University of North Carolina Athletics
Joel Berry II
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 10, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the visit to NCSU.
By Adam Lucas
1. All things considered, that's one of the grittiest wins of the Roy Williams era. Less than 48 hours after playing an emotional home game against Duke, the Tar Heels traveled to an angry PNC Arena and took a 96-89 win over NC State.
2. And it wouldn't have been possible without one of the all-time Carolina performances in a UNC-State game from Luke Maye, who had 33 points and 17 rebounds while scoring in just about every possible way during the second half, when he had 25 of his points.
3. Carolina dominated the glass (41-24 overall) and had a 21-7 edge in second chance points.Â
4. The Tar Heels also shot the ball unbelievably well in the second half, when they continually took the ball straight to the rim. In the final 20 minutes, they shot 78.1 percent, and hit 56.3 percent for the game.
5. After turning the ball over just twice against Duke, the Tar Heels coughed it up 11 times in the first half alone against NCSU. Carolina had just five assists in the first 20 minutes, and State turned the miscues into 13 points. They eventually gave up the ball 19 times, including a couple simple giveaways in the backcourt. That turned into giving up a season-high 27 points off turnovers, which was essentially State's best offense on the afternoon.
6. A first half 19-0 run put some of the emotion that had dissipated in PNC Arena back into the building. Carolina did a good job of recovering from that spurt and getting the margin to a more manageable two point deficit at the break.
7. A couple big free throw conversions late in the game. Both Cameron Johnson and Theo Pinson made front ends (and eventually all four) free throws in the final minutes. With State well below the bonus, those were big shots.
8. Joel Berry took a lot of heat this week, and he backed it up. Berry set the defensive tone while also scoring 16 points to go with his five rebounds.
9. Maybe it doesn't matter how many you make, but when you make them. That's the Kenny Wiliams philosophy evidently, as he was quiet offensively for most of the game, but then hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game with a three-pointer with 1:10 remaining that pushed a two-point UNC lead to five.
10. The Tar Heels are now 2-0 in this almost unprecedented stretch. They deserve a warm and loud welcome back to the Smith Center on Monday night against Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Not many teams could have run this gauntlet.
1. All things considered, that's one of the grittiest wins of the Roy Williams era. Less than 48 hours after playing an emotional home game against Duke, the Tar Heels traveled to an angry PNC Arena and took a 96-89 win over NC State.
2. And it wouldn't have been possible without one of the all-time Carolina performances in a UNC-State game from Luke Maye, who had 33 points and 17 rebounds while scoring in just about every possible way during the second half, when he had 25 of his points.
3. Carolina dominated the glass (41-24 overall) and had a 21-7 edge in second chance points.Â
4. The Tar Heels also shot the ball unbelievably well in the second half, when they continually took the ball straight to the rim. In the final 20 minutes, they shot 78.1 percent, and hit 56.3 percent for the game.
5. After turning the ball over just twice against Duke, the Tar Heels coughed it up 11 times in the first half alone against NCSU. Carolina had just five assists in the first 20 minutes, and State turned the miscues into 13 points. They eventually gave up the ball 19 times, including a couple simple giveaways in the backcourt. That turned into giving up a season-high 27 points off turnovers, which was essentially State's best offense on the afternoon.
6. A first half 19-0 run put some of the emotion that had dissipated in PNC Arena back into the building. Carolina did a good job of recovering from that spurt and getting the margin to a more manageable two point deficit at the break.
7. A couple big free throw conversions late in the game. Both Cameron Johnson and Theo Pinson made front ends (and eventually all four) free throws in the final minutes. With State well below the bonus, those were big shots.
8. Joel Berry took a lot of heat this week, and he backed it up. Berry set the defensive tone while also scoring 16 points to go with his five rebounds.
9. Maybe it doesn't matter how many you make, but when you make them. That's the Kenny Wiliams philosophy evidently, as he was quiet offensively for most of the game, but then hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game with a three-pointer with 1:10 remaining that pushed a two-point UNC lead to five.
10. The Tar Heels are now 2-0 in this almost unprecedented stretch. They deserve a warm and loud welcome back to the Smith Center on Monday night against Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Not many teams could have run this gauntlet.
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