Lucas: VT Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Virginia Tech completely dominated the game in the paint, outscoring the Tar Heels 42-30 in that category, on the way to a 80-72 Hokie win. Carolina missed the presence of Armando Bacot both offensively and defensively.

2. Not much mystery about the storylines of that game. Carolina largely snoozed through the first three-fourths of the game, trailing by as many as 18 with 12:39 left. But the energy completely changed in the final segment of the game, led largely by some defensive pressure from Seth Trimble and the Tar Heel backcourt. Unfortunately, the deficit got too big before the comeback began.

3. Depth issues got worse in the first half when three players Carolina couldn't afford to have off the floor--RJ Davis, Caleb Love and Leaky Black--all earned two fouls and had to spend time on the bench. Hubert Davis did his best to juggle his rotation and subbed for offense and defense multiple times to try and keep the vulnerable trio from picking up a third foul. Without them, though, the Tar Heels limped to a ten-point halftime deficit.

4. Sunday brought something you almost never see from Carolina basketball--an entire half without an offensive rebound. The Tar Heels missed 14 shots and didn't grab any of them. Perhaps it's not all that surprising with Armando Bacot out, but it was still jarring to look at the halftime stat sheet and see zero under offensive rebounds.

5. Give Virginia Tech and Mike Young credit for exploiting Carolina defensively. The Hokies were very efficient at identifying the mismatches they wanted and then taking advantage of them. Carolina tried to use Leaky Black on high-scoring Tech guard Sean Pedulla, and Black had some success, but that created some other matchups that were not as beneficial, and the Hokies repeatedly went at them.

6. The Tar Heels should have gone into the halftime locker room feeling rather fortunate. Because of a handful of rushed Tech shots and a couple missed point-blank shots by the home team, the Tar Heels were down just ten with the following numbers: zero offensive rebounds on 14 misses (plus a missed one-shot free throw, so really 15 opportunities), two assists, three fast break points, four points from the bench, 1-for-9 from the three-point line, 9-for-23 from the field and seven turnovers. To only be down ten was a gift.

7. But Virginia Tech was much more efficient in the early minutes of the second half, led largely by the play of Justyn Mutts. The Hokie big man took advantage of a Tar Heel defenders and got whatever he wanted offensively, finishing with 27 points and ten rebounds on 12-for-16 shooting.

8. The fight from the five that played the closing minutes was encouraging--and had that fight been present for the entire game, the Tar Heels would have won the game. Especially notable were Tyler Nickel and Trimble, both of whom competed to the absolute highest level of their ability. Nickel scored eight points and Trimble's defense on Sean Pedulla changed the tempo of the game around the nine-minute mark.

9. The final rebounding numbers: a devastating 39-24 for Virginia Tech. Carolina got just three offensive rebounds for the game. Assists were somewhat better in the second half, as the Tar Heels got twice as many as they did in the first half. The problem: they only had two in the first half, meaning they finished with six on 24 field goals. Carolina again had more turnovers (10) than assists.

10. This is the first four-game UNC losing streak since losing seven in a row during the 2019-20 season.

11. Carolina wanted to foul Mutts, a below average free throw shooter, with just over a minute to go in a five-point game. But the message didn't get from the bench to the floor, and the possession ended with a wide-open three-pointer.

12. Carolina played without D'Marco Dunn, who broke his hand in practice. It's especially unfortunate timing for Dunn, who had one of his best games as a Tar Heel on Wednesday at Indiana. In his absence and with Bacot unavailable, Hubert Davis went deeper into his bench, using both Tyler Nickel and Dontrez Styles before the second media timeout of the first half.

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Caleb Love

Tyler Nickel

Dontrez Styles

Seth Trimble

Related Videos