University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the win at Syracuse.
By Adam Lucas
1. Big, big road win for the Tar Heels in the Carrier Dome in front of the biggest on-campus crowd to see a college basketball game this year.
2. A young team loses that game. Remember that at some point when the Tar Heels have a lot of youth on the roster again. Wins like this one aren't guaranteed, and the Carolina veterans were just tough enough to carry the Tar Heels through.
3. That being said, even a veteran team makes mistakes. Carolina made some inexplicable decisions in the final five minutes and took some very dubious shots. That will give Roy Williams all the fodder he needs to work on over the next few days, with a bye weekend approaching on Saturday and Sunday. Jim Boeheim's switch to apply some full-court pressure sped up the Tar Heels too much and forced them into some bad choices.
4. For the first time in his career, Theo Pinson has four straight double-figure scoring games. Pinson had 23 points and six rebounds, hit both of his three-point attempts, and generally was his indispensable self.
5. It was his senior teammate, Joel Berry, who maybe made the single biggest individual play of the game. Berry ripped the ball away from Paschal Chukwu in a tie game with under two minutes to play, then went down and finished through three Syracuse defenders for the go-ahead and eventual winning basket.
6. Sterling Manley gave Carolina some solid minutes, and also showed some areas where he still needs to improve. But the big freshman still had 12 points and six rebounds, five of them coming on the offensive end. He registered just one official block but also changed a couple of Orange shots. There's some potential in the rookie from Ohio.
7. The use of the shot fake and the ball movement against the Syracuse zone were both terrific. The Tar Heels used the shot fake at all five positions to get Cuse defenders out of position, then found the open man. Carolina finished with a whopping 25 assists on 29 field goals.
8. The win puts the Tar Heels in great position for a double-bye at the ACC Tournament. At 11-5, Carolina can sit and watch the rest of the league beat up on each other this weekend.
1. Big, big road win for the Tar Heels in the Carrier Dome in front of the biggest on-campus crowd to see a college basketball game this year.
2. A young team loses that game. Remember that at some point when the Tar Heels have a lot of youth on the roster again. Wins like this one aren't guaranteed, and the Carolina veterans were just tough enough to carry the Tar Heels through.
3. That being said, even a veteran team makes mistakes. Carolina made some inexplicable decisions in the final five minutes and took some very dubious shots. That will give Roy Williams all the fodder he needs to work on over the next few days, with a bye weekend approaching on Saturday and Sunday. Jim Boeheim's switch to apply some full-court pressure sped up the Tar Heels too much and forced them into some bad choices.
4. For the first time in his career, Theo Pinson has four straight double-figure scoring games. Pinson had 23 points and six rebounds, hit both of his three-point attempts, and generally was his indispensable self.
5. It was his senior teammate, Joel Berry, who maybe made the single biggest individual play of the game. Berry ripped the ball away from Paschal Chukwu in a tie game with under two minutes to play, then went down and finished through three Syracuse defenders for the go-ahead and eventual winning basket.
6. Sterling Manley gave Carolina some solid minutes, and also showed some areas where he still needs to improve. But the big freshman still had 12 points and six rebounds, five of them coming on the offensive end. He registered just one official block but also changed a couple of Orange shots. There's some potential in the rookie from Ohio.
7. The use of the shot fake and the ball movement against the Syracuse zone were both terrific. The Tar Heels used the shot fake at all five positions to get Cuse defenders out of position, then found the open man. Carolina finished with a whopping 25 assists on 29 field goals.
8. The win puts the Tar Heels in great position for a double-bye at the ACC Tournament. At 11-5, Carolina can sit and watch the rest of the league beat up on each other this weekend.
Players Mentioned
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