University of North Carolina Athletics
Luke Maye
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's matchup with Florida State.
By Adam Lucas
1. How do you know when you're playing well? When you beat the hottest team in the Atlantic Coast Conference by 18 points and don't really feel like you played an all that impressive game.
2. There was a concern that big, athletic teams like Florida State might be this Carolina team's kryptonite. But the Tar Heels completely dominated the rebounding battle, 47-32, and more than doubled FSU's offensive rebounding output (13-6).Â
3. Florida State had been very good coming into the game at keeping opponents off the offensive glass--they held ACC opponents to the fourth-lowest offensive rebound percentage in the league. But as usual, Carolina was relentless on the glass, and hauled in nine offensive rebounds in the first half out of 22 missed shots. They turned those boards into ten points, and finished with a 15-9 edge in that category.
4. A major asset for this year's team on the glass is that everyone contributes. Cam Johnson and Luke Maye had double-doubles (15 and 11 for Maye, 18 and 10 for Johnson), but Nassir Little also grabbed eight boards, Kenny Williams had four, and Brandon Robinson got three in just nine minutes. Uncharacteristically, all 11 of Maye's rebounds were defensive, but Johnson had three on the offensive side, as did Little.
5. The Seminoles had generated a substantial part of their offense in league play at the free throw line, as they'd earned the second-most points in the ACC at the free throw line. Carolina did a solid job defending them without fouling. FSU made just 16 trips to the line, meaning Carolina made more (18) free throws than the 'Noles attempted.
6. By now, you've already heard that Wednesday night's win over Duke was Carolina's 14th over a top-ranked team. What you might not know was that Saturday represented just the second time the Tar Heels have played a ranked team after one of those 14 wins over number-one, and they've now won both of them. The other came in 1989 after a win over Duke, when Dean Smith's Heels beat 15th-ranked NC State.
7. Speaking of wins in the game after Duke, Roy Williams is now 16-0 in the game following the first meeting with Duke of the season. That's an incredible testament to his ability to get his team refocused and ready to play in the tough ACC. The Tar Heels are also now 7-3 against ranked teams this season, and have won five of the last six against ranked foes.
8. As always, good to see a nice representation of Tar Heel alums on hand. In addition to the regulars like Lennie Rosenbluth and Phil Ford, Tyler Zeller and Antawn Jamison were in Chapel Hill.
9. Carolina had a manageable ten turnovers. Knock on wood, but the Tar Heels are starting to cut down on some of the unforced headscratching errors that were happening regularly early in the season.
10. Nassir Little was terrific. He had a team-high eight trips to the free throw line, and also had 18 points and eight rebounds. He gave Carolina an athletic, active presence that Florida State couldn't counter. It also speaks well of the freshman that after not playing well at Duke on Wednesday, he responded with one of his best games of the year.
11. His fellow freshman, Coby White, was just 1-for-8 in the first half. What you love about the freshman is that it didn't seem to bother him at all. He made his first two shots of the second half over Florida State's intimidating shotblocker, Christ Koumadje, and then high-stepped past him for another layup that forced a Leonard Hamilton timeout a couple minutes later. It doesn't matter what the stats say; White always thinks the next shot is going in.
12. Carolina's overall team defense is significantly improved over even just a month ago. There is much less confusion on the defensive end, the rotations are crisper, and the results--not surprisingly--are better. FSU shot just 30.5 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from the free throw line.
13. That was an important win for ACC Tournament seeding scenarios. Florida State has a favorable schedule the rest of the way, but the Tar Heels now hold the tiebreaker with the 'Noles. A win on Tuesday night against Syracuse would be similarly important against a team chasing the Heels in the ACC standings. Reminder: just a few tickets remain for that one, the next to last chance to see a Carolina basketball game at home this season.
1. How do you know when you're playing well? When you beat the hottest team in the Atlantic Coast Conference by 18 points and don't really feel like you played an all that impressive game.
2. There was a concern that big, athletic teams like Florida State might be this Carolina team's kryptonite. But the Tar Heels completely dominated the rebounding battle, 47-32, and more than doubled FSU's offensive rebounding output (13-6).Â
3. Florida State had been very good coming into the game at keeping opponents off the offensive glass--they held ACC opponents to the fourth-lowest offensive rebound percentage in the league. But as usual, Carolina was relentless on the glass, and hauled in nine offensive rebounds in the first half out of 22 missed shots. They turned those boards into ten points, and finished with a 15-9 edge in that category.
4. A major asset for this year's team on the glass is that everyone contributes. Cam Johnson and Luke Maye had double-doubles (15 and 11 for Maye, 18 and 10 for Johnson), but Nassir Little also grabbed eight boards, Kenny Williams had four, and Brandon Robinson got three in just nine minutes. Uncharacteristically, all 11 of Maye's rebounds were defensive, but Johnson had three on the offensive side, as did Little.
5. The Seminoles had generated a substantial part of their offense in league play at the free throw line, as they'd earned the second-most points in the ACC at the free throw line. Carolina did a solid job defending them without fouling. FSU made just 16 trips to the line, meaning Carolina made more (18) free throws than the 'Noles attempted.
6. By now, you've already heard that Wednesday night's win over Duke was Carolina's 14th over a top-ranked team. What you might not know was that Saturday represented just the second time the Tar Heels have played a ranked team after one of those 14 wins over number-one, and they've now won both of them. The other came in 1989 after a win over Duke, when Dean Smith's Heels beat 15th-ranked NC State.
7. Speaking of wins in the game after Duke, Roy Williams is now 16-0 in the game following the first meeting with Duke of the season. That's an incredible testament to his ability to get his team refocused and ready to play in the tough ACC. The Tar Heels are also now 7-3 against ranked teams this season, and have won five of the last six against ranked foes.
8. As always, good to see a nice representation of Tar Heel alums on hand. In addition to the regulars like Lennie Rosenbluth and Phil Ford, Tyler Zeller and Antawn Jamison were in Chapel Hill.
9. Carolina had a manageable ten turnovers. Knock on wood, but the Tar Heels are starting to cut down on some of the unforced headscratching errors that were happening regularly early in the season.
10. Nassir Little was terrific. He had a team-high eight trips to the free throw line, and also had 18 points and eight rebounds. He gave Carolina an athletic, active presence that Florida State couldn't counter. It also speaks well of the freshman that after not playing well at Duke on Wednesday, he responded with one of his best games of the year.
11. His fellow freshman, Coby White, was just 1-for-8 in the first half. What you love about the freshman is that it didn't seem to bother him at all. He made his first two shots of the second half over Florida State's intimidating shotblocker, Christ Koumadje, and then high-stepped past him for another layup that forced a Leonard Hamilton timeout a couple minutes later. It doesn't matter what the stats say; White always thinks the next shot is going in.
12. Carolina's overall team defense is significantly improved over even just a month ago. There is much less confusion on the defensive end, the rotations are crisper, and the results--not surprisingly--are better. FSU shot just 30.5 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from the free throw line.
13. That was an important win for ACC Tournament seeding scenarios. Florida State has a favorable schedule the rest of the way, but the Tar Heels now hold the tiebreaker with the 'Noles. A win on Tuesday night against Syracuse would be similarly important against a team chasing the Heels in the ACC standings. Reminder: just a few tickets remain for that one, the next to last chance to see a Carolina basketball game at home this season.
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