Lucas: Pitt Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Biggest win of the season for Carolina, as they get a key Atlantic Coast Conference road win with a 75-65 win at Pittsburgh.

2. It's nice to have big guys. Armando Bacot had 21 points to go with ten rebounds, making eight of his 10 shots, and Garrison Brooks added 16 points and six boards. That duo combined to shoot 16-for-21 from the field. The Tar Heels also got six points and seven rebounds off the bench from Day'Ron Sharpe. Even with Pitt getting several easy shots in the second half, Carolina controlled the points in the paint category, 48-32. Remember a couple weeks ago when Carolina was struggling on two-point shots? They were 28-for-44 tonight. Bacot alone is shooting 75 percent from the field in his last three games.

3. Carolina also chose to put Brooks on the talented Justin Champagnie. One of the best players in the ACC did score 23 points, but he also shot only nine times.

4. That felt like what a Big East game must have felt like. Champagnie was talking to the Carolina bench from the beginning of the game. Then, with eight minutes left in the first half, an incensed Jeff Capel went out under the basket in front of the Pitt bench during a timeout and had a lengthy conversation with officials Ron Groover and Jeffrey Anderson. That prompted Roy Williams to walk the full length of the court to join the conversation. Capel looked surprised to see Williams, and the chat with the officials ended quickly.

5. Pitt defended Carolina differently when Kerwin Walton was not on the court. Without the freshman sharpshooter, the Panthers frequently went zone, daring the other Tar Heels to beat them from the outside. Walton's reputation has quickly made its way around the league. Carolina didn't shoot the ball very well from outside, finishing 4-of-17 from the three-point line, but they were so efficient inside the arc that it didn't matter.

6. Good defensive job that didn't fully pay off for the Tar Heels at the end of the first half. Capel called a timeout with 43 seconds left in the half and the ball at midcourt. The Panthers clearly intended to go two-for-one, but Roy Williams came out of the timeout in a halfcourt trap, which caused the Pitt offense to stumble. After a disjointed possession with overall good Carolina defense, Pitt did end up with a fortuitous three-pointer from Champagnie. The Tar Heels answered with an Armando Bacot putback on the other end to be just -1 in what could have been a bigger swing.

7. Roy Williams is most often (incorrectly) seen as a coach who doesn't make adjustments. It's worth noting, then, that Carolina switched all perimeter screens against Pitt--not the usual philosophy. The Tar Heels also adjusted their defense against baseline out of bounds plays after struggling mightily in that scenario early in the second half. The Tar Heels typically play more of a zone and then pick up in man when the opponent inbounds the ball under the opposing basket. They went to a straight man to man against Pitt.

8. Some of the best playmaking of his freshman season by Caleb Love in the first half. The freshman point guard had five assists in the first half, consistently making the extra pass--and the right, timely pass. Love did not have an assist in the second half and eventually fouled out with eight points, but this is a game from which he can grow. He has made significant strides over even a month ago.

9. Carolina has won the last two games, but they haven't shot the ball well at the free throw line in either. The Tar Heels were 7-14 on Tuesday night and stand 15-32 in the last two games.

10. The Tar Heel offense was tremendously efficient in the early part of the second half, on the way to stretching a 66-50 lead--which was enough cushion to withstand a late Panther flurry. The Tar Heels scored on 14 of their first 16 trips of the period. Carolina shot 60.7 percent from the field in the second half, on the way to hitting 52.5 percent for the game, marking two straight games they've surpassed 50 percent for the game.

11. A reminder that this weekend's scheduled game against Notre Dame isn't happening. As of now, unless something changes with the ACC schedule, Carolina is slated to be off this weekend and won't play again until traveling to Clemson next Tuesday.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Garrison Brooks

Caleb Love

Day'Ron Sharpe

Kerwin Walton

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