Lucas: Alabama Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Just a complete win for Alabama, as they perfectly executed their gameplan on the way to a 94-79 win at the Smith Center. The Heels have now led for just 11:13 of the last 165 minutes they have played (three games in Maui and tonight). Size was again a large problem, as Alabama sent waves of long, athletic bodies at Carolina.

2. Carolina really struggled to score. The Tar Heels didn't shoot well overall, checking in at 41 percent, but they were very bad from the three-point line, where they made just 5 for 28. On a night when they needed to make productive offensive trips, they just couldn't generate the points.

3. The bright spot offensively was Ian Jackson, who contributed 23 points and shot 10-for-17. Going into ACC play, the rotation is by no means set--both on the perimeter and in the post, where the Tar Heels rotated a series of players without ever really finding one who was consistent (Ty Claude probably came the closest, getting six points and five rebounds in 10 minutes before leaving with an injury).

4. After the 1-2 performance in Maui, Hubert Davis indicated he and the coaching staff would be evaluating changes that could be made. One of those was immediately apparent on Wednesday night: the Tar Heels started Drake Powell in place of Jae'Lyn Withers. Powell was a team-high +16 in Maui (the next highest was Ven-Allen Lubin at +7, and then Seth Trimble at +2). The freshman had some moments (six points and three rebounds) but overall had one of those games freshmen sometimes have, where things are moving a little too fast. He was far from alone in that category.

5. Rough night for RJ Davis, who never found a rhythm offensively and finished 7-for-24 from the field and 1-for-11 from three-point range. That now gives him a 1-for-20 mark from three against the Tide in the last two meetings. That will get the most of attention, but Davis' backcourt partner, Elliot Cadeau, also had a rough night, finishing with one point and four turnovers (he has 18 assists and 16 turnovers in his last four games). The trend continues: when Cadeau is good, the Heels are good. When he isn't, they struggle. The entire starting backcourt trio (Seth Trimble finished -19) just didn't have a great night. With this year's team, any time all three of those players struggle, it's going to be a difficult night.

6. For the fourth straight game, Carolina found itself trailing by double digits in the first half. The Tar Heels struggled to hold on to the ball early, committing seven turnovers in the first part of the first half, and then once they found the handle had trouble shooting, hitting just 36.1 percent from the field and a paltry 15.4 percent from the three-point line.

7. Combine those numbers with the fact that the Tar Heels weren't very successful getting to the line--they made just 6-for-7 at the charity stripe--and it's honestly surprising the halftime deficit was just nine. It could have been much, much worse.

8. Here's the problem with guarding the Crimson Tide in the first half. During that 20 minutes, they attempted 37 field goals. Eighteen of those were three-pointers. Fifteen were layups or dunks (they made eight). So of the 37 shots they took, 33 were either layups or three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels took 13 of their 33 shots from the midrange, an area that just isn't very efficient or productive.

9. Carolina occasionally flashed some full-court and three-quarters court defensive pressure. That may have to be a bigger part of the gameplan going forward. The Tar Heels aren't great at it just yet, but it does give opponents a different look and has the potential to create turnovers.

10. The rigorous early season schedule now includes three top-10 opponents in the first eight games. It's the first time since the 1967-68 season the Tar Heels have faced that stern a gauntlet in the first eight games. And coming up Saturday: the ACC opener, with Georgia Tech visiting the Smith Center at 2 p.m. Keep in mind that Carolina has played three of the best 10 teams in America so far and clearly is a cut below them right now. Now you have to win some games against teams that are outside of that elite range.

11. Reminder about two things for this weekend: first, Saturday's ACC opener against Georgia Tech also features the return of the Tip-Off Club outside the Smith Center.

12. Second, the annual kids clinic with the basketball team has been moved up this year. It will take place on this Sunday, Dec. 8. Cost to attend is $75. More information can be found here or keep an eye on all the Carolina Basketball social media outlets in the days to come. It's a great opportunity for kids to interact with this year's team.

13. Good turnout from Tar Heel alums. Mitch Kupchak, Ed Davis, Tyler Hansbrough (on the THSN call), Tyler Zeller and Marcus Ginyard were all in attendance. And it wasn't just basketball--Drake Maye and Vance Honeycutt were also on hand.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Elliot Cadeau

Ty Claude

RJ Davis

Ian Jackson

Ven-Allen Lubin

Drake Powell

Seth Trimble

Jae'Lyn Withers

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