University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
January 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the ACC home opener.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina's worst previous home loss in the Roy Williams era was a 16-point defeat to Duke in 2013. Saturday's 21-point loss eclipsed that mark, and deservedly so. It was poor in every possible facet of the game.Â
2. The game was such a complete team breakdown that it would be difficult to identify one key area. Louisville was hot from the perimeter early, and it was as if the Tar Heels never really recovered. There was exactly one moment--when Carolina closed to 38-28 in the first half and appeared to be making a push--that it felt like the home team had any momentum at all. Roy Williams tried the zone that worked at Pitt, tried trapping on a couple of occasions, and nothing slowed down the onslaught.
3. Carolina was dominated on the glass by Louisville. The final numbers were 39-31 in favor of the Cards, but it felt all afternoon like Louisville essentially did whatever they wanted on the glass. Transfer Steven Enoch was impressive in the middle for the visitors, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Dwayne Sutton also had a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds. The Tar Heels offered very little resistance in the paint.
4. The turnover problems reared their head again early in the second half and prevented any chance of Carolina making a run. After the Tar Heels turned it over four times in the first half, they coughed it up ten times in the first ten minutes. At a time in the game when the Tar Heel defense needed to be the one creating turnovers, the opposite was true.
5. Foul trouble continues to play a role in Tar Heel games. This time it was Coby White who picked up two fouls in the first 156 seconds of the game, forcing him to the bench for most of the rest of the first half. Seventh Woods and Leaky Black were solid but not spectacular in his absence, but there is no replicating the tempo that White creates.
6. Nassir Little continues to look for his role in the offense. In the first half when he was content to be a jumpshooter, he was 0-3 and didn't look comfortable. When he drove to the basket, he scored once and created a three-pointer for Luke Maye on another occasion. Little finished 2-for-7 from the floor for six points and had four rebounds.
7. And by the time White got back in the game, he never got in the rhythm. In perhaps his weakest performance as a Tar Heel, he finished 0-for-4 from the field and had four turnovers with just two assists. That's the problem with freshmen--sometimes they play like freshmen.Â
8. But the outcome was especially disappointing because Carolina had a chance to go 3-0 in the league and build off two road wins to start the conference year. Instead, they handed back one of those road wins. To do it in such a tentative, unaggressive fashion makes it even more frustrating. With the apparent strength of the league this year, you simply can't give away home games in such uncompetitive fashion.
9. Good job by Carolina to try and go two-for-one at the first half. Taking possession with 45.8 seconds, the Tar Heels ran a play to try and score quickly, with Cameron Johnson driving and scoring with just under 37 seconds left. But with Louisville coach Chris Mack urging his team to let the ball bounce and then wait to inbounds it, the Cardinals didn't throw it in until exactly 30 seconds were left.
10. You just never know. With Garrison Brooks saddled with his customary two first half fouls, Brandon Huffman came in and gave Carolina some very good first half minutes, knocking down a pair of free throws, converting a basket through contact, and blocking a shot that was somehow called a goaltend. Huffman played just three first half minutes but had an impact on the game.
11. Speaking of that goaltend, Mack was the one who earned that call for his team. He had complained vociferously about a previous goaltend awarded to the Tar Heels and got the benefit of the doubt the next time it happened.
12. A great deal of Louisville's offense this year had been generated at the foul line. For most of the game, the Tar Heels actually did a decent job of defending without fouling--shooting 27 free throws to the Cards' 26--but it didn't matter for two reasons: Louisville was hot early, and Carolina couldn't make anything from the perimeter (finishing 3-for-22 from the three-point line).Â
1. Carolina's worst previous home loss in the Roy Williams era was a 16-point defeat to Duke in 2013. Saturday's 21-point loss eclipsed that mark, and deservedly so. It was poor in every possible facet of the game.Â
2. The game was such a complete team breakdown that it would be difficult to identify one key area. Louisville was hot from the perimeter early, and it was as if the Tar Heels never really recovered. There was exactly one moment--when Carolina closed to 38-28 in the first half and appeared to be making a push--that it felt like the home team had any momentum at all. Roy Williams tried the zone that worked at Pitt, tried trapping on a couple of occasions, and nothing slowed down the onslaught.
3. Carolina was dominated on the glass by Louisville. The final numbers were 39-31 in favor of the Cards, but it felt all afternoon like Louisville essentially did whatever they wanted on the glass. Transfer Steven Enoch was impressive in the middle for the visitors, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Dwayne Sutton also had a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds. The Tar Heels offered very little resistance in the paint.
4. The turnover problems reared their head again early in the second half and prevented any chance of Carolina making a run. After the Tar Heels turned it over four times in the first half, they coughed it up ten times in the first ten minutes. At a time in the game when the Tar Heel defense needed to be the one creating turnovers, the opposite was true.
5. Foul trouble continues to play a role in Tar Heel games. This time it was Coby White who picked up two fouls in the first 156 seconds of the game, forcing him to the bench for most of the rest of the first half. Seventh Woods and Leaky Black were solid but not spectacular in his absence, but there is no replicating the tempo that White creates.
6. Nassir Little continues to look for his role in the offense. In the first half when he was content to be a jumpshooter, he was 0-3 and didn't look comfortable. When he drove to the basket, he scored once and created a three-pointer for Luke Maye on another occasion. Little finished 2-for-7 from the floor for six points and had four rebounds.
7. And by the time White got back in the game, he never got in the rhythm. In perhaps his weakest performance as a Tar Heel, he finished 0-for-4 from the field and had four turnovers with just two assists. That's the problem with freshmen--sometimes they play like freshmen.Â
8. But the outcome was especially disappointing because Carolina had a chance to go 3-0 in the league and build off two road wins to start the conference year. Instead, they handed back one of those road wins. To do it in such a tentative, unaggressive fashion makes it even more frustrating. With the apparent strength of the league this year, you simply can't give away home games in such uncompetitive fashion.
9. Good job by Carolina to try and go two-for-one at the first half. Taking possession with 45.8 seconds, the Tar Heels ran a play to try and score quickly, with Cameron Johnson driving and scoring with just under 37 seconds left. But with Louisville coach Chris Mack urging his team to let the ball bounce and then wait to inbounds it, the Cardinals didn't throw it in until exactly 30 seconds were left.
10. You just never know. With Garrison Brooks saddled with his customary two first half fouls, Brandon Huffman came in and gave Carolina some very good first half minutes, knocking down a pair of free throws, converting a basket through contact, and blocking a shot that was somehow called a goaltend. Huffman played just three first half minutes but had an impact on the game.
11. Speaking of that goaltend, Mack was the one who earned that call for his team. He had complained vociferously about a previous goaltend awarded to the Tar Heels and got the benefit of the doubt the next time it happened.
12. A great deal of Louisville's offense this year had been generated at the foul line. For most of the game, the Tar Heels actually did a decent job of defending without fouling--shooting 27 free throws to the Cards' 26--but it didn't matter for two reasons: Louisville was hot early, and Carolina couldn't make anything from the perimeter (finishing 3-for-22 from the three-point line).Â
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