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University of North Carolina Athletics
Christian Keeling
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
December 18, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the visit to Gonzaga.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina fell victim to the nation's longest active home winning streak. Gonzaga has now won 29 games in a row after Wednesday's 94-81 victory.
2. The focus is naturally on Carolina's struggles, but Gonzaga has a very good team. The Tar Heels have seen some of the best teams in the country through mid-December; the way the Zags played Wednesday night, they're in that discussion. They played very well offensively, have scoring from inside and on the perimeter, and shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the field.
3. It's been well documented that Carolina's transition offense has not been up to usual standards this year. Gonzaga gave a clinic on how it's supposed to look. The Bulldogs piled up 17 points in the first half within seven seconds of the Tar Heels losing possession by either turnover, missed shot or made shot. Carolina had seven points in that same category in the first 20 minutes. For the game, Gonzaga had a 19-8 edge in fast break points.
4. Carolina's shooting struggles continued. The Tar Heels made 31-68 overall from the field (a figure inflated by some late baskets when the game was basically decided). They connected on just seven of 19 three-pointers (36.8 percent). Perhaps this best tells the story: the Tar Heels barely cracked 50 percent on shots classified as dunks and layups. They were nine-for-17 on dunks/layups.
5. It looks like the Tar Heels have an asset in Jeremiah Francis. The freshman didn't look rattled in a tough environment, hit a three-pointer, and generally directed the offense in a capable fashion. It was also Francis who pulled Armando Bacot aside while the Tar Heels were warming up for the second half and gave him some encouraging words after an 0-3 first half for the big man. The point guard finished with eight points, two assists, two steals and officially zero turnovers, although Roy Williams will likely ask him to curtail some of the wild drives into the paint without a plan.
6. Carolina needs to get Bacot on track. The freshman was saddled with two quick fouls in the first 1:07, missed his first four shots of the game, and was generally ineffective against a tough Zags front line. Bacot had two points and three rebounds in the game.
7. Carolina's already depleted personnel took another hit when Brandon Robinson never came out of the locker room after halftime. Robinson was an uncharacteristic 0-2 in the first half and then was sick during the break. An already thin guard rotation was very limited in the second half.
8. Garrison Brooks probably had the most solid effort of any Tar Heel. The junior had 16 points, six rebounds and played credible, sturdy defense on Filip Petrusev (who got multiple baskets against the defense of Brandon Huffman). Another positive note: Andrew Platek made both his three-pointers and is starting to show some of the same shooting touch in games that he's flashed regularly in practice. And in limited second half minutes, Walker Miller acquitted himself well in the post.
9. Especially with Cole Anthony out, the Tar Heels are trying to figure out the best way to get offense from Leaky Black. The sophomore, who is battling a foot injury, has looked a little hesitant early in the season, made just 3-for-9 from the field, and had only one assist against two turnovers.
10. If the stated purpose of the nonconference season is to prepare a team for the rigors of Atlantic Coast Conference play, Wednesday was a step in that direction. Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center seats just 6,000 fans, but it was an enthusiastic 6,000. After playing what was described on the front page of the Spokane paper Wednesday as "the biggest home game in program history," the Tar Heels should be well acquainted with the type of road intensity they will face in the league.
11. Reminder that there are Tar Heels everywhere. It's hard to think of a more out of the way road game in the Roy Williams era with absolutely zero local connections than Wednesday's game. And yet, there was still a decent smattering of Tar Heel fans in the Kennel. It's virtually impossible to go anywhere without running into at least a handful of Tar Heels.
12. Carolina has now lost four straight games for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
13. The difficult December stretch continues. The Tar Heels left Spokane immediately following Wednesday's game and will fly straight to Las Vegas. They'll have two days of practice at T-Mobile Arena before facing UCLA on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. That game against the Bruins feels like an important one at this point in the season.
1. Carolina fell victim to the nation's longest active home winning streak. Gonzaga has now won 29 games in a row after Wednesday's 94-81 victory.
2. The focus is naturally on Carolina's struggles, but Gonzaga has a very good team. The Tar Heels have seen some of the best teams in the country through mid-December; the way the Zags played Wednesday night, they're in that discussion. They played very well offensively, have scoring from inside and on the perimeter, and shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the field.
3. It's been well documented that Carolina's transition offense has not been up to usual standards this year. Gonzaga gave a clinic on how it's supposed to look. The Bulldogs piled up 17 points in the first half within seven seconds of the Tar Heels losing possession by either turnover, missed shot or made shot. Carolina had seven points in that same category in the first 20 minutes. For the game, Gonzaga had a 19-8 edge in fast break points.
4. Carolina's shooting struggles continued. The Tar Heels made 31-68 overall from the field (a figure inflated by some late baskets when the game was basically decided). They connected on just seven of 19 three-pointers (36.8 percent). Perhaps this best tells the story: the Tar Heels barely cracked 50 percent on shots classified as dunks and layups. They were nine-for-17 on dunks/layups.
5. It looks like the Tar Heels have an asset in Jeremiah Francis. The freshman didn't look rattled in a tough environment, hit a three-pointer, and generally directed the offense in a capable fashion. It was also Francis who pulled Armando Bacot aside while the Tar Heels were warming up for the second half and gave him some encouraging words after an 0-3 first half for the big man. The point guard finished with eight points, two assists, two steals and officially zero turnovers, although Roy Williams will likely ask him to curtail some of the wild drives into the paint without a plan.
6. Carolina needs to get Bacot on track. The freshman was saddled with two quick fouls in the first 1:07, missed his first four shots of the game, and was generally ineffective against a tough Zags front line. Bacot had two points and three rebounds in the game.
7. Carolina's already depleted personnel took another hit when Brandon Robinson never came out of the locker room after halftime. Robinson was an uncharacteristic 0-2 in the first half and then was sick during the break. An already thin guard rotation was very limited in the second half.
8. Garrison Brooks probably had the most solid effort of any Tar Heel. The junior had 16 points, six rebounds and played credible, sturdy defense on Filip Petrusev (who got multiple baskets against the defense of Brandon Huffman). Another positive note: Andrew Platek made both his three-pointers and is starting to show some of the same shooting touch in games that he's flashed regularly in practice. And in limited second half minutes, Walker Miller acquitted himself well in the post.
9. Especially with Cole Anthony out, the Tar Heels are trying to figure out the best way to get offense from Leaky Black. The sophomore, who is battling a foot injury, has looked a little hesitant early in the season, made just 3-for-9 from the field, and had only one assist against two turnovers.
10. If the stated purpose of the nonconference season is to prepare a team for the rigors of Atlantic Coast Conference play, Wednesday was a step in that direction. Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center seats just 6,000 fans, but it was an enthusiastic 6,000. After playing what was described on the front page of the Spokane paper Wednesday as "the biggest home game in program history," the Tar Heels should be well acquainted with the type of road intensity they will face in the league.
11. Reminder that there are Tar Heels everywhere. It's hard to think of a more out of the way road game in the Roy Williams era with absolutely zero local connections than Wednesday's game. And yet, there was still a decent smattering of Tar Heel fans in the Kennel. It's virtually impossible to go anywhere without running into at least a handful of Tar Heels.
12. Carolina has now lost four straight games for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
13. The difficult December stretch continues. The Tar Heels left Spokane immediately following Wednesday's game and will fly straight to Las Vegas. They'll have two days of practice at T-Mobile Arena before facing UCLA on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. That game against the Bruins feels like an important one at this point in the season.
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