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University of North Carolina Athletics
Coby White
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 16, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's visit to Winston-Salem.
By Adam Lucas
1. Get out the record books, as Carolina dominated Wake Forest from start to finish and ended the day with the biggest win in program history over the Demon Deacons, 95-57.
2. The Tar Heels also accomplished something that has never been done in program history. Along with the 25-point win at Pitt and the 23-point victory at Georgia Tech, Carolina now has three 20+ road wins in the ACC in the same season for the first time in school history.
3. This one was accomplished largely with very hot shooting. Cam Johnson was the headliner, with 10-for-13 shooting from the field and seven three-pointers, as he finished with 27 points.
4. But virtually everyone in blue shot the ball well. The Tar Heels finished at 62.3% from the field and 64% from the three-point line.
5. The only place they weren't as good? The free throw line, where Carolina was just 3-for-11 from the game, and didn't sink a free throw until Brandon Huffman made one very late in the game.
6. It's probably not a coincidence that the two low free throw outputs in the last two games have come with very limited minutes from Nassir Little, one of the team's best at getting to the line. The freshman was limited to just 11 minutes on Saturday and didn't play in the second half.
7. The win moves Carolina's record against Wake at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to 15-10. Given the tenor of the rivalry lately (the Tar Heels have now won five of the last six against the Deacs in Winston-Salem), that winning percentage almost seems a little low. Because the expanded conference has left these two teams as relatively infrequent rivals, however, it's easy to forget that there was a time Carolina struggled mightily to win here. In the late 1990's, Wake won four of five at LJVM, and this was consistently one of the toughest places to play in the league, with the spinning pinwheels behind the basket, the incredibly loud motorcycle wheeling onto the court in pregame, the tie-dye, and Tar Heel-hating fans proudly wearing their "Screw Carolina" buttons. The environment has changed considerably, and Roy Williams is now 8-3 against Wake at LJVM.
8. Kenny Williams is going to wake up with some bruises on Sunday. The senior drew two charges and tried to collect a couple more that were ruled blocks. Even in a 30-point game, Williams just doesn't know how to play without putting his body on the line.
9. It didn't take Luke Maye long to get the one rebound he needed to reach 800 for his career. He's the 21st Tar Heel to reach that mark for his career. We all sort of take Maye's accomplishments for granted now, but when you think about the entire arc of his career, it's pretty amazing. The Huntersville product had exactly 54 rebounds as a freshman, and 192 after his sophomore campaign. The pace has picked up considerably since then.
10. This is the 65th season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. Saturday's win means the Tar Heels have had a winning league record--in what is consistently the best league in college basketball--in 59 of those 65 seasons.
11. Carolina's 13 steals were tied for the second-most this season (the high was 16 against Tennessee Tech). Wake Forest turned it over 20 times and shot 32.8 percent from the field.
12. The Tar Heels weren't especially crisp with the ball in the first half, as they committed 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Things got better in the second half, as they committed just four miscues.
13. It goes without saying that being up 18-0 early and cruising for the entire afternoon in no way simulated the intensity the Tar Heels will need on Wednesday night in Durham. Even with the big lead, though, the Carolina players said Roy Williams was very pointed in reminding them of what happened to Louisville this week. The Tar Heels did a big job of building the big lead and then not being satisfied with it, as they continued to stretch it throughout the afternoon.
14. No Little in the second half meant Carolina was without three rotation players (Leaky Black and Sterling Manley were also on the bench). That meant some good minutes for Brandon Huffman, who has used Manley's absence to get some quality action against ACC foes. Huffman had six points and three rebounds in eight minutes. Another reserve who played well in limited action: K.J. Smith, who made a three-pointer and had a slick assist to Huffman in five minutes at the end of the game. Smith's father, Kenny "The Jet" Smith, was in the Lawrence Joel stands, and father and son will make the postgame drive from Winston to Charlotte for NBA All-Star festivities tonight.
15. Great turnout from Triad-area UNC fans, who dominated the crowd and had a very loud "Tar!" "Heels!" cheer going in the second half.
1. Get out the record books, as Carolina dominated Wake Forest from start to finish and ended the day with the biggest win in program history over the Demon Deacons, 95-57.
2. The Tar Heels also accomplished something that has never been done in program history. Along with the 25-point win at Pitt and the 23-point victory at Georgia Tech, Carolina now has three 20+ road wins in the ACC in the same season for the first time in school history.
3. This one was accomplished largely with very hot shooting. Cam Johnson was the headliner, with 10-for-13 shooting from the field and seven three-pointers, as he finished with 27 points.
4. But virtually everyone in blue shot the ball well. The Tar Heels finished at 62.3% from the field and 64% from the three-point line.
5. The only place they weren't as good? The free throw line, where Carolina was just 3-for-11 from the game, and didn't sink a free throw until Brandon Huffman made one very late in the game.
6. It's probably not a coincidence that the two low free throw outputs in the last two games have come with very limited minutes from Nassir Little, one of the team's best at getting to the line. The freshman was limited to just 11 minutes on Saturday and didn't play in the second half.
7. The win moves Carolina's record against Wake at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to 15-10. Given the tenor of the rivalry lately (the Tar Heels have now won five of the last six against the Deacs in Winston-Salem), that winning percentage almost seems a little low. Because the expanded conference has left these two teams as relatively infrequent rivals, however, it's easy to forget that there was a time Carolina struggled mightily to win here. In the late 1990's, Wake won four of five at LJVM, and this was consistently one of the toughest places to play in the league, with the spinning pinwheels behind the basket, the incredibly loud motorcycle wheeling onto the court in pregame, the tie-dye, and Tar Heel-hating fans proudly wearing their "Screw Carolina" buttons. The environment has changed considerably, and Roy Williams is now 8-3 against Wake at LJVM.
8. Kenny Williams is going to wake up with some bruises on Sunday. The senior drew two charges and tried to collect a couple more that were ruled blocks. Even in a 30-point game, Williams just doesn't know how to play without putting his body on the line.
9. It didn't take Luke Maye long to get the one rebound he needed to reach 800 for his career. He's the 21st Tar Heel to reach that mark for his career. We all sort of take Maye's accomplishments for granted now, but when you think about the entire arc of his career, it's pretty amazing. The Huntersville product had exactly 54 rebounds as a freshman, and 192 after his sophomore campaign. The pace has picked up considerably since then.
10. This is the 65th season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. Saturday's win means the Tar Heels have had a winning league record--in what is consistently the best league in college basketball--in 59 of those 65 seasons.
11. Carolina's 13 steals were tied for the second-most this season (the high was 16 against Tennessee Tech). Wake Forest turned it over 20 times and shot 32.8 percent from the field.
12. The Tar Heels weren't especially crisp with the ball in the first half, as they committed 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Things got better in the second half, as they committed just four miscues.
13. It goes without saying that being up 18-0 early and cruising for the entire afternoon in no way simulated the intensity the Tar Heels will need on Wednesday night in Durham. Even with the big lead, though, the Carolina players said Roy Williams was very pointed in reminding them of what happened to Louisville this week. The Tar Heels did a big job of building the big lead and then not being satisfied with it, as they continued to stretch it throughout the afternoon.
14. No Little in the second half meant Carolina was without three rotation players (Leaky Black and Sterling Manley were also on the bench). That meant some good minutes for Brandon Huffman, who has used Manley's absence to get some quality action against ACC foes. Huffman had six points and three rebounds in eight minutes. Another reserve who played well in limited action: K.J. Smith, who made a three-pointer and had a slick assist to Huffman in five minutes at the end of the game. Smith's father, Kenny "The Jet" Smith, was in the Lawrence Joel stands, and father and son will make the postgame drive from Winston to Charlotte for NBA All-Star festivities tonight.
15. Great turnout from Triad-area UNC fans, who dominated the crowd and had a very loud "Tar!" "Heels!" cheer going in the second half.
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