Does the second half versus Wake Forest signal a new start for UNC?

Appropriate for inauguration day, the Tar Heels may have augured in the second half of the season with their best second half of the season. Carolina shook an ACC-winless Wake team (0-6), which led by two points at the half, by shooting 55 percent for the final 20 minutes, not a single point coming from the 3-point line.

Caleb Love showed that proverbial light bulb may be coming on with his college high of 20 points and only two turnovers when the outcome was still in doubt. Roy Williams has been preaching to his freshman point guard that he is getting better every day.

Ol’ Roy also likes the defense that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet. “He can be one of the best defensive players I’ve ever coached,” he said. “He’s a freshman, and you don’t always know what they are thinking. But I do know he is really working at it.”

The Heels finished with 12 turnovers and 18 assists, most of them by pounding the ball inside, which is supposed to be their game. They made 15 free throws while taking control with a 12-0 run and a 16-5 run while committing only three turnovers and recording 12 assists after intermission.

“I want our big guys to touch the ball on every possession,” Williams said, “because they are going to get fouled or find someone outside for an open shot. I challenge them to post up and go to the basket hard; they did that and had no turnovers in the second half.”

Armando Bacot was the biggest big by making 8 of 10 shots while the other three tall young men combined to shoot 4 of 18. But Garrison Brooks and Day’Ron Sharpe did other things beside scoring, such as combing for 13 rebounds.

UNC set a school record with seven straight ACC games decided by seven points or less. Playing that close every time, you are not going to win them all, and so far the Tar Heels are 4-3 in the ACC with the rematch against NC State Saturday as long as the Wolfpack has shaken its recent COVID problems.

State has gone 1-3 since beating Carolina by three points in the ACC opener for both teams back on December 22 in Raleigh.

 

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Chansky's Notebook: Let's Play Through
There should be no COVID testing for the Final Fours. Although her team lost a controversial game to UConn in the Elite 8, Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey is saying what many others are thinking. With this being the last weekend of college basketball for the men and women, why risk one team having to forfeit a game […]
Chansky's Notebook: Winning Attraction
Coincidentally, the Pitinos proved it’s about winning after all. This has been an interesting week for the basketball Pitinos. Father Rick returned to college coaching at Iona after scandalous stays at Kentucky and Louisville that drove him to pro ball in Europe. By winning the Metro Atlantic Conference tournament, after missing the most games this […]
Chansky's Notebook: Wins and Wisdom
What a weekend; didn’t go quite as expected. How many of you had Carolina losing to Florida State and Duke beating Louisville for its fifth-straight win? I did, and imagined that light at the end of the regular-season tunnel was a freight train ready to run over the Tar Heels’ intended trip to the NCAA […]
Chansky's Notebook: Bubble Burst
Well, as they say, the Tar Heels control their own destiny. With a bad loss to a pretty good 9-10 Marquette team, Carolina is on the verge of shooting itself out of the NCAA tournament. In fact, the Heels may have to run the table against three difficult ACC opponents to avoid missing the Dance […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Record 150
The old KO’d the older on a true senior night in Durham. The Syracuse-Duke game in Cameron Monday marked a clash between the two oldest coaches in the history of college basketball. Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski are 150 years old, the Orange leader at 76 and Coach K at 74. This distinction may have occurred in recent games between the long-time rivals […]
Chansky's Notebook: Miami Vice
Carolina is getting swamped by a perfect storm – and a Hurricane. The Tar Heels lost two games on Saturday afternoon, and both were predictable. In his Zoom conference Friday Roy Williams lamented, “We’ve had 18 games so far and only six at home.” The next day, his team played its fourth straight road game […]
Chansky's Notebook: Selfish Play
Kids will be kids, but what about everyone else? After Carolina’s dramatic win at Duke Saturday night, social media was filled with two video threads of celebrations. First the Tar Heels hugging on the Cameron Indoor Stadium court followed by the typical victory dance in the locker room led by Coach Roy Williams, who has […]
Chansky's Notebook: Commissioner K?
It seems like the countdown is on for Mike Krzyzewski. Before his team dropped to .500 in both ACC games and overall with the loss to Carolina, Krzyzewski acknowledged that he was coming to the end of his Hall of Fame coaching career. And he hinted, ever so slightly, what his next job might be. “In about a week (February 13), I’ll […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Late Prize?
Carolina football kept recruiting right through the second signing day. Of the 18 high school seniors Mack Brown signed back in December, more than half of them are already on campus preparing for spring practice. The class was rated in the top 15 in the country and in at least one top 10 ranking. But […]
Chansky's Notebook: Trap Game?
It’s Duke week and the Tar Heels are sitting pretty. Now that February is here, we can start the official jockeying for first-round byes in the ACC tournament at the empty Greensboro Coliseum. And with the balance that may be good or bad for NCAA bids, the ACC race is up for grabs. Virginia Tech […]
›