists and six turnovers. In truth, this is pretty typical for a freshman point guard playing their first game at Virginia.
    • Carolina hit their first (and only) three-pointer of the game with 17:30 remaining in the second half. The Heels shot 1-for-14 on threes for the game (7.1%).
  • The Tar Heels fouled three-point shooters on three different occasions. Truthfully, even doing this one time in a game is unacceptable.
  • The free throw woes continue. Heels shot 12-for-22 today (54.5%).
  • For the second game in a row, the Tar Heels were out-rebounded (this time 37-32).
  • As the season goes along, one of the big keys to Carolina finding success is production from the grad transfers, Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce. Today, Keeling, a known scorer, took zero shots (ZERO!). Pierce shot 0-for-4 from the field. A “zero” in the points column is unacceptable from these two.
  • Both of these teams are inept offensively at this point in their development. The teams combined for two points in the first five minutes of the game and 11 points in the first 10 minutes. Virginia’s first field goal came with 12:48 left in the first half. Carolina didn’t hit double-digit points until 15:00 into the game and had just 18 at the half.
  • The second half started with a veritable offensive explosion – Carolina scored 11 points in the first 4:00. However, the Tar Heels managed just 18 more points over the final 16 minutes.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a home game against Wofford on Sunday, December 15. Tip is at 4:00ET on the ACC Network.

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Quick Hitters – UNC vs. Duke

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 79-70 home win over Duke on Saturday night.

Highlights:

  • Let me start by both apologizing and bragging. This final regular season edition of Quick Hitters is coming to you late, but for good reason. I watched this Carolina/Duke rivalry game from the comfort of a hospital room because my daughter, Poppy Ann Schade, was born on Friday (International Woman’s Day). In her lifetime Carolina has won an ACC Championship, is undefeated, and has never lost to Duke. Maybe she’ll be a good luck charm for the Heels in March (and April?!).

https://twitter.com/isaacschade/status/1104780848606392320

  • You probably won’t hear this on ESPN, but Carolina has now won three games in a row against Duke, four of the last five, and six of the last nine.
  • Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but the Heels have put themselves in great position for a one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps they now even have a shot at playing closer to home since a one seed would likely be at Duke’s expense. There are many story lines to unfold over the next week before the brackets are revealed next Sunday.
  • The winner of the second Carolina/Duke game of the season has gone deeper in the NCAA Tournament 11 of the past 12 years. Furthermore, 11 of those 12 teams have made it to the Elite 8 or better (2014 is the lone exception in both cases). Will the same be true this year? Let’s hope so.
  • Virginia’s victory over Carolina earlier in the season ultimately came back to bite the Heels. Virginia’s victory over Louisville just prior to the Carolina/Duke game gave the Cavs at least a share of the conference title, but assured them of the one seed in the ACC Tournament. As we know, the Heels tied the Cavs for the ACC regular season championship, but received the two seed because of the head-to-head loss.
  • There are so many plays and players to talk about. Let’s start with the seniors. First up: Kenny Williams. It has been well documented that Williams has struggled with his three-point shot this season. A career 36.8 percent three-point shooter, he was shooting just 28.2 percent and was 0-for-his-last-15 heading into the Boston College game. On senior night, Williams connected on four threes (a season high) and has gone 6-for-12 in the past two games.
  • Against Duke, Williams was second on the team in scoring with 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, had three assists, one block and one steal. That would be a complete stat line for most people, but as we are all aware, there’s more from Kenny Williams. He drew four (FOUR!!) charges in the game; three of which were against Duke’s leading scorer, RJ Barrett. He also played his usual strong man-to-man defense including forcing Cam Reddish into an off-balance contested three-pointer just before half time. What a time for Kenny Williams to have his best game of his senior season.

https://twitter.com/dadgumboxscores/status/1104577101276082178

  • The other two seniors, Luke Maye and Cam Johnson didn’t fare very well in the first half. They combined to shoot 3-for-11 and both picked up two fouls, although they did combine for 10 rebounds. The second half, however, started off with the seniors scoring 12 straight points for Carolina to turn a 40-38 halftime deficit into a 55-44 lead. Johnson finished with a double-double (14 pts / 10 reb). He now has double-doubles in back-to-back games for the first time, three in the last five games and five total on the season (all in ACC play). While Maye didn’t get a double-double, he did come within shouting distance of a triple-double, finishing with seven points, 16 rebounds, and a career-high seven assists.
  • Luke Maye now has 890 rebounds in has career. 10 more rebounds will make him just the 12th Tar Heel to reach the 900 milestone. Maye has averaged 18 rebounds over the last two games. For context, that’s the exact same number as Sean May in 2005.

  • One more note on the seniors: Typically, senior night features a walk-on or two in the starting line-up. However, the only three graduates on this years’ roster are already in the starting line-up so the typical five started the game.
  • You’ll recall that Coby White struggled in round one against Duke (nine points on 3-for-14 shooting, 1-for-6 from deep, six turnovers). Not tonight. This time around White had 21 points, four threes, three assists, three blocks, and zero turnovers. Here are some of the special accomplishments White achieved tonight: This was the first time all season he didn’t have a turnover (coming on the heels of his first non-multiple turnover ACC game). He set the Carolina freshman record for made three-pointers in a season (75), passing Rashad McCants’ 72 in 2002-03. During one stretch in the second half, White scored nine straight for Carolina. In the first half, he also had one of the more impressive drives to the basket you will ever see.

  • Midway through the second half Carolina went on an 11-0 run to grab a 75-60 lead in a game that neither team had previously lead by more than six points. However over the next six minutes, Carolina missed nine straight shots (six of which were threes) and turned the ball over twice, allowing Duke to cut the lead to 75-70.

  • It would not be a surprise to hear that blocks played a factor, because Duke is the leading shot blocking team in the country. However, it was Carolina blocks that were the story. The Heels finished with eight (tying a season high). With the Heels mired in the aforementioned scoring drought, they recorded three blocks over the final 3:38 to help preserve the lead (one each from Brooks, Maye, and Williams).
  • Garrison Brooks really struggled at the line. He hit just 2-for-8 in the first 39 minutes. But then with the game on the line and Duke fouling in the final minute to extend the game, Brooks collected himself and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to score the Heels’ final two points of the game. Coach Williams showed great confidence in the sophomore big man to leave him in even when he knew Duke was fouling. Cam Johnson also hit both ends of a 1-and-1 just 16 seconds before Brooks.
  • Duke’s worst two field goal percentages of the season happened on Wednesday, February 20 and Saturday, March 9. Also known as the two times they played the University of North Carolina.
  • Good defensive effort from Andrew Platek to save possession and call a timeout with 7:12 left in first half. You just worry about the health and well-being of anyone who dares to use one of Coach Williams’ timeouts in the first half!
  • Zion Williamson once again didn’t play for Duke. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, Marques Bolden also hurt his knee 2:30 into the game trying to block a Garrison Brooks dunk. Javin DeLaurier filled in admirably, scoring eight points on 4-for-4 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking four shots in 28 minutes. Thoughts go out to Bolden who, at this time, is reported as having a sprained MCL.
  • Carolina wasn’t as able to take as much advantage of Williamson’s absence this time around. The Heels led points in the paint 32 to 30. The rebounding numbers were tied at 48, however the Heels outscored the Blue Devils 22-11 on second chance points. In fact, second-chance points were responsible for Carolina’s first five points.
  • The bigger difference was outside the paint, where Carolina hit 12 threes, after connecting on just two in round one. In fact, the Heels had already surpassed those two just three-and-a-half minutes into the game.
  • You always worry about some under-the-radar player going off for Duke – in this case someone like Alex O’Connell, Jack White, or Jordan Goldwire. Carolina held those three players to four points on 1-for-10 shooting and no made threes.
  • Nassir Little scored all nine of his points in the first half. His scoring and athleticism, combined with Kenny Williams’ team-leading 12 first half points, buoyed the Tar Heels while waiting on the top three scorers (Johnson, White, Maye) to find their touch.

  • This is that weird part of the season where the Tar Heels could play as many as nine more games or as few as two. Enjoy. Every. Moment.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Senior Night Speeches:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is the ACC Tournament. The Heels have a 1st & 2nd round bye and will start play on Thursday in the Quarterfinals against either Louisville, Georgia Tech, or Notre Dame. Tip is at 7:00ET on ESPN.

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Quick Hitters – UNC @ Boston College

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 79-66 road win over Boston College on Tuesday night.

Highlights:

  • Enjoy these games folks. The number of opportunities to see the 2018-19 edition of the Tar Heels is dwindling rapidly.
  • Carolina finishes 9-0 on the road in ACC play. Just the second team to do so in the 18-game conference era (starting in 2012-13). The other team to do it was Virginia, last year.
  • As far as ACC seeding goes, the Heels are still in position to finish anywhere between the one and the three seed. That will all be determined on Saturday.
  • Luke Maye keeps finding new ways to astound us. He grabbed a career high 20 rebounds tonight, to go along with 17 points, five assists, one block and two turnovers. And by the way this double-double, Maye’s 13th on the season – he had it taken care of by halftime with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

  • Meanwhile Cameron Johnson, who seems to have every incredible showing overshadowed by a teammate, turned in his own double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with five assists, one block, one steal and just one turnover.
  • Three other Tar Heels joined Maye and Johnson in scoring double figures – Coby White (11), Kenny Williams (11), Nassir Little (11). Additionally, five Tar Heels recorded three or more assists – Maye (five), Johnson (five) Williams (four), Brandon Robinson (four) and White (three).
  • Kudos to Coby White for his fewest number of turnovers in an ACC game. Before tonight, the freshman had turned the ball over multiple times in every conference match-up. However in this game he only turned the ball over once. A stat still to be achieved: Zero turnovers. White has at least one turnover in every game this season.

  • The rebounding discrepancy in this game was absurd. Carolina grabbed 60 total rebounds (20 offensive) to Boston College’s 35 for a +25 rebounding margin.
  • Carolina continues to be a sharp passing team. The Heels assisted on 10 of the first 13 made baskets and finished with 22 assists on 32 field goals. Coming into the game, Carolina was second in the country (19.3 assists per game) to only Belmont (20.1).
  • Boston College got off to a hot start behind, you guessed it, hot shooting from Ky Bowman who hit three three-pointers in the first 2:40 to put Carolina in an 11-6 hole. From that moment on, the Heels outscored Boston College 42-14 leading up to halftime.
  • Kenny Williams is off the schneid. After missing 15 straight three-point attempts, he hit two against Boston College. Williams’ ability to find his shooting stroke in March would be a huge boon to Carolina’s success in the postseason.

  • Particularly in the first half, Carolina did a good job defending without fouling. The first foul was committed with 9:47 remaining before halftime and the Heels finished those first 20 minutes with only four team fouls. While Boston College started off shooting hot (6-for-11), they were merely 3-for-26 the rest of the first half for a field goal percentage of 24.3 percent.
  • Scary moment midway through the second half. Nassir Little and Garrison Brooks fell to the court (with Brooks on top of Little) and Little screamed in obvious pain, but limped off the court under his own power. Around 5:00 of game action later he came back in and aggressively drove to the hoop and completed an alley-oop from Coby White on a baseline-out-of-bounds play. Perhaps a new phrase should be coined: the BLOB Lob.

  • The final score doesn’t indicate what a comfortable blowout this was. With 3:26 remaining and the Heels holding a 22-point lead, Roy Williams subbed in his second unit. Then with 1:29 left, Coach Williams brought in the walk-ons. All-the-while Boston College curiously kept their starters on the court. The Eagles sunk two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds of game action for the final 13-point margin.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is Senior Night (and the final regular season game of the year) on Saturday, March 9 against Duke. Tip is at 6:00 on ESPN. Make sure to stay tuned after the game for senior speeches from Cameron Johnson, Luke Maye and Kenny Williams.

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Quick Hitters – UNC @ Clemson

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Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 81-79 road win over Clemson on Saturday night.

Highlights:

  • See what happened on that last play was…well…and then…okay, so…ummm….yeah. In all seriousness, you never expect to get a favorable call on the road in an end-of-game scenario, but that’s what happened. While it seemed like perhaps Garrison Brooks fouled Clemson’s Shelton Mitchell as he drove to the bucket in the waning seconds, the refs didn’t call it, so it wasn’t a foul and Carolina won by two. Coby White made a heads’ up play on that Clemson drive to save the ensuing loose ball to Garrison Brooks, who got the ball ahead to Kenny Williams. Williams wisely threw the ball ahead to the other end of the court where the clock ran out before Clemson could recover the ball and get a shot off.
  • Yes, the clock was still running when Clemson recovered and the player got the shot off before the clock said zero. However, the clock had stopped for approximately 1.8 seconds during the scrum on the other end and Clemson’s Hail Mary was released with 0.2 remaining. So the shot wouldn’t have counted if it had gone; thusly Williams’ play was brilliant.
  • While we all care a great deal about the results of a basketball game, the more important concern on Saturday was the health of Roy Williams. Just before halftime, Coach Williams went down with one of his bouts of vertigo that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from time to time. Unfortunately, this episode wasn’t one where he just popped back up and was fine. Coach was escorted to the locker room by Doug Halverson and Eric Hoots and did not return to the court for the rest of the game. Steve Robinson filled in admirably and helped guide the Heels to victory.
  • With the win, Carolina is 8-0 on the road in ACC games. This means that a win at Boston College on Tuesday would be just the second time since the ACC expanded to 18 games in 2012-13 that a team has finished 9-0 on the road in conference play (Virginia achieved that feat last season).
  • Coby White started the game on fire. In the first eight minutes, he had 14 points including four three-pointers. He finished with a game high 28 points, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, two steals, but unfortunately five turnovers. White now has 70 threes on the season, the second-most ever by a Tar Heel freshman. Rashad McCants holds the record with 72.
  • Just another ho-hum double-double for Luke Maye (13 points, 10 rebounds), his twelfth of the year. Maye is tied for 15th all-time at Carolina with 854 rebounds and is 49th in points with 1286.
  • Clemson big man Elijah Thomas is precisely the type of player the Heels have struggled with the past two seasons. He exploded for 10 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in the first half. However, a third foul early in the second half limited his production to just three more points, two more rebounds, and one assist.
  • Welcome back Sterling Manley, now shoot two free throws with nobody standing on the lane. With 54 seconds remaining before halftime, Manley checked in for the first time since the Davidson game back on December 29 and immediately took an elbow to the face from Elijah Thomas. Thomas was assessed a Flagrant 1. Manley made one of two free throws and Cam Johnson hit a three on the ensuing possession.
  • Speaking of Cam Johnson, he scored 19 points, 18 of which came from six three-pointers (on just eight attempts). The efficient shooting brought his season percentage from deep up to a ridiculous 48.1 percent. His 78 made threes so far this season is already tied for 15th in a single season in Carolina history.
  • On the flip side of three-point shooting is Kenny Williams. He hasn’t hit from deep in four straight games and is 0-for-14 in that stretch. But as Kenny Williams does, he’s found other ways to contribute. In that same stretch he has 13 assists and just five turnovers. He has multiple drawn charges. It was Williams who huddled the team together to rally the troops and settle everyone down after Coach Williams’ vertigo episode. It was Williams who hit a couple mid-range shots down the stretch. It was Williams who grabbed Coby White to assure him after White prematurely fouled in the closing moments. It was Williams who hit three of four free throws to help seal the win. I’ll say it til I’m blue in the face: Senior. Leadership. Matters.

  • There were some interesting line-up combinations on Saturday. For a stretch in both halves, Coby White and Seventh Woods were both on the floor, seemingly in an effort to get White some off-the-ball scoring opportunities. It will be interesting to see if Coach Williams utilizes this combination more going forward.
  • Luke Maye, Garrison Brooks, and Coby White each finished the game with four fouls. Maye and Brooks played the last three minutes and change saddled with four. This is when the depth that Coach Williams develops each year becomes important. You never know when a similar scenario will happen going forward and the Heels will need to call on Brandon Huffman (& hopefully Sterling Manley) to provide some key minutes.
  • Huffman and Manley both helped down the stretch of the first half. Huffman in particular showed great tenacity on the offensive boards leading to a Nassir Little put-back and and-one.

  • To that end, 11 different players saw the court in the first half for Carolina. Keep in mind, this is with Leaky Black still on the bench in street clothes.
  • A takeaway from this game will be end-of-game awareness. After a Cam Johnson three gave Carolina a seven-point lead with 1:15 to go, Coby White turned the ball over near mid-court. So instead of a seven point lead with under one minute remaining, Clemson cut the lead to five with still more than a minute. This was not the only issue, but the one that stands out the most as causing more end-of-game pressure than was necessary. That said, the Heels did what they needed to do from the free throw line to escape with a win, including making the front end of several 1-and-1s.

Roy Williams postgame press conference:

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is the final road game of the season against Boston College on Tuesday, March 5. Tip is at 8:00ET on Raycom and WatchESPN.

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