No. 5 UConn showed why it’s the defending national champion.

In an emotional game at Madison Square Garden, the Huskies used a hot second half to fly past UNC at the Jimmy V Classic, 87-76. No. 9 Carolina falls to 7-2 on the season.

UConn outmuscled Carolina on the glass, holding the Tar Heels to an uncharacteristically paltry 33 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Huskies snagged 43, including 11 on the offensive end.

Armando Bacot secured his usual double-double with 13 points and 13 boards, but was held in check most of the night and shot just 4-12 from the floor. R.J. Davis ended the night as UNC’s leading scorer with 26. The White Plains, N.Y. native has now scored at least 26 points in each of his last four games. Nineteen of Davis’ 26 points came in the second half as he gallantly tried to keep his team in the game. Harrison Ingram added 20 in another strong showing for the Stanford transfer, but Cormac Ryan once again struggled to find his shot: he finished 3-10 from the floor and 0-6 on threes.

But it was a brutally efficient offense from UConn which was Carolina’s undoing. The Huskies dished out 25 assists on 34 made baskets and turned the ball over just eight times (UNC turned it over just seven). UConn led by five points at halftime and extended that lead to as large as 17 late in the second half on the strength of 17-31 (54.8 percent) shooting after the break. For its part, Carolina couldn’t keep up at 14-36 (38.9 percent) in the second half, including just a 1-5 mark from Bacot. The Tar Heels as a whole struggled around the rim, shooting 21-43 on two-pointers and 13-26 on layups.

Three-point shooting helped the Huskies stretch their legs in the second half, as multiple makes from Alex Karaban and Solomon Ball fired up the largely-UConn friendly crowd. The Huskies shot 6-15 from downtown in the half after starting just 4-16.

Cam Spencer ended the night as UConn’s leading scorer with 23 points, two of which came on technical foul free throws after an altercation with Bacot. Spencer and Bacot had exchanged words after a basket for the Huskies, and when Bacot yelled after dunking on the other end he was assessed a technical foul. Spencer would later receive a technical of his own in the second half after taunting Bacot.

Carolina will now take an 11-day break before its next game, which will come in the CBS Sports Classic against No. 16 Kentucky in Atlanta. That game is scheduled for December 16 at 5:30 p.m.

 

Featured image via Dakota Moyer

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