Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. That was an old-style Carolina Saturday afternoon destruction of an ACC opponent, as Carolina dominated inside and outside on the way to a 92-79 win at Syracuse.

2. What an unexpected perimeter offensive explosion from the Tar Heels in the opening minutes of the second half. Carolina went 6-for-7 from the three-point line in the opening six minutes of the half, as Cole Anthony knocked in three, Brandon Robinson made a pair, and Christian Keeling sank one. How out of character was that for this year's team? The six made three-pointers in those six minutes were as many or more than the Tar Heels had made in 13 of this season's previous 16 Atlantic Coast Conference games. The firepower pushed Carolina's lead to 64-48 with 13:09 left in the game. For the game, the Tar Heels made more three-pointers (11-for-25) than they had in any game this season.

3. The unexpected perimeter attack arrived at just the right time, as Carolina had to play without Armando Bacot for the final 29 minutes of the game after he left with 11:13 remaining in the first half with an ankle injury. Roy Williams chose to go small early in the second half, replacing Justin Pierce with Christian Keeling and moving Leaky Black to the power forward position. It immediately paid dividends, as it led to the quick three-point barrage.

4. Pretty incredible progress shown by Garrison Brooks. Remember that the last time Carolina played at the Carrier Dome, in a 2018 victory, Brooks played just two minutes, didn't score, and didn't have a rebound. Fast forward to Saturday, and the junior had a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) by halftime. The All-ACC candidate set his rebounding career high with 14 and added 26 points as Carolina's primary post focus. Brooks helped lead Carolina's 39-29 advantage on the boards and a big 22-10 edge in second chance points.

5. The significant change in Keeling's confidence was obvious early in the first half. Keeling missed a perimeter jumper but Carolina secured the offensive rebound. The ball swung back around to Keeling, who a month ago would've passed up the shot. This time, even with a defender's hand in his face, he took the jumper and knocked it down for two of his quick eight early points that were part of a quick 20-2 Tar Heel run that opened a 33-17 advantage with five minutes left in the opening half. The run burned a pair of Cuse timeouts--the one they had to use in the first half and one that could've been useful in the second half. For the game, Keeling pumped in 18 points in 26 minutes and shot 7-for-11 from the field.

6. Bacot's absence, combined with Brandon Huffman's unavailability, meant Justin Pierce had to stay in the game in the first half when he picked up two fouls. Pierce drew a pair of charges but also picked up a blocking call with four minutes left in the half. A couple minutes later, Cole Anthony ended up in similar foul trouble and went to the bench for the final 1:39 in favor of Andrew Platek. And then after a defensive miscommunication between Pierce and Keeling, Garrison Brooks had to pick up his second foul with 0.8 seconds left. Brandon Robinson picked up his third foul early in the second half, but Carolina largely managed the foul trouble well.

7. The Syracuse zone usually confounds younger players who aren't accustomed to the active and athletic way the Orange plays the defense. That wasn't the case for Cole Anthony, who had perhaps his best playmaking game of his short Tar Heel career. The freshman had six assists in 17 first half minutes, a total that was as much or more than any other ACC game in which he had played this year. Anthony finished with seven assists, a total that wasn't larger due primarily to the fact that he was scorching hot himself in the second half, as he finished with 24 points and shot 7-for-10 from the three-point line.

8. Anthony helped key some of the best ball distribution of the season. The Tar Heels handed out 25 assists on 33 field goals. The only game this season in which Carolina had more assists was 32 in the win over Miami.

9. Solid shooting performance all over the court for Carolina. In addition to the three-point display, Carolina shot 52.4 percent from the field overall and 88.2 percent from the free throw line.

10. Carolina is now 4-1 against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome and 3-1 since they joined the ACC. Saturday's win came in front of a charged environment that saw nearly four dozen Syracuse basketball alumni on hand, plus the retirement of John Wallace's jersey.

11. Most unexpected courtside observers of the season: Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Jimmy Fallon at the Carrier Dome. All three were introduced before the game to the big Carrier Dome crowd, and Fallon took the opportunity to hold up his oddly handwritten nametag and climb on the scorer's table to salute the fans. Fallon also directed the Syracuse band at one point and also took part in a timeout promotion in which he demonstrated he is more skilled as a late night host than a basketball player.

12. A reminder that senior night is Tuesday night against Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Limited tickets remain.

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cole Anthony

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

Brandon Huffman

Christian Keeling

Justin Pierce

Andrew Platek

Brandon Robinson

Related Videos