Still playing with a renewed focus on getting the ball inside, the UNC men’s basketball team put together an impressive 75-65 victory on the road against Pittsburgh Tuesday night—the team’s sixth win in its last seven games.
The Tar Heels’ starting frontcourt tandem of Armando Bacot and Garrison Brooks made the most out of their size advantage against a Pitt team (8-4, 4-3) that entered the night one spot ahead of the Tar Heels (11-5, 6-3) in the ACC standings.
Bacot led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Brooks added 16 points and six rebounds. Together, the duo combined to make 16 of their 21 shots from the floor.
Of the Tar Heels’ 75 points in the game, 48 were scored in the paint—a recipe that has worked wonders in recent weeks for head coach Roy Williams and company.
“It’s not really that difficult,” Williams said afterwards. “Get shots that you can make. And the guys that make the most of them should get most of the shots. We’ve always thought that. When we had Coby White, I was very comfortable with Coby shooting just about any shot he shot. Because he shot a good percentage, he could attack the basket, get the other team in foul trouble. And we had big guys.
“Well now we have big guys, that we need to throw the basketball to them and get good things to happen” he added.
Much like the win over NC State this past Saturday, the Tar Heels took the lead early in the first half and never once trailed in the second half.
UNC was ahead by as many as 16 points with eight minutes remaining, but a late run pulled Pitt within five down the stretch. Bacot and freshman point guard Caleb Love combined to outscore the Panthers 7-2 over the final four minutes, however, which sealed up the UNC victory.
“Every time they made a run, we answered it,” Williams said. “That was a big thing too, because we can’t shoot 4-for-17 from the three-point line and 7-for-14 from the foul line. But we luckily got by today because they didn’t shoot it much better.”
Now riding a surge of momentum into the top five of the ACC standings, it’s clear that this Tar Heel roster littered with freshmen has started to find an identity and play to its strengths.
How far that can ultimately take them remains to be seen, but Williams stayed true to himself afterwards by telling reporters he has no plans on making any kind of predictions for his team.
Having already matched last season’s ACC win total of six, though, it’s clear there has been major improvement from year-to-year.
“I don’t ever think you turn the freakin’ corner,” Williams said. “You’re in the ACC. You’re only as good as your last game. I’ll go back to what I’ve said consistently. I think we are getting a little bit better and a little bit better.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels aren’t currently scheduled to have a game this weekend, with their next scheduled game set for Tuesday, Feb. 2 at Clemson. That game has a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
Game Notes:
Current ACC Player of the Year frontrunner Justin Champagnie ended the night with 23 points and 10 rebounds for Pitt.
The Tar Heels shot 60.7 percent in the second half and 52.5 percent for the game.
Of UNC’s 32 made shots from the field, 19 were dunks or layups.
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