Lucas: Auburn Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Auburn was the better team for the full 40 minutes, winning an 85-72 decision in the Maui Invitational semifinals late Tuesday night.

2. There were lots of offensive standouts for the Tigers. But the one consistent for all 40 minutes was their defense, as their length and athleticism constantly made it hard for Carolina to put together anything offensively. UNC shot 43.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the three-point line while turning it over 10 times--which Auburn turned into 15 points.

3. And a big part of the offense that never got rolling was production at the free throw line. The trio of Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis and Seth Trimble's trips to the line have been a big part of the Heels' high-scoring attack. But they made just a combined four trips to the line on Tuesday, making only one of them. If you'd told Hubert Davis earlier Tuesday that that trio would combine to go 1-4 at the line, he likely would've known it wouldn't have been a great night.

4. It was a great night for Auburn's Johni Broome, who put together a 23-point, 19-rebound double-double. There wasn't much separation in the rest of the two teams. But the simple presence of Broome--who also blocked three shots--was enough to decide the outcome.

5. Carolina especially had no answer for Broome in the first half. The Auburn big man--who has been terrific this season--put up an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double...in just 16 first half minutes. Broome, who was deservedly very pleased with himself, mostly did his damage close to the basket, and Carolina simply didn't have the post presence to provide enough resistance. Hubert Davis changed up his five starters for the second half, going with Ven-Allen Lubin in place of Jalen Washington, who suffered through a 1-for-4, two-rebound night. Lubin's aggressiveness (which led to a team-high nine rebounds) was a bright spot on Tuesday.

6. Despite all of Broom's exploits, the Tar Heels did a solid job of keeping contact with the Tigers. While Broome was going 8-for-13, the rest of his teammates were 8-for-24. That enabled the Heels to trail by just eight at the break. And Auburn never really managed to fully put Carolina away. But the Heels simply couldn't create enough consistent offense to get the game close enough to make the Tigers sweat.

7. Auburn took advantage of their athleticism by throwing a couple different defensive looks at the Heels. A second half zone was pesky and created a couple Carolina turnovers. It's simply very difficult to make what are normal guard-to-guard passes--including some of the in-bounds passes that the Tigers harassed into deflections or turnovers.

8. In a game that featured premium athleticism, Seth Trimble stood out. The junior was the one Tar Heel who could consistently create his offense in the first half, scoring on a variety of drives to post nine first half points. Trimble finished with a Carolina high of 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

9. That's back to back first halves that have required Carolina to play from behind. The Tar Heels scored a season-low 32 points in the first 20 minutes Tuesday night--one point worse than their performance during Monday's 33-point output against Dayton.

10. There were two Tar Heels in positive numbers in the +/- category Tuesday: Drake Powell at +9 and Ven-Allen Lubin at +2. Powell's minutes are starting to creep up, as he's been above 20 in both games here in Maui. You might see him even more tomorrow against Michigan State, as the Tar Heels and Spartans will meet at 9:30 p.m. Eastern in the third place game. The Tar Heel guard rotation is settled--the high-scoring trio plus Ian Jackson in reserve. The four and five spots are less certain and still appear to be open for someone to string together some quality performances.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Elliot Cadeau

RJ Davis

Ian Jackson

Ven-Allen Lubin

Drake Powell

Seth Trimble

Jalen Washington

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