The North Carolina Tar Heels continued their streak of dominant defensive performances as they defeated the NC State Wolfpack, 67-54, to improve to 12-3.
This also allows the North Carolina Tar Heels to take sole possession of the ACC lead with a 4-0 record. The victory also prevented NC State from getting back-to-back wins in the rivalry for the first time since winning four straight from 2002 to 2003.
Senior guard RJ Davis led all scoring with 16 points while grabbing 4 rebounds. The story of the night was defense. This was evident by junior forward Harrison Ingram collecting a career-high 19 rebounds while collecting a steal. The Wolfpack (11-4, 3-1) were led by graduate guard Casey Morsell, whose 12 points was only his second double-digit scoring night in the last seven games.
Takeaway #1: UNC continues to hold teams under 70
Coming off their Dec. 16 loss to Kentucky, the Tar Heels had allowed opponents to score 70+ points in 7 of their first 10 games. In this stretch, opponents shot 42.8% from the field on the Tar Heels.
Something started to click for the team, as they have held opponents to 35% from the field in their four-game winning streak. They also have prevented opponents from scoring more than 70 points in each game of the streak.
This game was no different, as the Wolfpack were held to 27.3% from the field.
This was a team that had four players averaging double-digit points. Even worse for the Wolfpack, they were held to a season-low two three-pointers on 20 attempts.
“It was another collectively great effort,” said third-year head coach Hubert Davis. “I told them after the game that they’re not playing good defense, they’re playing elite defense.”
The fact is that the North Carolina Tar Heels have held their last three conference opponents to 11.9% from beyond the arc and 31.3% from the field. This, combined with Ingram and graduate center Armando Bacot recording back-to-back 15+ rebound games, should keep coaches up at night after studying the tape.
Takeaway #2: Carolina forced State to start pressing in the second half
Going into halftime, NC State was hanging in with the Tar Heels, only trailing by two. This was despite failing to hit one three-pointer on nine attempts. The difference was that the Wolfpack kept getting sent to the foul line, going 10-for-15.
“I thought DJ [Burns Jr.] was really good in the first half going against [Armando] Bacot, made some shots,” said seventh-year head coach Kevin Keatts. “[He] did a really good job of moving the ball when they did trap him.”
Burns, a graduate forward, chipped in 7 points at the half. The Rock Hill, S.C. native also brought down two rebounds and forced Bacot to the bench with two fouls.
The shooting woes of the first half continued after halftime. NC State was held to 26.5% from the floor, making nine field goals on 34 attempts.
For the game, they shot 26.9% from the field. This shooting night by the Wolfpack was the fourth-lowest percentage allowed by the North Carolina Tar Heels in any ACC game, regular season, or tournament.
“You’re not going to win many [games] if we don’t figure out to make some shots,” said Keatts.
For a team that averaged 77.7 points per game and averaged almost eight made threes per game, being shut down like this had to be disheartening. Keatts acknowledged that the team needs to get back in the gym to figure out what they need to fix as they prepare for a trip to Louisville on Saturday.
Takeaway #3: Carolina survives Wolfpack’s best shot in the second half
While NC State couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, the same couldn’t be said for the Tar Heels. It took until the second half for the offense to start to click.
The Tar Heels couldn’t even get near the foul line in the first half. Bacot even said after the game that the team knew they would get the Wolfpack’s best shot. In the second half though, they had no doubt they would prevail.
Davis seemingly took that mantra on, as he did most of his damage from the field in the second half. During the final 20 minutes, the White Plains, N.Y. native scored 11 points to help push the Tar Heels ahead for good. Those points by Davis were complimented by Ingram’s nine second-half rebounds.
When coach Davis was asked about what was different in the second half, he mentioned that they could finally control the offense’s pace.
Although they wanted to have more shots fall in, the fact that they forced the Wolfpack to commit 12 personal fouls. Those fouls allowed Carolina to go 11-of-18 from the foul line in the second half, which played a factor in sealing the victory for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels look to continue their undefeated conference start this weekend, potentially aiming for a top-five ranking in next week’s polls. For the Wolfpack, they will try to prevent its second two-game losing streak this season on the road.
Next game for the North Carolina Tar Heels: vs. Syracuse (Jan. 13 – Noon)
Next game for the NC State Wolfpack: at Louisville (Jan. 13 – Noon)