University of North Carolina Athletics
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
January 6, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the road game at Virginia.
By Adam Lucas
1. You can't go into Charlottesville, commit a season-high in turnovers, and expect to emerge with a victory. That's what happened to the Tar Heels on Saturday, as they coughed the ball up 19 times on the way to a 61-49 defeat.
2. Carolina was simply too casual with the ball against the tenacious Virginia defense in the first half. The Tar Heels handed the Cavs three turnovers that turned into three easy dunks, and then watched Virginia turn those buckets into a seven-point lead. The UVA offense isn't exciting, but it's efficient, and the Tar Heels made it too easy for them in the first half. Virginia eventually held a whopping 25-3 edge in points off turnovers.
3. The Wahoos had turned it over just seven times in their last three halves. Carolina coaxed 11 Virginia turnovers in the game, but got just three points off those miscues, and didn't get a bucket off a turnover until midway through the second half. In fact, the Tar Heels turned it right back over to the Cavaliers on seven of the 11 possessions that followed a UVA turnover.
4. Kenny Williams, who Roy Williams has consistently said is Carolina's best perimeter defender, did a solid job defensively against Virginia's Kyle Guy, who had been Virginia's most dynamic offensive player. Guy's one three-point basket came when Williams was out of the game, and he finished 2-for-10 from the floor and one-for-six from the three-point line.
5. Roy Williams continues to search to try and find reliable and consistent production off the bench. Again on Saturday, the opponent made a couple spurts with a handful of Carolina starters out of the game. Cameron Johnson has solidified himself as the first reserve off the bench, but beyond him, the Tar Heels are still trying to solidify the rotation. Two Carolina substitutes scored: Johnson with five points and Sterling Manley with four.
6. There was some chatter after the Florida State game about Joel Berry trying to do too much offensively. But considering UNC's late-clock execution from everyone other than Berry on Saturday, it's hard to fault him for trying to find a way to produce points himself. The senior had 13 second-half points against Virginia; other than him, the Tar Heels produced just two baskets and eight points in the final 20 minutes.
7. Carolina has now lost two straight games for the first time since February 2016. You knew coming into the week that this would be a tough stretch. It turned out to be exactly that, which heightens the importance of Tuesday's game against a potent Boston College team and then a trip to Bonzie Colson-less Notre Dame. Both losses this week were against teams the Tar Heels will not get a rematch with, which could eventually have ACC Tournament ramifications.
8. The UNC transition game isn't clicking right now. For the third straight game, the Tar Heels were outscored in fast break points, which is simply unheard of in the Williams era. Virginia, which is completely committed to stopping the break, held an 8-0 edge in transition scoring.
9. An underrated part of Virginia's well-known defensive proficiency is their ability to stop the dribble. Multiple times on Saturday, a Cav defender stoned a UNC offensive player who was trying to get penetration. That led to three shot clock violations on the Tar Heels, which is like catnip to the JPJ Arena crowd that has fully bought in to the defense-first mentality. Carolina, meanwhile, continues to need some work on stopping the dribble.
10. The quirks of the ACC schedule may play a big role in determining the eventual regular season champion. Carolina was the highest ranked team the Cavaliers will play in Charlottesville this season. Almost unbelievably given the strength of the league, the Wahoos have only one other home game the rest of this year against a currently ranked team--a Jan. 23 date against Clemson, which edged its way into this week's rankings at No. 25.
11. One of the best under the radar traditions in the ACC is Roy Williams' pregame wave to John Grisham and his wife Renee (a diehard UNC fan), who have season tickets directly across from the visiting bench at John Paul Jones Arena. Williams has had plenty of opportunity to see them, as UNC has played in Charlottesville in seven of the past eight seasons. The Tar Heelsl have now lost five straight at John Paul Jones Arena.
1. You can't go into Charlottesville, commit a season-high in turnovers, and expect to emerge with a victory. That's what happened to the Tar Heels on Saturday, as they coughed the ball up 19 times on the way to a 61-49 defeat.
2. Carolina was simply too casual with the ball against the tenacious Virginia defense in the first half. The Tar Heels handed the Cavs three turnovers that turned into three easy dunks, and then watched Virginia turn those buckets into a seven-point lead. The UVA offense isn't exciting, but it's efficient, and the Tar Heels made it too easy for them in the first half. Virginia eventually held a whopping 25-3 edge in points off turnovers.
3. The Wahoos had turned it over just seven times in their last three halves. Carolina coaxed 11 Virginia turnovers in the game, but got just three points off those miscues, and didn't get a bucket off a turnover until midway through the second half. In fact, the Tar Heels turned it right back over to the Cavaliers on seven of the 11 possessions that followed a UVA turnover.
4. Kenny Williams, who Roy Williams has consistently said is Carolina's best perimeter defender, did a solid job defensively against Virginia's Kyle Guy, who had been Virginia's most dynamic offensive player. Guy's one three-point basket came when Williams was out of the game, and he finished 2-for-10 from the floor and one-for-six from the three-point line.
5. Roy Williams continues to search to try and find reliable and consistent production off the bench. Again on Saturday, the opponent made a couple spurts with a handful of Carolina starters out of the game. Cameron Johnson has solidified himself as the first reserve off the bench, but beyond him, the Tar Heels are still trying to solidify the rotation. Two Carolina substitutes scored: Johnson with five points and Sterling Manley with four.
6. There was some chatter after the Florida State game about Joel Berry trying to do too much offensively. But considering UNC's late-clock execution from everyone other than Berry on Saturday, it's hard to fault him for trying to find a way to produce points himself. The senior had 13 second-half points against Virginia; other than him, the Tar Heels produced just two baskets and eight points in the final 20 minutes.
7. Carolina has now lost two straight games for the first time since February 2016. You knew coming into the week that this would be a tough stretch. It turned out to be exactly that, which heightens the importance of Tuesday's game against a potent Boston College team and then a trip to Bonzie Colson-less Notre Dame. Both losses this week were against teams the Tar Heels will not get a rematch with, which could eventually have ACC Tournament ramifications.
8. The UNC transition game isn't clicking right now. For the third straight game, the Tar Heels were outscored in fast break points, which is simply unheard of in the Williams era. Virginia, which is completely committed to stopping the break, held an 8-0 edge in transition scoring.
9. An underrated part of Virginia's well-known defensive proficiency is their ability to stop the dribble. Multiple times on Saturday, a Cav defender stoned a UNC offensive player who was trying to get penetration. That led to three shot clock violations on the Tar Heels, which is like catnip to the JPJ Arena crowd that has fully bought in to the defense-first mentality. Carolina, meanwhile, continues to need some work on stopping the dribble.
10. The quirks of the ACC schedule may play a big role in determining the eventual regular season champion. Carolina was the highest ranked team the Cavaliers will play in Charlottesville this season. Almost unbelievably given the strength of the league, the Wahoos have only one other home game the rest of this year against a currently ranked team--a Jan. 23 date against Clemson, which edged its way into this week's rankings at No. 25.
11. One of the best under the radar traditions in the ACC is Roy Williams' pregame wave to John Grisham and his wife Renee (a diehard UNC fan), who have season tickets directly across from the visiting bench at John Paul Jones Arena. Williams has had plenty of opportunity to see them, as UNC has played in Charlottesville in seven of the past eight seasons. The Tar Heelsl have now lost five straight at John Paul Jones Arena.
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