Lucas: Miami Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. It's nice to have seniors who can play through struggles. After a rough evening in Coral Gables, Garrison Brooks came back and made two big plays down the stretch to help Carolina to an ACC win at Miami. And then Andrew Platek finished it off with the game-winning basket.

2. Sitting on a 1-for-7 night and having been visibly frustrated minutes earlier, Brooks stepped to the line and hit two free throws to give Carolina the lead with under a minute to play, then contested Miami in the backcourt to force a turnover. It hasn't been easy for Brooks. But he produced when Carolina needed it.

3. Give Caleb Love credit for this: his shooting struggles haven't cost him any confidence. Sitting on 0-for-8 from the court, he pulled the trigger on a three-pointer that cut the Tar Heel deficit to 61-60 with 2:30 remaining. Love finished the game hobbled by an injury suffered late in the game.

4. Speaking of playing through adversity, Leaky Black missed two free throws that would have given the Heels the lead, but then sank an open corner three-pointer to provide a 63-61 advantage with 1:36 left. Black finished as Carolina's leading scorer with 16 points, made all four of his three-point attempts and also had nine rebounds. Black was a difference-maker in the game.

5. This is not breaking news, but Carolina must get better play from the point guard position. Love finished 1-for-9 from the floor, RJ Davis was 1-for-5, and the duo combined for four assists and seven turnovers.

6. It's been mentioned before how much the energy of the bench matters in games in empty arenas. That was the case again in Miami, where the Hurricane reserves began to believe they could win about midway through the first half and proceeded to provide significant noise for the rest of the game.

7. The Tar Heels continue to search for the right mix of personnel. For one of the only times this season, Carolina went with just one big man late in the first half. They've essentially scrapped the Caleb Love-RJ Davis duo together in the backcourt--although they gave it another shot in the second half--and instead are splitting the point guard minutes between the freshman duo. We're twenty percent of the way into the ACC season, and it's difficult to identify the five players you want on the court on a consistent basis.

8. That first half isn't going on the clip tape. Carolina committed eleven turnovers in a low-possession game, shot 31 percent from the field, tallied just eight points in the paint, had one fast break point...and led, 32-30, at the break. Miami played without two of the team's best players, Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty. A phrase you probably didn't think you'd hear this year: it was Carolina's three-point shooting that saved them in the first half. The Heels hit five of 11 trifectas and shot twice as effectively from 3 (45.5 percent) as they did from two (22.2 percent).

9. Down two players, the Hurricanes got a boost from the bench. They got 16 first half points from reserves, with Elijah Olaniyi scoring nine and Anthony Walker scoring seven. That duo combined to average 15 total this season.

10. A four-point trip late in the first half seemed to nudge the Tar Heels awake. Kerwin Walton hit a three-pointer, the Canes were whistled for a foul, and Day'Ron Sharpe connected on a free throw.

11. Jim Larranaga's whistling, always a very proficient skill for the Hurricanes, is even more pronounced in an empty arena.

12. Miami won four in a row against Carolina in 2013 and 2014, but the Tar Heels have won eight of ten since then.

13. Pretty nice when you have a freshman who can "quietly" post a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double. That's what Day'Ron Sharpe did on Tuesday night. He was an uncharacteristic 4-for-12 from the field but hit four of his five free throws.

Players Mentioned

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

RJ Davis

Caleb Love

Andrew Platek

Day'Ron Sharpe

Kerwin Walton

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