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Lucas: Wake Forest Rapid Reactions
February 7, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the rematch with the Demon Deacons.
By Adam Lucas
1. Ugly night in Winston-Salem, as Wake Forest beats Carolina, 92-85. The Tar Heels played most of the final 32 minutes of the game down by double digits.
2. You saw it, and so you are well aware that was a very bad first half. The Tar Heels were abused by the Wake Forest offense, which shot 51.4 percent from the field and seemed to get whatever it wanted. Meanwhile, the UNC offense continued to struggle, and when combined with the second half in Durham, posted 50 points in two halves of basketball.
3. The first half was made all the more frustrating by the second half, when Wake came back to earth, but the Tar Heels had fallen too far behind to make things really tight. The Deacs took some awful shots to aid in the UNC push, but Carolina also simply played better. Not well enough, however, to overcome those first 20 minutes.
4. This may sound crazy, but with under three minutes to play the Tar Heels had closed to ten and there was a legitimate feeling in the building that a comeback might be in the offing. But Caleb Love rushed a three-point shot that missed, Wake got an easy basket, and the moment had passed. To complete a comeback like that, you have to execute everything perfectly, and that possession wasn't perfect.
5. Carolina had no defensive answer for Tyree Appleby in the first half, as he controlled the game with the dribble. Wake set high screen after high screen, and it turned into either an easy basket in the paint or a midrange jumper. Twenty-two of their first 42 field goal attempts were layups or dunks. Appleby, a master of slamming on the brakes when someone is directly behind him, did most of his second half damage at the free throw line. He finished a whopping 23-for-28 from the charity stripe and had 35 points. Appleby had more points from the free throw line alone than any Tar Heel had total in the game. He took 26 free throws in the second half alone.
6. It would be too easy--and too wrong--to pin a loss like that on one player. There's going to be chatter about Caleb Love's 0-for-9 first half, and that was clearly problematic (he racked up six of his nine misses in the final six minutes of the half). But no one other than Armando Bacot produced offensively in that first period. Love finished 9-for-25, but RJ Davis was 3-for-10. The loss was a full team effort.
7. One of the most startling things about this team has been the complete departure of outside shooting proficiency. It was noticeable in the first half on Tuesday, as Wake got perimeter buckets from Andrew Carr, Damari Monsanto and Bobi Klintman, while Carolina did not make a three-point shot. The Deacs had multiple shooters who could stretch the defense. The Tar Heels simply could not counter. Carolina, which hit just 2-for-14 from the arc on Tuesday, is now a scary 16-for-72 from the three-point line in the last three games; RJ Davis is 2-for-19 from three in the last four games. There's a very clear reason why the offense hasn't looked good in the last couple of weeks, and it's not isolated to just one person--you could compile poor shooting numbers from any of the regulars during this stretch.
8. Good second half minutes from Puff Johnson. In addition to the fact that he was consistently getting to the free throw line, Johnson provided some energy that had been sorely missing in the first half. The way he threw himself on a loose ball with 12:45 left was emblematic of his play. That wasn't a 50-50 ball; it was more 75-25 in favor of Wake Forest. But Johnson refused to accept that reality--exactly the kind of effort Carolina needed more of in the first half.
9. In all honesty, almost everyone who it felt like had a positive impact on the game came from the bench. Tyler Nickel had unspectacular but solid minutes. Seth Trimble was active defensively and made a couple of buckets. Jalen Washington (who also had a couple of turnovers) hit a midrange jumper. The question now is how many minutes those contributions earn that group.
10. Carolina quite obviously needs to win on Saturday at home against Clemson. More than that, the Tar Heels need to put together two good halves. The Tar Heels scored 60 points--sixty!--in the second half on Tuesday, outscored Wake by 15...and still lost the game. That shouldn't happen.
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1. Ugly night in Winston-Salem, as Wake Forest beats Carolina, 92-85. The Tar Heels played most of the final 32 minutes of the game down by double digits.
2. You saw it, and so you are well aware that was a very bad first half. The Tar Heels were abused by the Wake Forest offense, which shot 51.4 percent from the field and seemed to get whatever it wanted. Meanwhile, the UNC offense continued to struggle, and when combined with the second half in Durham, posted 50 points in two halves of basketball.
3. The first half was made all the more frustrating by the second half, when Wake came back to earth, but the Tar Heels had fallen too far behind to make things really tight. The Deacs took some awful shots to aid in the UNC push, but Carolina also simply played better. Not well enough, however, to overcome those first 20 minutes.
4. This may sound crazy, but with under three minutes to play the Tar Heels had closed to ten and there was a legitimate feeling in the building that a comeback might be in the offing. But Caleb Love rushed a three-point shot that missed, Wake got an easy basket, and the moment had passed. To complete a comeback like that, you have to execute everything perfectly, and that possession wasn't perfect.
5. Carolina had no defensive answer for Tyree Appleby in the first half, as he controlled the game with the dribble. Wake set high screen after high screen, and it turned into either an easy basket in the paint or a midrange jumper. Twenty-two of their first 42 field goal attempts were layups or dunks. Appleby, a master of slamming on the brakes when someone is directly behind him, did most of his second half damage at the free throw line. He finished a whopping 23-for-28 from the charity stripe and had 35 points. Appleby had more points from the free throw line alone than any Tar Heel had total in the game. He took 26 free throws in the second half alone.
6. It would be too easy--and too wrong--to pin a loss like that on one player. There's going to be chatter about Caleb Love's 0-for-9 first half, and that was clearly problematic (he racked up six of his nine misses in the final six minutes of the half). But no one other than Armando Bacot produced offensively in that first period. Love finished 9-for-25, but RJ Davis was 3-for-10. The loss was a full team effort.
7. One of the most startling things about this team has been the complete departure of outside shooting proficiency. It was noticeable in the first half on Tuesday, as Wake got perimeter buckets from Andrew Carr, Damari Monsanto and Bobi Klintman, while Carolina did not make a three-point shot. The Deacs had multiple shooters who could stretch the defense. The Tar Heels simply could not counter. Carolina, which hit just 2-for-14 from the arc on Tuesday, is now a scary 16-for-72 from the three-point line in the last three games; RJ Davis is 2-for-19 from three in the last four games. There's a very clear reason why the offense hasn't looked good in the last couple of weeks, and it's not isolated to just one person--you could compile poor shooting numbers from any of the regulars during this stretch.
8. Good second half minutes from Puff Johnson. In addition to the fact that he was consistently getting to the free throw line, Johnson provided some energy that had been sorely missing in the first half. The way he threw himself on a loose ball with 12:45 left was emblematic of his play. That wasn't a 50-50 ball; it was more 75-25 in favor of Wake Forest. But Johnson refused to accept that reality--exactly the kind of effort Carolina needed more of in the first half.
9. In all honesty, almost everyone who it felt like had a positive impact on the game came from the bench. Tyler Nickel had unspectacular but solid minutes. Seth Trimble was active defensively and made a couple of buckets. Jalen Washington (who also had a couple of turnovers) hit a midrange jumper. The question now is how many minutes those contributions earn that group.
10. Carolina quite obviously needs to win on Saturday at home against Clemson. More than that, the Tar Heels need to put together two good halves. The Tar Heels scored 60 points--sixty!--in the second half on Tuesday, outscored Wake by 15...and still lost the game. That shouldn't happen.
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