Much of the criticism surrounding the No. 7 UNC men’s basketball team recently has centered on who would be able to help ACC player of the year candidate Brice Johnson when times get tough.
Wednesday night in Raleigh, sophomore Justin Jackson showed he might be that guy down the stretch in the Tar Heels’ 80-68 win over the rival NC State Wolfpack.
Jackson scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half, but that’s when UNC needed him most.
Brice Johnson had another monster game–22 points and 11 rebounds–as he mounts a campaign for ACC Player of the Year. (Smith Cameron Photography)
NC State (14-14, 4-11 ACC) exploded out to a 23-10 lead as junior guard Cat Barber came out firing strong, scoring 14 of his 32 points during the run–on a stretch of seven consecutive made baskets.
Despite finding themselves in the biggest hole they’d been in all season, head coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels (23-5, 12-3 ACC) eventually took the lead on a three-pointer by Jackson with 4:28 before halftime and never looked back.
“I mean we were out of the game almost,” Williams said. “I always say you never lose a game in the first half but it sort of looked like they were running us out of the building.
“But Justin made some big baskets for us there in that stretch.”
Expected to be a breakout star in his second season after his impressive finish last year, Jackson has struggled to find his groove shooting the ball. Williams has sworn to media and fans alike that Jackson really is a good shooter—despite what his career 28 percent mark from three-point range might have people believe.
In the first 10 ACC games the Tomball, Texas native made just 2 of his 22 attempts from deep.
But over the last five games, four of which have been Tar Heel wins, he’s made 9-of-16, including 2-of-4 on Wednesday—scoring at least 13 points in each outing.
“Kids live and die by how the ball goes in the basket,” Williams said, repeating one of his favorite phrases. “Whether I like it or not, that’s the way a lot of it is.
“I think he’s playing more confidently right now and I know he’s shooting it more confidently” he continued in reference to Jackson. “But I just tried to focus on the fact that he was doing a good job for us defensively.”
For most of the game Jackson found himself matched up on NC State freshman wing Maverick Rowan—a streaky shooter who can give opponents nightmares when he gets hot.
Jackson playing defense here on NC State forward Abdul Malik-Abu. (Smith Cameron Photography)
On Wednesday, Rowan finished 2-of-12 from the field with just eight points and two rebounds.
It’s this kind of all-around effort from Jackson that provides the perfect supplement to Johnson, who has evolved so far that his 22 points and 11 rebounds against the Wolfpack are viewed as just another night at the office.
“We came in here and we thought they’d play a little scared,” Johnson said. “But they came out and they hit us. They came out and were really aggressive and attacked the offensive glass—starting with the first two plays of the game. [Abdul Malik-Abu] and [Beejay Anya] got three offensive rebounds (on the game’s first two plays) and we can’t have that.
“We just had to buckle down and play harder,” he added.
Entering the final three games of the regular season, UNC will need Jackson to play at this high level alongside Johnson if it wants to take home any type of postseason hardware.
A road game at No. 3 Virginia awaits the Tar Heels on Saturday with the return game against Duke the week after.
If anything, Williams is just as happy to escape Raleigh unscathed going into that stretch as he is to have Jackson clicking on all cylinders.
“I knew they were kicking our tails, the crowd was going crazy, and they were making shots,” the coach said, “But I was pleased with the way we just kept playing.
“It showed a veteran club out there, and we didn’t go crazy or do anything.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels will travel to Charlottesville to face off with the Cavaliers in front of ESPN’s College GameDay audience. That game is set to tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
Game Notes:
- UNC’s backcourt duo of Marcus Paige (10 points) and Joel Berry (11 points) were the only other Tar Heels to reach double figures.
- It was Paige’s final game in PNC Arena, where he scored 35 points in a 2014 win and 23 in a win last season.
- Williams decided to go back to starting Kennedy Meeks at the forward spot next to Johnson, after using Isaiah Hicks in that spot against Miami in the previous game. Meeks played 24 minutes and had seven points on Wednesday, while Hicks scored six points in 18 minutes.
- The Tar Heels have beaten NC State 19 of the last 21 times and 25 of the last 28.
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