In the first half, Carolina couldn’t miss. In the second, neither could Tennessee.
In a wild, back-and-forth affair at the Smith Center Wednesday night, UNC used a 61-point first half to build a 22-point halftime lead against one of the nation’s top defenses, then held on for dear life through a manic Volunteer comeback to win 100-92.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/WjBdGE7NDK
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 30, 2023
“It’s hard to stop our team,” said fifth-year center Armando Bacot, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds to record his 71st career double-double. “We’ve got a lot of different weapons.”
To Bacot’s point, four different Tar Heels scored in double figures, and three of them eclipsed 20 points: Bacot, R.J. Davis (a team-high 27) and Harrison Ingram (20). Cormac Ryan added 15 points off the bench despite not practicing since the Battle 4 Atlantis with an ankle injury. Hubert Davis said Ryan was on track to miss Wednesday night’s game, but instead the Notre Dame transfer delivered a message to the third-year head coach.
“After our practice Tuesday, he came up to my office and he said, ‘I’m playing,” Davis remembered. “There’s a sense of urgency for him. There’s no more extra years for him. His intensity and passion and desire to be part of a team and to be good is exactly what this team has needed.”
Twelve of Ryan’s 15 points came in UNC’s incredible first half, which finished with the Tar Heels shooting 19-33 (57.6 percent) and threatening to run a tough Volunteer defense – ranked first nationwide in defensive efficiency – out of the Smith Center.
“We don’t really care about [rankings],” Bacot said. “It’s really ‘pick your poison’ with us at this point.”
“From an offensive standpoint, it was one of the better halves since I’ve been here as an assistant and a head coach,” said Davis. “It was pretty special.”
Carolina’s offense continued to be potent early in the second half, building a lead as large as 24 points at 76-52 with 15:20 left in the game. But the Volunteers refused to go quietly, hopping on the back of Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht and enjoying the ride. Knecht torched Carolina to the tune of 37 points (22 in the second half) on 13-17 shooting, tying a single-game scoring record for an opponent in the Smith Center. He missed just one shot in the second half.
Led by Knecht, Tennessee charged back into the game and cut the deficit to as little as six points in the final minutes, but ultimately could not climb the mountain completely. The Volunteer momentum took a major hit when Knecht went down late in the game with an apparent lower-body injury and had to be helped off the court. Knecht had been fouled on the play and had free throws to break the aforementioned Smith Center record, but could not continue.
On the other end, clutch free throws from R.J. Davis and Elliot Cadeau ensured Carolina would see out the win and hit the century mark. Entering Wednesday night, Tennessee had not allowed more than 71 points all season.
Cadeau played his best game as a Tar Heel, finishing with 10 assists and zero turnovers against the Tennessee full-court press. It’s the first time a Tar Heel has posted such a statline since Marcus Paige did so in 2015. Cadeau started and played 31 minutes.
“That’s a really big thing for me, having coaches be confident in me, trusting me,” Cadeau said. “It helps with my confidence a lot.”
“Elliot has a gift and a talent,” Davis said. “He’s instinctively really special.”
The win moves Carolina to 6-1 on the young season. The Tar Heels will be back in action on Saturday against Florida State in the ACC opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Smith Center.
Wednesday’s game drops the Volunteers to 4-3 and is their third straight loss, but still stands as one of UNC’s best regular-season victories in Davis’ tenure as head coach.
“I think today, really,” Bacot said, “we were just trying to put the world on notice.”
Featured image via Todd Melet
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