Heel Tough Blog: Georgetown Recap

Bob Donnan- Imagn Images

The Tar Heels welcomed the Georgetown Hoyas to Chapel Hill on Sunday afternoon as they looked to build on the momentum they built with a win in Lexington against Kentucky earlier this week.

The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams with the Tar Heels closing the half strong to take a 44-39 into the break.

In the second half, they would put their foot on the gas, though, starting with the play of the big men and continuing with the shots that they were able to hit from the perimeter. The biggest difference in the half, though, was how much better the team defended the paint. All of that combined to allow the team to pull away and pick up a comfortable 81-61 win that advanced them to 8-1 on the season.

Leading the way on the day for the Tar Heels was Caleb Wilson, who quietly had one of his best games of the season, scoring 20 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. His frontcourt mate, Henri Veesar, had another big night for himself, as well, pouring in 18 points and ripping down 15 boards. The biggest surprise of the day, though, was freshman point guard Derek Dixon, who scored a career-high 14 off the bench in 27 minutes. Their performances combined with 14 from Luka Bogavac is a big part of the reason they were able to win so comfortably.

Here is what you should be taking away from the Tar Heels first win over Georgetown since the 1999-00 season:

• Dixon is This Team’s Best PG: While Kyan Evans did have a good start to this game, it was Dixon who played the more complete game and showed once again why he is the best option for the team at point guard. His scoring ability was a welcome compliment to the team’s inside scoring and his perimeter shooting was a big boost for a team that started slow from beyond the arc before settling in late. He also had a nice night sharing the basketball, posting a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, one that would be welcomed from that position moving forward. This was as good of a performance as you could have hoped for from Dixon following what he was able to do late in the game against Kentucky and should have fans thinking they have found their best point guard option for this season.

• 2. Big Men Dominate Again: This was expected to be a little bit of a challenge for the guys inside but it was instead another dominant performance for the Veesar-Wilson pairing. The two combined for 38 of the team’s 81 points and 29 of the team’s 45 rebounds, showing once again why this team goes as they go. Wilson recorded a double-double for the sixth time in the last seven games while Veesar has his second straight game with one and fourth game in the last six with one. This duo continues to show you why they are one of the best in the sport and one of the top that we have seen at Carolina in recent memory.

• 3. Second Half Defense Was Big: After a first half where Georgetown shot 44% and had 22 points in the paint, the Tar Heels were able to lock them down in the second half and pull away for the comfortable victory. In the second half, the Hoyas only had ten points in the paint because of how well the Tar Heels defended that area of the floor, meaning the team had to settle for more outside shots. The Hoyas would hit just one of 14 shots from the perimeter in the second half and shoot just 22% overall. The Tar Heels continue to play great defense when it matters the most and is why we have said that this is one of the best defenses that we have witnessed in recent memory.

• 4. Luka Bogavac Puts Together Efficient Performance: We have been asking for more efficiency from Bogavac and he gave it to us on Sunday. In 31 minutes, Bogavac scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting, his second time shooting at or over 50% in a game this season and the first time doing so in a game where he shot the ball double-digit times. He was just 1-5 on the day from beyond the arc and so with those struggles he decided to put the ball on the floor and create inside the arc, something the team needs him to do more often. If Bogavac can find similar efficiency more consistently, it will lead to a much more productive offense, especially in the half court.

• 5. Tar Heels Find the Range: Even though it wasn’t at an extremely efficient rate, the Tar Heels were able to find some scoring from beyond the arc on Sunday. The team knocked down nine threes, including five in the second half, led by three makes from out there by Derek Dixon. We would love to see this team find the efficiency from the outside like they did in the second half, but this was a step in the right direction for the team.