University of North Carolina Athletics
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 26, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's matchup with Syracuse.
By Adam Lucas
1. That wasn't an old-fashioned ACC opponent, but that was a good old-fashioned ACC win for Carolina over Syracuse at the Smith Center. The Orange played very, very well--don't take Carolina's 93-85 win for granted.
2. But the Tar Heels had Coby White. The freshman did virtually everything well, scoring 34 points and going 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Even more indicative of his character, though, might have been that even on another 30-point night, White was still diving on the floor to secure a loose ball late in the game. White is the first UNC freshman ever to post three 30-point games. We're sort of immune to the bevy of stats and figures we receive in the year 2019. White is the first freshman ever--ever--of every great Tar Heel freshman who has ever played who has scored three 30-point games. That's amazing...and there are still hopefully quite a few games left.
3. The bad thing about averages is that they eventually average out. The last three Carolina opponents had made just 27.3 percent from the three-point line. But Syracuse arrived in Chapel Hill blistering hot from the perimeter and finished 14-for-31 from the arc.
4. As you would expect against the Orange zone, the Tar Heels had to pass the ball crisply in order to score. Carolina had nine assists on ten first half field goals and finished with 19 assists on 25 field goals. Key in that effort was Luke Maye, who didn't have a great scoring night but had a career-high six assists and was key moving the ball around in the middle of Syracuse's zone defense.
5. Carolina stayed in the game in the first half at the free throw line. While Syracuse was raining in eight of their 17 three-point attempts, the Tar Heels made 19 of 21 free throw attempts. Seven of those first half charity tosses came from White. As a team, Carolina was an incredible 34-for-37, and they needed almost every single one of them. Nassir Little was just 2-for-9 from the floor but made eight trips to the line (second on the team) and made seven of them, including a couple big ones late. Little also had four offensive rebounds in a six-board night.
6. The win secures a double bye for Carolina in the ACC Tournament with three games to play, but the Tar Heels are thinking regular season title more than they are double bye. Carolina has now won ten of the last 11 league games, the best stretch since the 2013-14 team won 13 of 14. The Tar Heels have won eight in a row against Syracuse and are 8-1 against Jim Boeheim's team since Syracuse joined the league.
7. Carolina had a great defensive possession with six minutes left. The quintet of Garrison Brooks, White, Kenny Williams, Cameron Johnson and Maye communicated perfectly, rotated smoothly, and eventually forced a wildly errant jump shot from Oshae Brissett to end the possession.Â
8. When no Tar Heel could seem to slow down Elijah Hughes in the first half, Roy Williams gave Andrew Platek a shot. The sophomore had a couple good defensive possessions against Hughes in the final two minutes.
9. Nice presentation at the first timeout of the night, when the athletic department and athletic director Bubba Cunningham honored Raycom executives on the occasion of the final Raycom broadcast from the Smith Center. Raycom has carried Atlantic Coast Conference games for the past 37 years but that association will end with the advent of the ACC Network.
10. Seventh Woods is quietly having a very solid second half of the league schedule. Woods had a big hoop and also handed out three assists with no turnovers in seven minutes of action. Over the last four games, Woods has consistently either kept Carolina even or pushed the lead out further while spelling White.
11. The Tar Heels completely dominated the backboards. Carolina had a 46-25 edge on the glass and owned an 18-8 edge on the offensive boards. With 37 missed field goals and 18 offensive rebounds, the home team rebounded almost half its misses.
12. The Syracuse zone has been good at forcing turnovers this year, but the Tar Heels were again more careful with the ball on Tuesday. They committed just nine turnovers, with four of them coming from White (and if you score 34 points, you can commit four turnovers).
1. That wasn't an old-fashioned ACC opponent, but that was a good old-fashioned ACC win for Carolina over Syracuse at the Smith Center. The Orange played very, very well--don't take Carolina's 93-85 win for granted.
2. But the Tar Heels had Coby White. The freshman did virtually everything well, scoring 34 points and going 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Even more indicative of his character, though, might have been that even on another 30-point night, White was still diving on the floor to secure a loose ball late in the game. White is the first UNC freshman ever to post three 30-point games. We're sort of immune to the bevy of stats and figures we receive in the year 2019. White is the first freshman ever--ever--of every great Tar Heel freshman who has ever played who has scored three 30-point games. That's amazing...and there are still hopefully quite a few games left.
3. The bad thing about averages is that they eventually average out. The last three Carolina opponents had made just 27.3 percent from the three-point line. But Syracuse arrived in Chapel Hill blistering hot from the perimeter and finished 14-for-31 from the arc.
4. As you would expect against the Orange zone, the Tar Heels had to pass the ball crisply in order to score. Carolina had nine assists on ten first half field goals and finished with 19 assists on 25 field goals. Key in that effort was Luke Maye, who didn't have a great scoring night but had a career-high six assists and was key moving the ball around in the middle of Syracuse's zone defense.
5. Carolina stayed in the game in the first half at the free throw line. While Syracuse was raining in eight of their 17 three-point attempts, the Tar Heels made 19 of 21 free throw attempts. Seven of those first half charity tosses came from White. As a team, Carolina was an incredible 34-for-37, and they needed almost every single one of them. Nassir Little was just 2-for-9 from the floor but made eight trips to the line (second on the team) and made seven of them, including a couple big ones late. Little also had four offensive rebounds in a six-board night.
6. The win secures a double bye for Carolina in the ACC Tournament with three games to play, but the Tar Heels are thinking regular season title more than they are double bye. Carolina has now won ten of the last 11 league games, the best stretch since the 2013-14 team won 13 of 14. The Tar Heels have won eight in a row against Syracuse and are 8-1 against Jim Boeheim's team since Syracuse joined the league.
7. Carolina had a great defensive possession with six minutes left. The quintet of Garrison Brooks, White, Kenny Williams, Cameron Johnson and Maye communicated perfectly, rotated smoothly, and eventually forced a wildly errant jump shot from Oshae Brissett to end the possession.Â
8. When no Tar Heel could seem to slow down Elijah Hughes in the first half, Roy Williams gave Andrew Platek a shot. The sophomore had a couple good defensive possessions against Hughes in the final two minutes.
9. Nice presentation at the first timeout of the night, when the athletic department and athletic director Bubba Cunningham honored Raycom executives on the occasion of the final Raycom broadcast from the Smith Center. Raycom has carried Atlantic Coast Conference games for the past 37 years but that association will end with the advent of the ACC Network.
10. Seventh Woods is quietly having a very solid second half of the league schedule. Woods had a big hoop and also handed out three assists with no turnovers in seven minutes of action. Over the last four games, Woods has consistently either kept Carolina even or pushed the lead out further while spelling White.
11. The Tar Heels completely dominated the backboards. Carolina had a 46-25 edge on the glass and owned an 18-8 edge on the offensive boards. With 37 missed field goals and 18 offensive rebounds, the home team rebounded almost half its misses.
12. The Syracuse zone has been good at forcing turnovers this year, but the Tar Heels were again more careful with the ball on Tuesday. They committed just nine turnovers, with four of them coming from White (and if you score 34 points, you can commit four turnovers).
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