University of North Carolina Athletics
Leaky Black
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 28, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal against Michigan.
By Adam Lucas
1. One very, very bad stretch was decisive in Carolina's 73-64 loss to Michigan.Â
2. Quite simply one of the worst stretches in the Roy Williams era at the start of the second half, as Michigan went on a 19-0 blitzkrieg during which Carolina couldn't shoot (they started the half 1-14) and couldn't defend the Michigan ballhandlers. High ball screens were problematic for the Tar Heels throughout the game, and the 19-0 run consisted of a dunk, four layups, and three three-pointers--at least two of which were wide open.
3. The Tar Heels mounted a furious comeback from the moment when they trailed 60-36, but 24 points was too deep a hole. This year's team simply isn't potent enough offensively at this point in the season to make up that kind of deficit. The Tar Heels did eventually trim it to eight points with 3:15 left, but couldn't get any closer. What felt like the turning point of the comeback came when Garrison Brooks retrieved a missed Brandon Robinson free throw, but Anthony's missed three-point shot couldn't cut it to nine with around six minutes left in what felt like one of those momentum-changing moments.
4. Carolina's primary offense while they were building an early 13-4 lead came from offensive rebounds, as the Tar Heels piled up five quick second chance points. Michigan cut off that source of points over the remainder of the half--Carolina snagged just two offensive boards in the final 13:45 of the half--and built a 39-34 halftime lead.Â
5. Give Michigan's David DeJulius credit for giving the Wolverines an important boost in the first half. When point guard Zavier Simpson was saddled with two early fouls, it looked like Carolina might be able to put together a run with the UM floor leader on the bench. But DeJulius pumped in nine first half points. That largely contributed to Michigan holding a 15-5 lead in bench points in the first half. Simpson eventually fouled out, but DeJulius contributed 11 points, had two assists and did not commit a turnover.
6. Rough Thanksgiving for Garrison Brooks, whose eye was red and painful looking after taking a finger in the eye in the first half. The junior showed some toughness by playing through it, but he was clearly limited and had trouble seeing out of it. Another Tar Heel who was limited by an apparent injury was Leaky Black, who played just 21 minutes and spent part of the second half with his shoe off getting some attention on his foot.
7. Carolina went small for most of the second half. Armando Bacot saw just 21 minutes of action and saw his streak of three straight double-doubles end with six points and six rebounds. He played just six minutes in the second half.
8. Michigan's defense made Carolina very one-on-one oriented. The Tar Heels managed just eight assists on 26 field goals. Part of that was due to simply not making many shots (the Heels shot 42.4 percent from the field and still haven't hit the 50 percent mark for a game this season), but there were also stretches when the Carolina offense was stagnant.
9. After a dominant performance against Alabama on the backboards, the Tar Heels weren't as good on the glass against Michigan. The rebounding battle ended 36-34 in favor of Carolina, but Michigan's big run was spurred by an impressive 14-2 stretch on the boards. The Wolverines also led the points in the paint statistic, 32-24.
10. On the list of problematic statistics from Thursday: Carolina was just 10-for-20 from the free throw line. But that was perhaps even more symbolic of an overall difficult shooting day, as Carolina also made just 2-for-13 three-point attempts. It's fairly amazing that the Tar Heels were able to mount any kind of rally with virtually no perimeter attack. The only Tar Heel who shot better than 50 percent from the field was Brandon Huffman, who made both of his attempts.
11. The only UNC outside production came from Anthony, who racked up 22 points on his 17 shots and made Carolina's only two three-pointers.
12. Tomorrow's 11:30 a.m. game becomes a very important game in the early part of Carolina's season. Following the matchup against either Gonzaga (7-0) or Oregon (6-0), the Tar Heels have games against Ohio State (6-0), Virginia (7-0), Wofford (3-4) and Gonzaga (7-0). The Tar Heels could use a 2-1 mark in the Bahamas going into that very difficult stretch.
1. One very, very bad stretch was decisive in Carolina's 73-64 loss to Michigan.Â
2. Quite simply one of the worst stretches in the Roy Williams era at the start of the second half, as Michigan went on a 19-0 blitzkrieg during which Carolina couldn't shoot (they started the half 1-14) and couldn't defend the Michigan ballhandlers. High ball screens were problematic for the Tar Heels throughout the game, and the 19-0 run consisted of a dunk, four layups, and three three-pointers--at least two of which were wide open.
3. The Tar Heels mounted a furious comeback from the moment when they trailed 60-36, but 24 points was too deep a hole. This year's team simply isn't potent enough offensively at this point in the season to make up that kind of deficit. The Tar Heels did eventually trim it to eight points with 3:15 left, but couldn't get any closer. What felt like the turning point of the comeback came when Garrison Brooks retrieved a missed Brandon Robinson free throw, but Anthony's missed three-point shot couldn't cut it to nine with around six minutes left in what felt like one of those momentum-changing moments.
4. Carolina's primary offense while they were building an early 13-4 lead came from offensive rebounds, as the Tar Heels piled up five quick second chance points. Michigan cut off that source of points over the remainder of the half--Carolina snagged just two offensive boards in the final 13:45 of the half--and built a 39-34 halftime lead.Â
5. Give Michigan's David DeJulius credit for giving the Wolverines an important boost in the first half. When point guard Zavier Simpson was saddled with two early fouls, it looked like Carolina might be able to put together a run with the UM floor leader on the bench. But DeJulius pumped in nine first half points. That largely contributed to Michigan holding a 15-5 lead in bench points in the first half. Simpson eventually fouled out, but DeJulius contributed 11 points, had two assists and did not commit a turnover.
6. Rough Thanksgiving for Garrison Brooks, whose eye was red and painful looking after taking a finger in the eye in the first half. The junior showed some toughness by playing through it, but he was clearly limited and had trouble seeing out of it. Another Tar Heel who was limited by an apparent injury was Leaky Black, who played just 21 minutes and spent part of the second half with his shoe off getting some attention on his foot.
7. Carolina went small for most of the second half. Armando Bacot saw just 21 minutes of action and saw his streak of three straight double-doubles end with six points and six rebounds. He played just six minutes in the second half.
8. Michigan's defense made Carolina very one-on-one oriented. The Tar Heels managed just eight assists on 26 field goals. Part of that was due to simply not making many shots (the Heels shot 42.4 percent from the field and still haven't hit the 50 percent mark for a game this season), but there were also stretches when the Carolina offense was stagnant.
9. After a dominant performance against Alabama on the backboards, the Tar Heels weren't as good on the glass against Michigan. The rebounding battle ended 36-34 in favor of Carolina, but Michigan's big run was spurred by an impressive 14-2 stretch on the boards. The Wolverines also led the points in the paint statistic, 32-24.
10. On the list of problematic statistics from Thursday: Carolina was just 10-for-20 from the free throw line. But that was perhaps even more symbolic of an overall difficult shooting day, as Carolina also made just 2-for-13 three-point attempts. It's fairly amazing that the Tar Heels were able to mount any kind of rally with virtually no perimeter attack. The only Tar Heel who shot better than 50 percent from the field was Brandon Huffman, who made both of his attempts.
11. The only UNC outside production came from Anthony, who racked up 22 points on his 17 shots and made Carolina's only two three-pointers.
12. Tomorrow's 11:30 a.m. game becomes a very important game in the early part of Carolina's season. Following the matchup against either Gonzaga (7-0) or Oregon (6-0), the Tar Heels have games against Ohio State (6-0), Virginia (7-0), Wofford (3-4) and Gonzaga (7-0). The Tar Heels could use a 2-1 mark in the Bahamas going into that very difficult stretch.
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