University of North Carolina Athletics
Jae'Lyn Withers
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Wagner Rapid Reactions
March 21, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the NCAA Tournament opener.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina defeated Wagner, 90-62, to advance into the NCAA Tournament second round. The win gave Carolina the NCAA-leading 132nd win in the program's NCAA Tournament history.Â
2. With the win, Carolina advances to what should be a very competitive second round game against Michigan State on Saturday. Game time will be announced later today.
3. Terrific effort off the bench by Jae'Lyn Withers in his hometown. Withers impacted the game all over the court and finished with 16 points in 21 minutes, including the second career double-double of his UNC career by adding ten rebounds. Testament to his aggressiveness: he attempted nine free throws, more than he had tried in the last eight games combined. Four of Withers' rebounds were offensive.
4. That was enough to team with Armando Bacot in the frontcourt to overwhelm a Wagner squad that only dressed seven players. Bacot had a 20-point, 15-rebound performance and now has six straight NCAA Tournament games with at least 15 rebounds, which is an incredible figure. There was a stretch in the game where Bacot did whatever he wanted to inside the paint; the Heels had a 48-20 scoring edge in the paint and held a 43-24 rebounding edge.Â
5. With his first points of the game, Bacot passed Phil Ford to become Carolina's second-leading scorer all-time. The leader in that category, Tyler Hansbrough, was also in the building--he was filling the analyst role on the Tar Heel Sports Network.Â
6. Bacot had his double-double by the first half, when he had 14 points and 11 rebounds. That's the 86th of his career, which ties Kenneth Faried for third all-time in NCAA history. Another Tar Heel who is moving up the all-time record books in multiple categories is RJ Davis, who scored 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting (4-for-7 from three) and now has the fourth-most points in a single season in Carolina history, passing Bobby Lewis.
7. Turnovers were the only stat that kept the game close in the first half. With the Heels continually pounding the ball inside, it was their six turnovers--which Wagner turned into nine points--that were the only factor that slowed them down. A 40-28 halftime advantage would have bene bigger without the miscues. Carolina cut the turnovers back to just three in the second half.Â
8. Elliot Cadeau was outstanding in the ACC Tournament win over Florida State. Since then, though, he's been somewhat uneven, going 4-17 in the final two games in Washington, D.C. and then posting a 0-for-2, three assist, four turnover game in 19 minutes against the Seahawks.
9. As per usual, it was a great turnout of Tar Heels in Charlotte. The vast majority of the building was Carolina blue, and big names like Phil Ford, Roy Williams, Leaky Black and Mitch Kupchak were in the stands. Expect an even bigger presence on Saturday in what has become an extremely hot ticket--and could potentially have competition in the ticket market from nearby Tennessee, which plays in the evening session here tonight but would be in the same session with UNC Saturday if they win.
10. The NCAA is doing a much better job enabling fans who are at the arena to feel like they're still involved with the rest of the Tournament. The Spectrum Center provided frequent live look-ins of other games and it wasn't unusual to hear an "Ooohhhh" go through the crowd when the video boards showed a play from another game during a dead ball or timeout. Going to an NCAA Tournament game used to mean feeling isolated from the rest of the event. That's not true anymore.
11. The win bolstered Carolina's impressive numbers in the state and in Charlotte. The Tar Heels are now 35-2 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina, 13-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Charlotte, and 17-2 all-time in the Spectrum Center.
12. The first assistant coach to show up in the Michigan State scouting seats for Carolina's game was someone who already has a very good scouting report on one Tar Heel--Spartans staff member Doug Wojcik, the dad of Paxson Wojcik. Expect to hear plenty about that storyline in the next 48 hours.
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1. Carolina defeated Wagner, 90-62, to advance into the NCAA Tournament second round. The win gave Carolina the NCAA-leading 132nd win in the program's NCAA Tournament history.Â
2. With the win, Carolina advances to what should be a very competitive second round game against Michigan State on Saturday. Game time will be announced later today.
3. Terrific effort off the bench by Jae'Lyn Withers in his hometown. Withers impacted the game all over the court and finished with 16 points in 21 minutes, including the second career double-double of his UNC career by adding ten rebounds. Testament to his aggressiveness: he attempted nine free throws, more than he had tried in the last eight games combined. Four of Withers' rebounds were offensive.
4. That was enough to team with Armando Bacot in the frontcourt to overwhelm a Wagner squad that only dressed seven players. Bacot had a 20-point, 15-rebound performance and now has six straight NCAA Tournament games with at least 15 rebounds, which is an incredible figure. There was a stretch in the game where Bacot did whatever he wanted to inside the paint; the Heels had a 48-20 scoring edge in the paint and held a 43-24 rebounding edge.Â
5. With his first points of the game, Bacot passed Phil Ford to become Carolina's second-leading scorer all-time. The leader in that category, Tyler Hansbrough, was also in the building--he was filling the analyst role on the Tar Heel Sports Network.Â
6. Bacot had his double-double by the first half, when he had 14 points and 11 rebounds. That's the 86th of his career, which ties Kenneth Faried for third all-time in NCAA history. Another Tar Heel who is moving up the all-time record books in multiple categories is RJ Davis, who scored 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting (4-for-7 from three) and now has the fourth-most points in a single season in Carolina history, passing Bobby Lewis.
7. Turnovers were the only stat that kept the game close in the first half. With the Heels continually pounding the ball inside, it was their six turnovers--which Wagner turned into nine points--that were the only factor that slowed them down. A 40-28 halftime advantage would have bene bigger without the miscues. Carolina cut the turnovers back to just three in the second half.Â
8. Elliot Cadeau was outstanding in the ACC Tournament win over Florida State. Since then, though, he's been somewhat uneven, going 4-17 in the final two games in Washington, D.C. and then posting a 0-for-2, three assist, four turnover game in 19 minutes against the Seahawks.
9. As per usual, it was a great turnout of Tar Heels in Charlotte. The vast majority of the building was Carolina blue, and big names like Phil Ford, Roy Williams, Leaky Black and Mitch Kupchak were in the stands. Expect an even bigger presence on Saturday in what has become an extremely hot ticket--and could potentially have competition in the ticket market from nearby Tennessee, which plays in the evening session here tonight but would be in the same session with UNC Saturday if they win.
10. The NCAA is doing a much better job enabling fans who are at the arena to feel like they're still involved with the rest of the Tournament. The Spectrum Center provided frequent live look-ins of other games and it wasn't unusual to hear an "Ooohhhh" go through the crowd when the video boards showed a play from another game during a dead ball or timeout. Going to an NCAA Tournament game used to mean feeling isolated from the rest of the event. That's not true anymore.
11. The win bolstered Carolina's impressive numbers in the state and in Charlotte. The Tar Heels are now 35-2 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina, 13-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Charlotte, and 17-2 all-time in the Spectrum Center.
12. The first assistant coach to show up in the Michigan State scouting seats for Carolina's game was someone who already has a very good scouting report on one Tar Heel--Spartans staff member Doug Wojcik, the dad of Paxson Wojcik. Expect to hear plenty about that storyline in the next 48 hours.
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