University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
January 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina's 91-72 win over Virginia Tech marks the first time in program history the Tar Heels have scored at least 85 points in seven straight conference games.
2. The main storyline from this game, though, will be the health of Theo Pinson. The gamechanging junior left with an apparent ankle injury with eight minutes left in the first half and did not return in uniform. He only returned to the bench in street clothes with under two minutes remaining. Especially with Carolina having a short turnaround to Saturday's game at Miami, and a key stretch of the season coming up, the Tar Heels desperately need a healthy Pinson. "Theo rolled his ankle," according to Roy Williams in the postgame.
3. Kennedy Meeks just keeps doing what Kennedy Meeks does. The senior finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds in just 21 minutes. Of his seven made field goals, five came off offensive rebounds and one came when he was all alone under the basket on a dunk.
4. At this point, Meeks is well established as a serious threat on the offensive glass. But what makes Carolina so tough to keep on the boards is the diversity in that category. Six different players grabbed at least one offensive rebound in the first 20 minutes, and the Tar Heels held a 13-2 edge in second chance points in what was essentially a decisive first half. Carolina held a 19-4 edge for the game in offensive rebounds.
5. Virginia Tech essentially gave up on getting offensive rebounds in exchange for getting everyone back to stop Carolina's transition offense. The Hokies sprinted back to set up in a zone; it was relatively effective, as the Tar Heels managed just two fast break points in the first half and eight for the game.
6. Carolina shared the ball very effectively, handing out 12 assists on 17 field goals in the first half. This was a good look at the best passing teams in UNC history.
7. Justin Jackson gets some good looks because he's often taller than the defender playing him on the perimeter, and his range extends well beyond the edge of the three-point line. But he also makes some extremely difficult shots, and showed it on Thursday night. The first was a baseline drive when he squared his shoulders to the goal while airborne and then dropped through a floater. Then, in the second half, he drove left across the lane and banked in a running floater. Jackson finished with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
8. The result in that game is what would've happened at Georgia Tech if Carolina had shot the ball even marginally well. Virginia Tech tried to replicate the other Tech's zone, but the Tar Heels shot the ball (and moved the ball) much more effectively. Carolina also turned the ball over just seven times against the light pressure of the zone.
9. There is only one player on the court who would've contested a meaningless inbounds pass coming out of a Tech timeout with 18 minutes left in the second half of a game on its way to blowout status--Kenny Williams, who contested the pass, tipped it away, and then chased it into the second row of the risers.
