Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Carolina had a very good road trip, finishing 3-1 on the west coast, but also learned something against Michigan State on Sunday night. The Spartans' 63-45 victory was a complete demolition in every phase of the game.

2. Most notable was Michigan State's stingy defense completely taking the Tar Heels out of their offense. The game turned into one of the worst shooting performances of the Roy Williams era by almost any measure. Carolina shot 24.6% from the field; the Williams-era low had been 27.6 percent in a loss at Georgia Tech in 2011. Carolina shot 5.6% from the three-point line; the Williams-era low had been 7.1 percent against Duke on March 9, 2013. Carolina managed 45 points, just a basket ahead of the Williams-era low of 43 points--which came against the glacial pace of Virginia rather than Michigan State's quick tempo. Further review showed the game turned out to be the lowest UNC field goal percentage since that stat has been recorded. That's a rough night.

3. That wasn't just a bad first half. That was the worst shooting half by the Tar Heels since the first half at Miami last year. The Tar Heels shot 20.7 percent in the first half at Coral Gables on the way to a blowout loss, and then shot 23.3 percent against the Spartans on Sunday night.

4. Largely through the all-court effort of Theo Pinson, Carolina somehow stayed in the game and closed it to 12 points with 4:30 remaining. Pinson was the lone consistent offensive option for Carolina, scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds. But he simply wasn't getting any help, as no other Carolina player made it into double figures.

5. The Carolina frontcourt had an educational evening. Michigan State won the rebounding battle 52-36. Even with all of Carolina's missed shots--meaning lots of offensive rebound opportunities--the Tar Heels got just one more offensive board than the Spartans.

6. One of the only ways the Tar Heels stayed close was through the free throw line. Carolina was in the bonus midway through the first half and went to the line 24 times (MSU went to the line just 13 times). But the Heels also struggled to convert at the stripe, hitting only 58.3 percent of those opportunities.

7. It was interesting to watch a frustrated Roy Williams give the UNC perimeter freshmen some second half opportunities after a couple of veterans struggled. Jalek Felton got some time at point guard and had a couple of assists. In a game like that against an athletic opponent making some one-on-one drives, Felton has a skill set that is going to be valuable to the Tar Heels over the next few months. He's an important player to watch in the next 30 days as the Tar Heels prepare for conference play. Andrew Platek concluded a solid road trip with four points and a couple of rebounds in 11 minutes.

8. Keep in mind the game actually could have been much worse. The Spartans turned it over a whopping 24 times. But Carolina never really turned those miscues into consistent offense, including blowing a couple of fast break opportunities and missing a couple of open layups. You know that had to be a cathartic win for Tom Izzo, who has been dominated by Carolina, but he almost certainly left Portland feeling his team could play much better.

9. One of the lone bright spots: Aaron Rohlman got some first half playing time after the Carolina post men struggled with the Michigan State inside presence. Rohlman grabbed a strong rebound and also had a tip-out of a missed free throw.

10. It's late November. Carolina is a young team playing without Cameron Johnson, who was expected to be a key offensive piece and an especially important perimeter option. Michigan State is a very good team right now. Carolina hopes to be a very good team by March, but returns to Chapel Hill knowing there is work to do. Keep in mind it doesn't get a lot easier. Carolina has three games this week after a cross-country overnight flight, including a home game against Michigan Wednesday and a road trip to Davidson Friday.

Players Mentioned

Jalek Felton

Cameron Johnson

Theo Pinson

Andrew Platek

Aaron Rohlman

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