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University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Oklahoma Rapid Reactions
December 20, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the Jumpman Invitational.
By Adam Lucas
1. Oklahoma is no longer one of four unbeatens remaining nationally, as Carolina secured another good nonconference victory with an 81-69 win.
2. The win was exactly what the Tar Heels needed going into a brief Christmas break. The Heels finish the toughest part of nonconference play with wins over Arkansas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, power conference opponents that will play well in March.
3. RJ Davis continues to pace the Tar Heels offensively. The senior guard led the Heels in scoring for the seventh straight game, finishing with 23. That's the first Carolina player to lead the team in scoring for seven straight games since Tyler Hansbrough during the 2008-09 season. Davis had the biggest basket of the game, a three-pointer off a set play after Oklahoma had closed within five with three minutes left.
4. Carolina's first half defense was impressive. The Tar Heels collected seven steals and six blocks, all of which helped ignite the transition offense. The Tar Heels had a 13-0 edge in fast break points in the first 20 minutes. They finished with six blocks and ten steals and had a 22-9 overall edge in fast break points and 23-11 in points off turnovers. Harrison Ingram was a big part of that defensive effort, as he had four steals to pair with his 11 points.
5. Even as Christmas approaches, the Tar Heel rotation is still developing. Carolina got Jae'Lyn Withers some early action on Wednesday, which was largely curtailed by foul trouble--some of which was admittedly of his own making, as he twice fouled a three-point shooter. Partially because of that Withers foul trouble, the Heels also used Zayden High for six first half minutes. Something both Withers and High have in common: they are active, and are going to be around the ball when they're on the court. High had three rebounds in his 12 minutes. Seth Trimble saw extended minutes late when the Heels needed his defense.
6. Carolina did a very effective job of cutting off a Sooner offensive stronghold. OU had entered the game in the top ten in the nation in two-point shooting percentage, hitting over 60 percent. The Heels limited them to just 9-for-21 in the first half in that category and 15-for-32 for the game. Couple that with the fact that the Sooners struggled mightily from three-point range in the first half before catching fire in the second half, and it was very difficult for them to get continual offense until late in the game.
7. It's fun to watch Cormac Ryan enjoying being the villain. He had an energetic sequence in the second half, digging in against Otega Oweh defensively before being called for a dubious block. As the Spectrum Center crowd booed, Ryan waved his arms to egg them on, which earned him a reprimand from the officials. He ended with 13 points and five rebounds.
8. Carolina's bench quietly had a productive night, with multiple reserves giving the Heels good minutes. In addition to High, Carolina got solid defense and a three-pointer from Seth Trimble (including forcing a late turnover with a minute remaining), a couple rebounds and two second chance points from Jalen Washington, and four points in four minutes from Withers. UNC won the bench points category, 13-11.
9. Congratulations to Armando Bacot, who passed Antawn Jamison for eighth on Carolina's all-time scoring list. Bacot scored 14 points to go with his eight rebounds. Those rebounds were a team high, as Carolina was outrebounded for a third straight game, with the final totals at 39-31 in favor of the Sooners.
10. Wednesday night marked the first time ever Carolina has played five straight ranked nonconference opponents (Arkansas 20, Tennessee 10, UConn 5, Kentucky 14 and Oklahoma 7). There had only been two prior instances when the Tar Heels played five ranked nonconference foes in an entire regular season (1982-83 and 1988-89).
11. With the game in Charlotte in front of a very friendly UNC crowd, a nice selection of former Tar Heels were on hand, including Phil Ford, Brendan Haywood, Al Wood, Dave Hanners, Matt Doherty, George Lynch and Larry Brown. Plenty of other notables were on hand, including Eric Church in a See Ya Later Big Grits shirt with Eric Montross' name and number on the back.
12. There were numerous other nods to the big fella, including a moment of silence before the game and multiple 00 jerseys spotted in the crowd.
1. Oklahoma is no longer one of four unbeatens remaining nationally, as Carolina secured another good nonconference victory with an 81-69 win.
2. The win was exactly what the Tar Heels needed going into a brief Christmas break. The Heels finish the toughest part of nonconference play with wins over Arkansas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, power conference opponents that will play well in March.
3. RJ Davis continues to pace the Tar Heels offensively. The senior guard led the Heels in scoring for the seventh straight game, finishing with 23. That's the first Carolina player to lead the team in scoring for seven straight games since Tyler Hansbrough during the 2008-09 season. Davis had the biggest basket of the game, a three-pointer off a set play after Oklahoma had closed within five with three minutes left.
4. Carolina's first half defense was impressive. The Tar Heels collected seven steals and six blocks, all of which helped ignite the transition offense. The Tar Heels had a 13-0 edge in fast break points in the first 20 minutes. They finished with six blocks and ten steals and had a 22-9 overall edge in fast break points and 23-11 in points off turnovers. Harrison Ingram was a big part of that defensive effort, as he had four steals to pair with his 11 points.
5. Even as Christmas approaches, the Tar Heel rotation is still developing. Carolina got Jae'Lyn Withers some early action on Wednesday, which was largely curtailed by foul trouble--some of which was admittedly of his own making, as he twice fouled a three-point shooter. Partially because of that Withers foul trouble, the Heels also used Zayden High for six first half minutes. Something both Withers and High have in common: they are active, and are going to be around the ball when they're on the court. High had three rebounds in his 12 minutes. Seth Trimble saw extended minutes late when the Heels needed his defense.
6. Carolina did a very effective job of cutting off a Sooner offensive stronghold. OU had entered the game in the top ten in the nation in two-point shooting percentage, hitting over 60 percent. The Heels limited them to just 9-for-21 in the first half in that category and 15-for-32 for the game. Couple that with the fact that the Sooners struggled mightily from three-point range in the first half before catching fire in the second half, and it was very difficult for them to get continual offense until late in the game.
7. It's fun to watch Cormac Ryan enjoying being the villain. He had an energetic sequence in the second half, digging in against Otega Oweh defensively before being called for a dubious block. As the Spectrum Center crowd booed, Ryan waved his arms to egg them on, which earned him a reprimand from the officials. He ended with 13 points and five rebounds.
8. Carolina's bench quietly had a productive night, with multiple reserves giving the Heels good minutes. In addition to High, Carolina got solid defense and a three-pointer from Seth Trimble (including forcing a late turnover with a minute remaining), a couple rebounds and two second chance points from Jalen Washington, and four points in four minutes from Withers. UNC won the bench points category, 13-11.
9. Congratulations to Armando Bacot, who passed Antawn Jamison for eighth on Carolina's all-time scoring list. Bacot scored 14 points to go with his eight rebounds. Those rebounds were a team high, as Carolina was outrebounded for a third straight game, with the final totals at 39-31 in favor of the Sooners.
10. Wednesday night marked the first time ever Carolina has played five straight ranked nonconference opponents (Arkansas 20, Tennessee 10, UConn 5, Kentucky 14 and Oklahoma 7). There had only been two prior instances when the Tar Heels played five ranked nonconference foes in an entire regular season (1982-83 and 1988-89).
11. With the game in Charlotte in front of a very friendly UNC crowd, a nice selection of former Tar Heels were on hand, including Phil Ford, Brendan Haywood, Al Wood, Dave Hanners, Matt Doherty, George Lynch and Larry Brown. Plenty of other notables were on hand, including Eric Church in a See Ya Later Big Grits shirt with Eric Montross' name and number on the back.
12. There were numerous other nods to the big fella, including a moment of silence before the game and multiple 00 jerseys spotted in the crowd.
Players Mentioned
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