University of North Carolina Athletics
Armando Bacot
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
Lucas: UC Riverside Rapid Reactions
November 17, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the final home game before the Bahamas trip.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina's defense clamped down on UC Riverside for a Friday night win, 77-52.
2. The Highlanders struggled mightily in the second half, making just 8 of 31 field goal attempts. That allowed Carolina to stretch out an 11-point halftime lead and cruise to the win. The Heels also did a very nice job taking care of the ball, turning it over just eight times, with half of those belonging to Elliot Cadeau. No starter had more than one.
3. Armando Bacot led the way with 21 points, but this was a game that saw everyone contribute. For example, the box score says Paxson Wojcik didn't make a field goal, but he drew two charges in the first half. You could find something positive about every Tar Heel who played.
4. At some point this season, Harrison Ingram might be a candidate for the third triple-double in UNC basketball history (Jason Capel and Brendan Haywood are the two others). Ingram is obviously a good scorer, he's a committed rebounder, and he's a willing passer. The Stanford transfer finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes.
5. It felt like Carolina played better than just an 11-point lead in the first half. The Tar Heels shared the ball well, pushed the tempo, got numerous deflections...but then missed nine of their final ten shots of the half. That negated an otherwise very solid half.
6. Carolina shot 2-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, including a pair that didn't draw iron. That's one concerning stat as the Heels head to Nassau; they finished 6-for-21 from 3 and haven't shot well from the perimeter in the first three games. It does feel like they're a better shooting team than that...but they have to show it.
7. Put Seth Trimble's two-handed dunk over 6-foot-7 Vladimer Salaridze on the season highlight reel. But don't forget the Jae'Lyn Withers block and RJ Davis lengthy bounce pass that led to it. That was a great example of Carolina basketball from start to finish.
8. With so many missed shots available, UCR won the rebounding battle, as you might expect. But even with a 13-9 deficit in offensive rebounds, Carolina was just more efficient with their second chances. The Heels had 16 second chance points to just two for the visitors.
9. So how did Carolina end up with a home game against UC Riverside, which doesn't seem like a natural opponent? Pretty simple: the Highlanders asked. The Tar Heels needed a home nonconference game that didn't require a return game, and next thing you know UCR is on the schedule. Sometimes it pays to take a shot. And it wasn't a terrible game to play--UC Riverside showed some zone, applied very occasional full court defensive pressure, and gave the Heels some different looks that will be valuable later in the season.
10. Your eyes weren't deceiving you: Carolina wore blue jerseys at the Smith Center on Friday night. The unusual move came from UC Riverside requesting to wear white; the Tar Heels complied and fans got an unusual sight. There were three other occasions when the Heels wore blue in the building: a 1990 ACC/Big East doubleheader in which they faced UConn, the Happy Blue Year game against UNCW on New Year's Eve of 2013, and the 2020 game against Duke.
11. Reminder: the next home game, against Tennessee, is a whiteout. Wear white if you have tickets to what should be a big one.
1. Carolina's defense clamped down on UC Riverside for a Friday night win, 77-52.
2. The Highlanders struggled mightily in the second half, making just 8 of 31 field goal attempts. That allowed Carolina to stretch out an 11-point halftime lead and cruise to the win. The Heels also did a very nice job taking care of the ball, turning it over just eight times, with half of those belonging to Elliot Cadeau. No starter had more than one.
3. Armando Bacot led the way with 21 points, but this was a game that saw everyone contribute. For example, the box score says Paxson Wojcik didn't make a field goal, but he drew two charges in the first half. You could find something positive about every Tar Heel who played.
4. At some point this season, Harrison Ingram might be a candidate for the third triple-double in UNC basketball history (Jason Capel and Brendan Haywood are the two others). Ingram is obviously a good scorer, he's a committed rebounder, and he's a willing passer. The Stanford transfer finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes.
5. It felt like Carolina played better than just an 11-point lead in the first half. The Tar Heels shared the ball well, pushed the tempo, got numerous deflections...but then missed nine of their final ten shots of the half. That negated an otherwise very solid half.
6. Carolina shot 2-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, including a pair that didn't draw iron. That's one concerning stat as the Heels head to Nassau; they finished 6-for-21 from 3 and haven't shot well from the perimeter in the first three games. It does feel like they're a better shooting team than that...but they have to show it.
7. Put Seth Trimble's two-handed dunk over 6-foot-7 Vladimer Salaridze on the season highlight reel. But don't forget the Jae'Lyn Withers block and RJ Davis lengthy bounce pass that led to it. That was a great example of Carolina basketball from start to finish.
8. With so many missed shots available, UCR won the rebounding battle, as you might expect. But even with a 13-9 deficit in offensive rebounds, Carolina was just more efficient with their second chances. The Heels had 16 second chance points to just two for the visitors.
9. So how did Carolina end up with a home game against UC Riverside, which doesn't seem like a natural opponent? Pretty simple: the Highlanders asked. The Tar Heels needed a home nonconference game that didn't require a return game, and next thing you know UCR is on the schedule. Sometimes it pays to take a shot. And it wasn't a terrible game to play--UC Riverside showed some zone, applied very occasional full court defensive pressure, and gave the Heels some different looks that will be valuable later in the season.
10. Your eyes weren't deceiving you: Carolina wore blue jerseys at the Smith Center on Friday night. The unusual move came from UC Riverside requesting to wear white; the Tar Heels complied and fans got an unusual sight. There were three other occasions when the Heels wore blue in the building: a 1990 ACC/Big East doubleheader in which they faced UConn, the Happy Blue Year game against UNCW on New Year's Eve of 2013, and the 2020 game against Duke.
11. Reminder: the next home game, against Tennessee, is a whiteout. Wear white if you have tickets to what should be a big one.
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