Balanced Attack Leads No. 14 UNC to Road Victory at Louisville, Extends Tar Heels' Win Streak to Five

With just three games left in the regular season, it appears head coach Roy Williams’ 14^th-ranked Tar Heels are heating up at the right time—as they nearly led wire-to-wire Saturday night in a 93-76 road victory over the Louisville Cardinals, the team’s fifth in a row.

Senior point guard Joel Berry finished with a team-high 23 points, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.

He was joined by fellow senior Theo Pinson, who posted a nearly identical stat line with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Berry hit four of his five three-pointers in the first half to help the hot-shooting Tar Heels (21-7, 10-5 ACC)stretch their lead up to as many as 16 points in the period.

The final minutes of the opening half saw Louisville forward Deng Adel—who led the Cardinals (18-9, 8-6 ACC) with 20 points and six assists—help his team cut the lead down to nine by the break.

Theo Pinson (1) finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists during UNC’s win over Louisville on Saturday. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

From there, though, the balanced UNC attack ultimately proved to be too much to handle in the second half.

All five Tar Heel starters ended up in double figures, while junior forward Luke Maye recovered from a sub-par start to the game to score 14 of his 19 points after halftime.

The Huntersville native also tallied a team-high 13 rebounds and four steals as UNC continues to look better and better offensively with each game.

“All in all, we really played well,” Williams told reporters after the game. “I didn’t like our defense, but I haven’t liked our defense all year long. Maybe we’ll get it changed before I turn 90.

“But guys made shots,” the coach continued. “And guys made plays.”

With reserve guard Andrew Platek sidelined with a concussion, the Tar Heels were forced to rely on their starting lineup even more than normal. As far as bench production goes, freshman forward Sterling Manley accounted for eight of the team’s nine total points from its substitutes.

The group consisting of Berry, Pinson, Maye, Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams has answered any doubts about whether the lack of interior size would affect rebounding.

It was expected that playing a perimeter-based lineup would help with offensive balance and outside shooting, but it’s been a revelation having that group lead the entire country in rebounding margin. Saturday night saw the Tar Heels outrebound Louisville 44-32, with 17 of those coming on the offensive end.

If anything, this UNC team is showing it can add new ways to score while holding onto the values that Roy Williams has always held sacred.

That’s a good sign, too, with tournament season approaching quickly.

“They know that I like to have as many guys—I’d like to have 14 guys score in double figures is what I would like,” Williams said. “It’s harder to guard a team where all five games can really score. I’ve always thought that.”

Up Next:

UNC will remain on the road for its next game, which is set for Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Syracuse. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game Notes:

Entering Saturday’s game, the Tar Heels had previously been 0-4 in games at Louisville.
Berry’s eight rebounds tied a career high.
UNC is now 14-1 when Pinson has at least five assists.
The Tar Heels have scored at least 93 points in three of their last five games.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Cover photo via Timothy D. Easley (Associated Press)

Balanced Attack Leads No. 14 UNC to Road Victory at Louisville, Extends Tar Heels’ Win Streak to Five

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