Way to go, TEAM.
In a well-played ACC basketball game between almost-even competitors, Carolina earned a must-win after losing three of its last five games where the efforts were not even close to what the Tar Heels turned in at a loud and appreciative Smith Center Saturday.
Veteran coach Bill Guthridge used to say, “If you don’t have it in February, you won’t have it in March.” His old school had it in an outing that needs to be the standard moving forward and down the stretch of a close ACC race that will have a bearing on NCAA tourney seeds.
The Heels’ 96-81 win over Virginia Tech showed off the true team Hubert Davis has been searching for all season. The top eight-man rotation all scored and excelled with four in double figures and starter Elliot Cadeau netting 8 points and handing out 4 assists. Carolina had built a 12-point lead before R.J. Davis got his first basket nine minutes into the game.
Davis, who wound up with 20 points and a team-high 5 assists, has become the darling of Tar Heel Nation in a season that should end with ACC Player of the Year and All-American honors. Beyond his unselfish — but also dangerous — game, Davis is a throwback to the four-year players we learned to love like family from afar. R.J. reminds us of the days when we felt that way about almost everyone on the roster.
But this blend of veterans and newcomers has a chance to be great in March if they keep playing like they did Saturday, shooting 52 percent to win a 28th consecutive game when making at least half their shots. The Heels’ biggest halftime lead in a month and shooting 57 percent in the second half made it feel like yesteryear when it was easy believe “there is no way we’re losing this game.”
Carolina started early with handy Harrison Ingram on the way to his ninth double-double of the season (12 points and a monster 17 rebounds) with 11 and 12 by halftime, when the Heels led 50-39. It was Ingram’s fourth ACC game with 15 rebounds or more and the 12th time he led the team on the glass (tied with Armando Bacot).
“Every time a shot goes up, he goes, and it’s not surprising that the ball winds up in his hands,” Hubert said of Ingram. “I believe the ball finds effort.”
UNC’s Harrison Ingram celebrates after scoring and leading Virginia Tech to call a timeout. The junior had a double-double of points and rebounds before the end of the first half on Saturday. (Photo via Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.)
Cormac Ryan continued to warm up by draining four 3-pointers for the second straight game (fourth time this season but not since a month ago against Louisville) and is steadily raising his accuracy from the arc to 32 percent. If Ryan, who finished with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal, can get hot at the right time, the Heels will be tough to handle.
The sometimes-beleaguered Bacot dominated the smaller Hokies with 25 points and 12 rebounds for his 81st career double-double, seventh most in NCAA history. It was also his fifth straight D-D and 13th of the season. Carolina is 10-3 if Bacot shows up in that form — especially like he did in the second half with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Bacot took only 5 shots in the first half but, perhaps with a little locker room-prodding from Hubert Davis finished with 16. It was the most he has attempted since the opening game against Radford way back when, and his 11 field goals made were his highest of the season. The second half started with Bacot’s two free throws and R.J.’s long ball at the shot clock buzzer that gave UNC its biggest lead of the game, 55-39.
AB was too much for VaTech senior center Lynn Kid, who got only two rebounds in 16 minutes and gave way to Mylyjael Poteat, whose 8 rebounds was the team high. Former Tar Heel Tyler Nickel came off the bench to hit his first two 3-pointers and play 27 minutes, finishing with 14 points and 3 blocks with a stronger body than he looked to have as a seldom-used reserve last season.
Armando Bacot shoots over a Virginia Tech double-team during the second half of UNC’s 96-81 win. Bacot led the way for Carolina with 25 points. (Photo via Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.)
Carolina hit 4-of-9 on long balls in the second half to wind up shooting 7-of-21 for 33 percent. Where the lead grew came at the foul line, dropping 10-for-13 to close with and finishing 19-for-23 for an 83 percent clip. Virginia Tech, which is second in ACC free-throw shooting, couldn’t make a dent there despite going 18-for-20 for 90 percent.
Davis, of the three-fingered goggles gesture, had three triples. His second 3-pointer was a step back while the Heels were running some clock, which stopped a VaTech rally and got the lead back to double-digits. R.J. had 20-plus points for the 17th time this season, extending his UNC record of making multiple 3-pointers to 23 straight games. He also climbed to 12th place on the school’s all-time scoring list, passing Marcus Paige.
Jalen Washington was terrific in 10 minutes subbing for Bacot with 7 points, 6 coming on three crowd-pleasing dunks — one off a pocket pass from Seth Trimble, who shared point guard duties with Cadeau and equaled his four assists. Together, Trimble and Cadeau had 12 points and 8 assists. With the hidden-value stat, Cadeau was +19 points in his 23 minutes on the court. Trimble was +12 in his 21 minutes of play.
The Tar Heels owned 9 of 14 total turnovers in the clean game and were minus-7 off those, but dominated points in the paint (54-36) and on the backboards (43-31), converting 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, eight better than the Hokies.
Carolina is now 20-6 overall, the third of three seasons Hubert Davis has reached that esteemed plateau and marks the program’s 64th time winning at least 20 games. The Heels retain a slim lead in the ACC standings at 12-3, with Duke at 11-3 and Virginia (where the Heels go Saturday in their next game) at 11-4.
“It’s a long season, and in the middle of February it’s really good to have a week break to practice the little things we need to improve on as well as prepare for a very good Virginia team,” Hubert said.
It felt like a team effort even before tip-off with the National Anthem sung by Cadence, one of several acapella groups on a campus once known mostly for the Clef Hangers. After halftime, the fans also warmly welcomed UNC’s 2023 national champion field hockey team and 23-year-old rookie head coach Erin Matson. (By the way, where do you go from there?!)
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