Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Just a solid victory over a good Louisville team to open ACC Tournament play for Carolina. The Tar Heels weren't fantastic, but it's a good sign that they didn't have to be in order to beat a good opponent.

2. Coby White had a combined 12 points in Carolina's two previous games against Louisville this year. So the law of averages suggested his 19 point performance, tied for the team high, was coming. White was especially good early in the game, when the Cardinals simply couldn't keep pace with his tempo. Twice he blew past the Louisville defense, eventually forcing Chris Mack to burn a timeout. The freshman also had six assists against just one turnover.

3. Luke Maye missed a double-double by just one rebound, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds. Maye also had a couple of blocks and shot an efficient 7-for-12 from the field.

4. Even with the big contributions from White and Maye, this win quietly had just as much to do with the Tar Heels who you don't hear quite as much about. Start with Garrison Brooks. Remember, Louisville essentially dominated Carolina in the paint when these two teams first met, and Brooks was outplayed by Steven Enoch. This time, Brooks had 11 points, making four of his five field goals, a couple of which were through some tough contact. He also had a very nice spin move on Malik Williams in the second half that was one of his nicest offensive post moves of the season, and scored a big basket through two UL defenders when the Cards had closed the deficit to six points in the second half.

5. Brooks also put on a short post defense clinic against Williams in the second half that was a nice window into why he wins so many defensive player of the game awards from the coaches. He briefly lost track of Williams in traffic in the lane, and Williams caught the ball at point blank range. But Brooks walled him off without fouling, edging him away from the rim, and Williams eventually missed a tough hook shot several feet farther away from the rim than he originally caught the ball.

6. That's partially a testament to Carolina's overall defensive improvement. Louisville shot just 40.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from the three-point line. Just as importantly, the Tar Heels played defense without fouling. The Cards made just eight trips to the free throw line (Carolina was 16-for-21 from the line).

7. And then there was Brandon Robinson, who played 16 minutes, his most since the win at Duke. The junior knocked in a couple of three pointers, grabbed four rebounds, and handed out two assists. Robinson also had a nice strip followed by a hit-ahead to Kenny Williams in the second half.

8. Even Sterling Manley made the most of his two minutes of action. Brooks is foul prone, so it's entirely possible that Manley will be needed in a key situation later in March. In that short second half stint, Manley scored a basket, then prevented a basket on the other end when he tipped the ball away when Louisville tried to slip the screen, a difficult play for a big man to defend. So he scored two points and prevented two points; we're in the time of year when four points can make a big difference.

9. Carolina's other injured player, Leaky Black, is inching closer to a return. Roy Williams said before the game on the Tar Heel Sports Network that Black practiced Monday, then scaled back his participation on Tuesday, then went through a short practice on Wednesday. Black was dressed out for a game on Thursday night for the first time since his injury; he would provide some valuable flexibility for Williams in the postseason.

10. Remember the beginning of the season, when Carolina was regularly committing 15 or more turnovers, some of which were of the headscratching variety? The Tar Heels have largely gotten that problem under control, which is in large part also due to White. The Tar Heels committed just nine turnovers against Louisville. White has just two turnovers in his last three games.

11. Thursday night marked the fourth time Carolina has won the ACC regular season championship and then played a team that had previously defeated the Tar Heels in the ACC quarterfinals. The other instances were Wake Forest in 1988, Clemson in 2001 and Miami in 2017. The Tar Heels have now won all four of the rematch instances.

12. Carolina owned the points in the paint category, 40-26, and outrebounded Louisville, 44-35. Louisville won points in the paint 32-26 in Chapel Hill, and controlled the glass, 40-33. Two months and two rematches later, it's safe to say that game was very beneficial for the Tar Heels.

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

Sterling Manley

Luke Maye

Brandon Robinson

Coby White

Kenny Williams

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