Without playing anywhere close to its potential on Wednesday night, the No. 2 UNC men’s basketball team still managed an 83-68 win at the Smith Center over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Tar Heels have now won 10 games in a row—and could return to No. 1 next week—even though their brightest star, senior guard Marcus Paige, finds himself mired in the biggest slump of his career.
In the past three games—all of which have come after he got his first haircut of the season—Paige has scored a total of just eight points, including two on Wednesday, and has made only three of his last 25 shots.
Despite Paige’s struggles, his roommate–Brice Johnson—answered the bell against Wake Forest with 27 points and 11 rebounds–lifting the team’s record to 17-2 overall and 6-0 in the ACC.
Brice Johnson’s 27 points and 11 rebounds led the way for the Tar Heels, who now have a chance to return to No. 1. (Todd Melet)
Johnson was the only UNC player to reach double figures for head coach Roy Williams in a sloppy game that saw the Tar Heels build a 16-point halftime lead, before poor defense allowed the Demon Deacons– now 10-8 with a 1-5 mark in conference play–to stick around.
“We won,” Williams said after the game, following it with a sarcastic chuckle. “I’m as happy as I can possibly be. It wasn’t very pretty.
“Wake struggled, and so did we.”
What’s telling about the Tar Heels’ ability to win games by double digits without Paige producing as he normally does, is that they’re showing how consistent they can be no matter who scores the points.
If that’s the case now, and a double-digit win can be viewed in a negative light, then certainly nobody will want to face UNC when Paige gets it together and everything’s clicking.
Just don’t ask Williams when that will be, because his guess is as good as yours.
“I’ve never had a player in 28 years as a head coach that I’ve got more confidence in than Marcus [Paige],” Williams said.
“So I’m gonna go get a crystal ball, put a wig on, and get some incense.” he continued. “Is that what it is? That smoke stuff? And then chant something to see if I can figure it out.”
It wasn’t just Paige that had an off-night though. The Tar Heels shot just 38 percent as a team, their second worst performance of the season—with the last game against NC State being the worst. They also allowed Wake Forest to make 13 layups in a second half in which they shot just 26 percent themselves.
Sophomore guard Joel Berry, who was UNC’s second leading scorer with nine points, explained to reporters how that happened.
“I mean, we were up 20,” Berry said. “And so we thought we had the game coming into the second half. They just kept playing.
“They didnt get it too close, but we could get another team that could get on a roll and we won’t be able to stop ‘em.”
Wake Forest continually got to the rim for easy buckets throughout the second half, which they won 38-37. (Todd Melet)
After top-ranked Oklahoma lost to Iowa State on Monday, the door is now open for the Tar Heels to return to the top spot in the rankings for the first time since late November. All they need to do is defeat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Sunday and they’ll be back atop the mountain.
To reach that point, there’s still plenty of room for improvement—which is scary given the way this team has been able to win convincingly while turning in a few sub-par performances.
“We have all the pieces that we need,” Berry said. “We just have to play to our potential, and not take it easy on anyone.
“I think once we get to that point–and we start buckling down on the defensive end—I think that’ll just take us to being a greater team.”
With that “should have done more” feeling permeating throughout the locker room, it shouldn’t be a shock to hear that Williams was in touch with his inner Mick Jagger as he got ready to leave the arena.
“Satisfaction is not part of my language right now,” the coach said before pausing for a second.
“Nowhere. No. Not even close”
Up Next:
UNC will play four of its next five games away from home, starting with this Sunday’s contest at Virginia Tech, who is 12-7 right now with a 4-2 mark in the ACC.
Game Notes:
- This is the ninth time in Roy Williams’s tenure as UNC’s head coach that the Tar Heels have won at least 10 games in a row.
- It was the first time UNC has had only one player in double figures (Johnson) since a loss vs. Miami on 1/8/14 (James Michael McAdoo).
- Isaiah Hicks had a career-high nine rebounds.
- Paige has never gone scoreless in a game during his UNC career. He has now scored two points on six separate occasions (the first five were during his freshman year).
Follow @averytrendel and @WCHLChapelboro for updates on the team all season long
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