University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Davidson
December 7, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com)
Location: Davidson, N.C.
Rankings: Davidson - No. 69 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 3 KenPom, No. 7 AP
Records: Davidson - 5-2; UNC - 8-1
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 64-11 (UNC 98, Davidson 65, Dec. 6, 2015, Smith Center)
Carolina's annual game with Davidson has become a highlight of the pre-Christmas schedule in recent seasons. Wednesday marks the fourth straight meeting between the two schools from opposite ends of the enrollment spectrum, and this current run has been marked by high-scoring, fast-paced and eminently entertaining games.
Now in his 28th season at Davidson, head coach Bob McKillop has engineered an incredible run of success by having his teams take (and make) three-pointers at a high rate and protect the ball. Davidson enters Wednesday night's game as one of only eight teams nationally that has attempted more than half of its field goals from beyond 20 feet, 9 inches. The Wildcats have not had their usual success from deep, however. They currently rank 270th nationally in 3FG% at just 31.5 percent.
Perhaps even more troubling is their uncharacteristically high turnover rate. The Wildcats are giving the ball away on 18.9 percent of their possessions (164th nationally) and have already turned it over more than 20 percent of the time in four of seven games. By comparison, the 2015-16 team only passed the 20 percent threshold three times all season. The loss of turnoverphobic guard Brian Sullivan to graduation has certainly taken its toll.
The good news is that McKillop still has the services of Jack Gibbs, one of the nation's most dynamic scoring point guards. The senior from Westerville, Ohio, pairs with fellow Buckeye State native Peyton Aldridge to form the highest-scoring duo in all of college basketball. While Gibbs (23.3 ppg) has struggled to find his stroke from deep (17 of 51 through six games), he makes up for it by attacking the rim and getting to the foul line, where he is 43 of 50 already this year. Aldridge (19.7 ppg) is the perfect complement to Gibbs, as the 6-8 junior is a career 38 percent shooter from the outside who rarely turns the ball over.
Junior Jordan Watkins has been Davidson's best shooter so far this year, making almost 41 percent of his 3s, but everyone on the roster has the green light. Six Wildcats have attempted at least 23 shots from behind the arc, including 6-11 center and BC transfer Will Magarity. While the outside shots have not fallen at the usual rate and turnovers are up, Davidson has mitigated the lost production in part by hitting the offensive boards harder than it has in more than five years (31.1 percent, up from 24.9 in 2015-16).
The Wildcats' current four-game road trip features games at Carolina and then next Saturday against Kansas in Kansas City. While the trip started with a nice win at Mercer, Wednesday comes on the heels of a disappointing road loss at Charleston in which Davidson blew a 9-point halftime lead and was outscored 46-22 in the final 20 minutes. This figures to be the toughest stretch of the season for a team that was picked fourth in what looks to be a wide open but extremely competitive Atlantic 10. If the Wildcats are to meet or exceed that prediction, Gibbs will likely have lived up to his reputation as one of the top mid-major players in the country.
