Now all alone atop the ACC men’s basketball standings, the ninth-ranked Tar Heels flexed their muscles and played like it Thursday night at the Smith Center—dominating Virginia Tech from both the inside and the outside on the way to a 91-72 victory.
UNC drained a season-high 14 three-pointers in the rout—on a staggering 30 attempts–while also punishing Virginia Tech on the glass.
Joel Berry scored all 15 of his points on five makes from beyond the arc, while Justin Jackson added five threes of his own and led the team in scoring with 26.
Senior forward Kennedy Meeks may not have helped much from the perimeter, but his work inside helped him add 15 points and 14 rebounds to the winning cause.
Justin Jackson scored 26 points to lead the Tar Heel attack against Virginia Tech, as he matched Berry’s total of five made shots from beyond the arc. (Todd Melet)
Because the Hokies were fearful of the Tar Heels’ fastbreak attack, they rarely sent extra bodies into the paint for offensive rebounds.
On the other end, UNC—the nation’s top rebounding team—consistently crashed the boards with reckless abandon. This helped UNC grab an incredible 19-4 advantage on the offensive boards, while finishing with 43 rebounds overall—compared to just 22 for Virginia Tech.
Content on running up the score with second chance layups and three-pointers against Virginia Tech’s zone, Jackson credited the team’s unselfishness with making everything click so well.
“Thirty, that’s a lot of threes,” Jackson said with a chuckle upon hearing the final stats. “But I think whenever we get the ball moving, we have way more space to shoot. The way we moved it tonight, and the way we were able to get it inside—the bigs did a good job of kicking it back out, because a lot of times, they doubled.
“Whenever we got it inside, it made them collapse,” he continued. “Then we just kept moving the ball and it helped a lot.”
Perhaps no statistic demonstrates how unselfish the Tar Heels played better than their 25 team assists on 36 made shots—not to mention they turned the ball over just seven times.
With numbers as impressive as those that UNC put up on Thursday, it’s difficult to try and pinpoint minor flaws without coming across as a bit obsessive.
Head coach Roy Williams was not satisfied with UNC’s defense against Virginia Tech. The Hokies became one of just three teams to shoot over 50 percent against the Tar Heels this season. (Todd Melet)
Leave that to Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams, who deflected a question asking whether the team’s strong inside presence or its outside shooting was what could get this team from good to great.
Instead he focused on the fact that the Hokies—for all their shortcomings in the game—shot 51 percent from the floor against a defense that has allowed five straight opponents to shoot above 43 percent.
“Our defensive field goal percentage has got to improve,” Williams said. “I think the other things are gonna keep us in the game, but if you really want to be great you gotta guard people better.”
The Tar Heels came out of the locker room afterwards having clearly just heard similar sentiments from their coach.
There will be teams out there that don’t let UNC gain such a big rebounding advantage, and there will be nights when a lid suddenly appears on the rim any time the Tar Heels shoot a three—especially as the ACC race heats up and tournament time arrives.
It’s defense that earns wins when simply outscoring the opponent with ease isn’t an option.
Virginia Tech has a solid 15-5 record (4-4 ACC) after Thursday, but nobody is confusing the Hokies for title contenders of any sort. Still, though, they were able to create chances with ease at many points throughout the night.
As one of the team’s unquestioned leaders, Jackson took time with reporters to diagnose what he sees as the major issues on that end of the floor right now.
“Whenever the bigs are more involved defensively—really down in a stance and ready to help—that helps us way more,” Jackson said. “I think they did that at times tonight. But I think sometimes as guards, we just didn’t stay in front of the ball.
Kennedy Meeks posted yet another double-double for the Tar Heels, adding some inside punch to an offense that primarily made its living from the perimeter on Thursday. (Todd Melet)
“One of the big things Coach wasn’t happy with was our rotations,” he continued. “It’s something we can easily fix, but we’ve gotta fix it. If we can fix that, I think we’ll be alright.”
On their way to the ACC regular season championship a year ago, UNC finished the season third in the league behind only Louisville and Syracuse in field goal percentage defense.
Although the Tar Heels have again reached the top of the conference standings, they recognize that their work is far from done. Currently at the beginning of a stretch that calls for three games in six days, they’ll have ample opportunity for improvement in the near future.
While Williams and some of the team’s veterans—like Jackson and Meeks—point to defensive improvement as the key to closing out the league over the next month, Berry sees energy and intensity as the component that will help the team get there.
“Right now we’re about to go in to a three-game stretch where it’s back-to-back-to-back,” Berry said. “So if we can continue to grind it out and push through keeping that number one spot, that’ll help us out.
“You can come out with all the energy you want at the beginning of ACC play, but at the end you have to dig a little deeper,” he continued. “This middle stretch that we have right here determines the outcome of our season.”
Up Next:
UNC will travel to South Florida this weekend for a matchup at Miami. That game is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28 with a 1 p.m. tip time.
Game Notes:
- The 14 three-pointers were the most UNC has hit this season, surpassing the 12 it made in the 51-point blowout win over NC State.
- It was first time all season both Berry and Jackson hit at least five three pointers in the same game.
- Junior wing Theo Pinson left the game with a sprained right ankle in the first half and did not return. In six minutes of action, he posted five points, three rebounds and two assists.
- UNC has scored at least 20 second chance points in six of its last seven games–all wins.
