Carolina got a career best 26 points from sophomore 26 as he connected on six triples, and the Tar Heels needed every one of them, as they escaped a home upset with a 94-87 win over Brown. Armando Bacot added 22 points on a 10-11 shooting night, as Carolina got caught off guard by the Ivy League school, with a late tip, and a sleepy crowd. For the game, Carolina shot 52%, and 43% from behind the arc, making that back-to-back games they’ve shot better than 50% for the game, and over 40% from bonus land. It was the defensive issues that put them on upset alert, allowing the Bears to shoot 51% from the floor while outscoring the Tar Heels 44-36 in the painted area. Brown’s bench also outscored UNC 26-19, and 11-4 in the fast break, as for the majority of the game, Brown dictated the pace of play. They did that without their best player, as Tomenang Choh is dealing with a hip injury that caused him to miss tonight’s contest. Dan Friday stepped up in his absence, scoring a team high 20 points, and teammate, Nana Owusu-Anane added 20.
Trailing 41-34 in the first half, Hubert Davis opted to call a time-out, and it proved to be the right decision as they were able to tie the game, before a buzzer beating three, had Brown up 50-47 at the break. Carolina kept playing through Bacot, as nearly every Brown starter was facing some type of foul trouble in the second half. Brady Manek wasn’t as effective from the field tonight (3-9), but was 8-9 from the foul line to earn a much needed 14 points in 33 minutes. Dawson Garcia, who got the start tonight, started slow but had a stretch where he scored 6 straight points during the second half. Despite scoring 94 points, UNC only had four players in double figures scoring, highlighted by Davis’ game best 26.
If Tuesday night, Carolina left something to be desired, tonight they displayed how much work they have to do to get where they want to go this season. Even with the return of the backcourt, and the infusion of talent in the frontcourt, the Tar Heels aren’t good enough to sleepwalk their way to a win. Here are tonight’s takeaways from the 94-87 win over Brown:
Lack of Defense: If Carolina can’t contain the dribble against Brown, they are going to have a rude awakening come ACC play, or later this month against the likes of Purdue, or Villanova. To get easy points in the lane, Brown simply beat Caleb Love, or any of the Tar Heel guards off the dribble, hence why they scored 44 points in the paint. You know how much I despise zone defense, but tonight, Davis should’ve opted for it. Carolina still had many miss communications in defending the ball screen, and there were plenty of unnecessary double teams that led to open shots for a confident Brown squad.
R.J. Davis Has Arrived: The growth of Davis may be what determines how far this Carolina team eventually goes. Tonight he led the team with 26 points and was 6-9 from behind the three-point line. In the closing minutes, the Tar Heels needed him to not only take tough shots but make them, which he did. He also led the team with 6 assists, while committing just one turnover. Many believed Davis was the primary beneficiary from the transition from Roy Williams, to Hubert Davis, and tonight proved why.
Armando Bacot Bounces Back: After just 8 points, and 6 rebounds in the win over Loyola earlier this week, Bacot responded with 22 points, and 10 rebounds, in just 27 minutes. Brown didn’t have a player on the floor that could match up with Bacot’s size or strength, allowing him to control the lane when on the floor. It was nice to see the Carolina guards play through Bacot knowing they had a mismatch inside, something they didn’t do a season ago.
Improved Offensive Rebounding: UNC recorded just 6 offensive rebounds, on Tuesday night, converting them into 9 second-chance points. Tonight they grabbed 13 offensive boards, turning them into 19 second-chance points. I think it’s evident that Hubert Davis isn’t going to emphasize offensive rebounding like Roy Williams, but they need to be more consistent in that department.
Assists/Turnovers: Only 7 turnovers for the Tar Heels tonight, compared to 16 assists, much better than their 15:12, assist to turnover ratio the other night. The downside was that they only forced 5 Brown turnovers, but 4 of them came in the second half. Davis and his staff stressed all summer long, valuing the basketball better than last season, and so far that is paying dividends.
Up Next: UNC will hit the road for the first time this year, as they’ll play at the College of Charleston on Tuesday at 8:30 pm, on CBS Sports Network.
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