Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. What a great road win for Carolina over a game NCSU squad in Raleigh. With the 90-82 victory, the Tar Heels are now 2-0 in the ACC, but not just 2-0--that's 2-0 on the road in the ACC.

2. The departure of Cameron Johnson due to cramps forced the Tar Heels to use some different combinations over the final minutes of the second half. Although it was never boring, those minutes will be huge for the likes of Brandon Robinson and Leaky Black.

3. Someone contact Marcus Paige and ask him if he's OK with sharing the naming rights on the building. Paige-Maye Arena has a pretty nice sound to it. Luke Maye had another double-double, this time with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

4. The remarkable thing is that Maye was just one of three Tar Heels with a double-double. Kenny Williams quietly had a huge 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes. And that's not even mentioning the play of Coby White, who poured in 19 points. Yes, he had five turnovers, but he was also the guy you wanted with the ball in the final minutes. The last time Carolina had three players with a double double was in the 2012 NCAA Tournament against Ohio.

5. Another nice performance for Garrison Brooks. Against a Wolfpack team without much post presence, Brooks was very important in the paint, and had seven rebounds while also tying for the team high with five assists. That's exactly the kind of game Brooks needs to play in order for Carolina to be successful. Brooks was an important part of Carolina owning the glass with a 51-33 advantage.

6. It was hard to know exactly how to feel after a first half in which Carolina was very efficient offensively, scoring 47 points...when they weren't busy tossing the ball out of bounds. The Tar Heels turned the ball over 13 times in the first 20 minutes. With a more careful handle on the ball, they easily could have had 60 points and the game out of reach by halftime. For the game, Carolina coughed it up 23 times, leading to 20 Wolfpack points.

7. After a strong start to the season, Seventh Woods has struggled in recent games. The reserve point guard had a difficult first half against the NC State pressure, eventually leading to Roy Williams pulling him for freshman Leaky Black in relief of Coby White. Woods had three turnovers in eight minutes for the game.

8. The game in Raleigh completes the second time in third years that Carolina has opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with two road games. During the 2016-17 season, the Tar Heels lost at Georgia Tech and then beat Clemson in overtime in Littlejohn Coliseum.

9. Tuesday's game marked the third time in 34 years that both Carolina and NCSU have been ranked in the top 15 when meeting on the hardwood. For the sake of comparison, and to give a little context to Luke Maye's comments on Monday about the relative strength of the matchups, Carolina and Duke have been ranked in the top 15 during 45 meetings in the last 34 years.

10. Don't forget Carolina's solid performance at the free throw line. While State was missing the front end of a couple of one and ones, the Tar Heels went 22 for 26 from the stripe.

11. Speaking of that Carolina-NCSU head to head matchup, Roy Williams is now 29-4 against the Pack while the head coach at Carolina. Williams now has 14 wins in Raleigh as UNC's head coach; the Pack has 13 wins in Chapel Hill since 1954. The Tar Heels have won six in a row at PNC Arena against State.

Players Mentioned

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

Cameron Johnson

Luke Maye

Brandon Robinson

Coby White

Kenny Williams

Seventh Woods

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