UNC basketball continued their winning ways, defeating Miami 92-73 Saturday afternoon in the Dean E. Smith Center.
UNC Basketball had an opportunity to overlook a Miami team that has failed to live up to expectations after their 2023 Final Four run. Ven-Allen Lubin led the Tar Heels with 19 points while adding five rebounds. Freshman Drake Powell was another one of six Tar Heels to score in double-figures, adding 16 points and six boards.
Seniors Matthew Cleveland and Brandon Johnson recorded the bulk of the Hurricanes offense, dropping 25 and 20 points respectively. This was Miami’s fifth straight loss and third straight by 10 or more points.
Takeaway #1: Shooting over 50% from three kept Carolina ahead
Despite the rollercoaster ride that has been the Tar Heels 2024-25 campaign, one constant has been their ability to shoot over 40% from the field. With the exception of their conference opener against Georgia Tech, Carolina has been shooting nearly 50%.
Ven-Allen Lubin led the Tar Heels with 19 points while six different players scored in double figures. This was his highest scoring output as a Tar Heel, but came six points shy of his career-high of 25 while he was at Vanderbilt.
Ven with 10 pts in the second half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JC611n0jtZ
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 1, 2025
“[Lubin] has been a consistent rim presence for us over the last five or six games,” said Hubert Davis. “We can throw the ball into the post and we can score. Teams defensively have been playing 15, which means switching everything on the ball, and so when teams do that, you have to punish them with the advantage.”
Takeaway #2: Cleveland and Johnson were Miami’s only consistent offense
For the first time in ACC history, a team played a conference game knowing that they will not be traveling to Charlotte. Miami, after losing to Duke on Tuesday, entered the Dean Dome knowing they had three games left in their season.
The start the game off, the Hurricanes played with Carolina and keeping the deficit under 10 points. Matthew Cleveland and Brandon Johnson, both seniors, scored 55 of Miami’s 73 points. The rest of the team only shot 10-0f-30 from the field.
Transition 🪣s
Watch: ESPN pic.twitter.com/qeoPe2xuHh
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 1, 2025
“I thought we did a good job on RJ Davis in the first half in particular, and the other guys stepped up,” said interim coach Bill Courtney. “Seth Trimble buried a couple of three’s, then Wither’s buried a couple of three’s. They present a lot of challenges.”
Miami finished off the season with matchups against Georgia Tech and NC State before they begin to zero in on their next head coach.
Takeaway #3: Carolina dominating the paint
One part of Carolina’s roster that some pundits thought would cause some issues for them was lack of size inside. This would also cause some issues when trying to get some offense inside the paint.
For the fourth straight game, the Tar Heels have outscored their opponents inside the paint by more than 10 points. Against the Hurricanes, 50% of Carolina’s scoring output was inside the paint.
Made it look easy 😮💨 @ElliotCadeau pic.twitter.com/EELq0Xpw5r
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 1, 2025
“Everybody is talented enough to make shots,” said Lubin after the game. “Whenever the ball finds anybody at the right moment, we expect them to make shots and to move the ball to find the right guy. It’s really a credit to all of us and just trusting each other and continuing to move the ball and find an offensive flow.”
With the final week of the regular season upon us, Carolina can not afford any losses if they want to take Hubert Davis to his third NCAA Tournament in four seasons.
Up next for Miami (6-23, 2-16): at Georgia Tech (15-15, 9-9) – Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. EST
Up next for North Carolina (19-11, 12-6): at Virginia Tech (13-16, 8-10) – Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. EST