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University of North Carolina Athletics
D'Marco Dunn
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Boston College Rapid Reactions
March 8, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the ACC Tournament meeting with the Eagles.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina did what it needed to do in securing an 85-61 win over Boston College in the ACC Tournament second round. Carolina has now won 16 of the last 17 against the Eagles.
2. As has been the case before, the big story between now and tomorrow's 7 p.m. game becomes the strength of Armando Bacot's ankle. The Tar Heel big man turned his left ankle in the first half and went to the locker room for the rest of the first period. He came back and played the first 5:33 of the second half, but was clearly limited and had no lift. Carolina will need as much from Bacot as they can get against Virginia (the graphic at the end of the game on ESPN that had UNC facing Clemson was wrong). He had ten points and six boards in 18 minutes against BC.
3. Carolina ran terrific offense in the first half. It's pretty simple: shots went in. And as you know by now if you've watched this team, when shots go in, they are hard to beat. Caleb Love led the Heels with 22 points on 9-for-20 from the field, and RJ Davis added 18 on 7-for-12 shooting. The Carolina offense also featured 10-for-23 from the three-point line, a healthy 43.5 percent.
4. As has often happened with this year's team, the good offense led to more intensity on defense. After an intense couple days of practice after the Duke game, the Tar Heels were completely locked in defensively and challenged almost every Boston College pass and shot in the first 20 minutes.
5. Pete Nance has added an element of rim protection to Carolina's defense. Nance had four blocks on Wednesday, with a couple of them aggressive plays that denied what first appeared to be an easy Eagle basket. Nance now has ten blocks in the past four games. He had ten blocks in 17 games of ACC play prior to that. Nance was also effective offensively and did all of his work in the midrange, where he had ten points.
6. A first half defensive adjustment changed the flow of the game. Makai Ashton-Langford started the game 3-3 from the field and swished all three of them. But then the Tar Heels switched Leaky Black on to Ashton-Langford, and he was just 1-for-3 over the rest of the half and one for his next six as Carolina built the biggest lead the Tar Heels have had in any ACC game. Ashton-Langford didn't make a second half field goal until there were five minutes left in the game.
7. Something very unexpected happened on Wednesday night: the Tar Heels shot Boston College out of a zone. The Eagles tried to go to a 1-3-1 look midway through the first half, but a quick Carolina offensive rebound that led to a basket and a three-pointer quickly persuaded Earl Grant that was a bad idea. The Tar Heels were not as successful against the zone in the second half, when they were too stagnant on offense. Of course, a zone won't be an issue tomorrow night against Virginia.
8. Rough night for Puff Johnson, but an emerging very late season story is the emergence of Dontrez Styles. The Kinston native hasn't been flashy, but he also hasn't hurt Carolina off the bench. The highlight on Wednesday night for Styles was a gorgeous pass to Nance for an assist, and he also added a baseline drive for a slam with two minutes left.
9. Styles was part of a UNC bench contingent that gave the Heels some solid minutes. D'Marco Dunn hit a couple of three-pointers, Seth Trimble scored off a drive, and the Tar Heel bench contributed 17 points. As everyone knows, you have to get production from the bench in order to win four games in four days. We even had a Biscuit Boys sighting--or at least partial Biscuit Boys, since (ridiculous) rules limit the number of players who can dress out and Duwe Farris and Beau Maye were in the stands in street clothes--in the final minute.
10. This year marks the first season of an ACC Tournament seating change. Traditionally, all of a school's tickets have been grouped by section, so there's a block of seats for each school. But this year, each school got a smattering of tickets throughout the "good" sections, which leads to a very different feeling arena.
11. Even with the change, it's still Greensboro, which still feels right (and was a fitting place for Jim Boeheim to coach his final game). Next year, the ACC Tournament goes back to Washington, D.C. (which also happens to be the site of Carolina's last ACC Tournament title in 2016). Subsequent sites have not been announced.
12. Officials wore pink whistles as a tribute to the 22-year-old daughter of Roger Ayers, who was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It is believed the condition was caught early.
1. Carolina did what it needed to do in securing an 85-61 win over Boston College in the ACC Tournament second round. Carolina has now won 16 of the last 17 against the Eagles.
2. As has been the case before, the big story between now and tomorrow's 7 p.m. game becomes the strength of Armando Bacot's ankle. The Tar Heel big man turned his left ankle in the first half and went to the locker room for the rest of the first period. He came back and played the first 5:33 of the second half, but was clearly limited and had no lift. Carolina will need as much from Bacot as they can get against Virginia (the graphic at the end of the game on ESPN that had UNC facing Clemson was wrong). He had ten points and six boards in 18 minutes against BC.
3. Carolina ran terrific offense in the first half. It's pretty simple: shots went in. And as you know by now if you've watched this team, when shots go in, they are hard to beat. Caleb Love led the Heels with 22 points on 9-for-20 from the field, and RJ Davis added 18 on 7-for-12 shooting. The Carolina offense also featured 10-for-23 from the three-point line, a healthy 43.5 percent.
4. As has often happened with this year's team, the good offense led to more intensity on defense. After an intense couple days of practice after the Duke game, the Tar Heels were completely locked in defensively and challenged almost every Boston College pass and shot in the first 20 minutes.
5. Pete Nance has added an element of rim protection to Carolina's defense. Nance had four blocks on Wednesday, with a couple of them aggressive plays that denied what first appeared to be an easy Eagle basket. Nance now has ten blocks in the past four games. He had ten blocks in 17 games of ACC play prior to that. Nance was also effective offensively and did all of his work in the midrange, where he had ten points.
6. A first half defensive adjustment changed the flow of the game. Makai Ashton-Langford started the game 3-3 from the field and swished all three of them. But then the Tar Heels switched Leaky Black on to Ashton-Langford, and he was just 1-for-3 over the rest of the half and one for his next six as Carolina built the biggest lead the Tar Heels have had in any ACC game. Ashton-Langford didn't make a second half field goal until there were five minutes left in the game.
7. Something very unexpected happened on Wednesday night: the Tar Heels shot Boston College out of a zone. The Eagles tried to go to a 1-3-1 look midway through the first half, but a quick Carolina offensive rebound that led to a basket and a three-pointer quickly persuaded Earl Grant that was a bad idea. The Tar Heels were not as successful against the zone in the second half, when they were too stagnant on offense. Of course, a zone won't be an issue tomorrow night against Virginia.
8. Rough night for Puff Johnson, but an emerging very late season story is the emergence of Dontrez Styles. The Kinston native hasn't been flashy, but he also hasn't hurt Carolina off the bench. The highlight on Wednesday night for Styles was a gorgeous pass to Nance for an assist, and he also added a baseline drive for a slam with two minutes left.
9. Styles was part of a UNC bench contingent that gave the Heels some solid minutes. D'Marco Dunn hit a couple of three-pointers, Seth Trimble scored off a drive, and the Tar Heel bench contributed 17 points. As everyone knows, you have to get production from the bench in order to win four games in four days. We even had a Biscuit Boys sighting--or at least partial Biscuit Boys, since (ridiculous) rules limit the number of players who can dress out and Duwe Farris and Beau Maye were in the stands in street clothes--in the final minute.
10. This year marks the first season of an ACC Tournament seating change. Traditionally, all of a school's tickets have been grouped by section, so there's a block of seats for each school. But this year, each school got a smattering of tickets throughout the "good" sections, which leads to a very different feeling arena.
11. Even with the change, it's still Greensboro, which still feels right (and was a fitting place for Jim Boeheim to coach his final game). Next year, the ACC Tournament goes back to Washington, D.C. (which also happens to be the site of Carolina's last ACC Tournament title in 2016). Subsequent sites have not been announced.
12. Officials wore pink whistles as a tribute to the 22-year-old daughter of Roger Ayers, who was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It is believed the condition was caught early.
Players Mentioned
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