
In the ugliest win of the year, and one of the ugliest wins of the Hubert Davis era, the Tar Heels went on the road, and took down NC State 63-61, to win their third straight game, and improve to 11-6 on the season, and 4-1 in the ACC. With the game tied at 61 with 41 seconds left, Carolina called a timeout, and set up a play, looking to take the lead, and Elliot Cadeau was able to find an open Jalen Washington, who dunked the ball home, to give Carolina the lead. On the ensuing final possession, Washington rejected State’s attempt to tie the game and secured one of the sweetest wins of the season, restoring order in the rivalry, after falling to the Wolfpack in the ACC Championship game last March. The final sequence for Washington capped off his best game as a Tar Heel, as he registered his first career double-double, scoring 11 points, and grabbing 12 rebounds, in 27 minutes.Â
It was a low-scoring game overall, and a low-scoring game in the first half, as Carolina led 26-20 at the intermission. The 26 points scored, were the fewest in a half this season, and the 20 points allowed were the fewest allowed in a half as well. That first half set the tone for the game, as State shot just 37% from the field, and 16% from behind the arc, as they were 3-19. The Heels were able to grind out the win, all while shooting 43% from the field, but they were 7-19 from deep, which was enough to get the job done. Ian Jackson continued his impressive play, scoring a game-high 21 points, on 8-15 shooting, including 5-8 from deep. RJ Davis was the third Tar Heel to reach double figures, scoring 11 points, despite not attempting a single foul shot.Â
Have to give State credit, they never let Carolina run away with the game. Early in the second half, UNC held a 35-27 lead, but a 9-0 run by the Wolfpack gave them a brief 36-35 advantage. Later on the in the half, Carolina built a 56-47 lead, before an 11-0 run, gave State the lead. A month ago, Carolina more than likely loses this game, but those close losses against Kansas, Michigan State, and Florida, served as learning lessons for this team and has paid off, in road wins at Notre Dame, and now NC State in conference play, where Carolina finds itself at 4-1.Â
With three straight wins, it’s fair to say that this team is finding out who they are on both ends of the floor, and is developing a backbone in the process. After the final horn, multiple UNC players, led by Ian Jackson motioned to State players, and the fans, to let them know what had just occurred, and showing the fight this group is developing. It all culminated today, in a win on the road, that is helping this team build momentum for the first time this season.Â
Jalen Washington: A lot has been said about Jalen Washington (myself included), but this type of performance was coming. Washington was played at a much more consistent level defensively in the wins over Notre Dame, and SMU, where he recorded 9 blocks. He and Elliot Cadeau have started to develop a nice two-man game, getting him the ball where he likes it. Today, Washington was benched initially, after getting outworked, and out-toughened by Ben Middlebrooks, but responded with his best game as a Tar Heel, totaling a 12-point, 11-rebound, double-double, and Carolina needed every bit of it. Like the Notre Dame game was a potentially season-changing game for Elliot Cadeau, the same could be for Jalen Washington, who now has proved to himself, and his teammates, that he can be the big man this team needs him to be, to reach its fullest potential. No player should be more happy tonight than Washington, who has endured a lot, on and off the court during his time in Chapel Hill.Â
Ian Jackson: What Cooper Flagg did earlier today for Duke is going to get all the headlines, but what Ian Jackson did today needs to be celebrated just as much. Jackson, who has morphed into the #1 scoring option for Carolina, scored a game-high 21 points, and hit timely shots down the stretch, to keep Carolina ahead. He did this after making it known publicly he didn’t view this as a rivalry game, which didn’t sit well with the Wolfpack faithful in the Lenovo Center. Hubert Davis has talked glowingly about Jackson’s ability to score but has detailed how he’s grown defensively and as a leader. We’re seeing all of that come to fruition, as he has emerged not just as the best scorer on the team, but the best player on the team, which didn’t seem logical entering the season with the defending ACC Player of the Year, and first-team All-American on it. Enjoy him Carolina fans, he won’t be in Chapel Hill for long.Â
Rebounding: Carolina was not ready to compete on the glass after the opening tip, giving up numerous offensive rebounds in the first couple possessions of the game. That led to Hubert Davis to bench Jalen Washington for Ven-Allen Lubin, who also initially struggled to keep his man off the glass. But after being challenged by their head coach, both guys responded, and combined to record 21 rebounds, as Carolina won the battle of the boards, 40-38, despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds.Â
Easy Offense: There weren’t many free throw opportunities for Carolina today, forcing them to generate easy offense in other ways. For a game that was played mostly in the halfcourt, Carolina was able to produce 16 fast break points, which helped push them over the top.Â
Sharing is Caring: Carolina made 26 baskets today, and 17 of them were assisted on, led by Elliot Cadeau, and his 11 assists. Conversely, State assisted on just 7 of their 24 made baskets, having to generate offense individually, instead of as a team. With Jackson’s ability to play iso, it would be easy for this team to get caught up in that style of play, but this plays its best basketball when it plays together, and that’s what they did today, and it helped them earn a win.Â
Rotation: Hubert Davis has found his rotation it looks like. Amid the emergence of Ian Jackson, and even with the move of Seth Trimble to the bench, it has come at the expense of Cade Tyson, who hasn’t played in back-to-back games. Neither has Ty Claude for that matter. Trimble played 25 minutes off the bench, Lubin played 13, and Withers played 4. This coaching staff gave both of those guys as much time as possible to earn consistent minutes, but this is the group that Carolina needs to roll with moving forward.Â
Order Restored: For all the talk about this no longer being a rivalry, the way that Carolina celebrated on the court after the final horn would suggest otherwise. After losing to State back in March in the final of the ACC Tournament, Carolina was in danger of losing to Wolfpack in back-to-back times for the first time since 2003. Instead, the win improves Carolina to 39-7 in the last 46 games, and Hubert Davis is now 6-2 against State, following in the path of his mentor, who was 33-5 against NC State during his time in Chapel Hill. UNC is now 20-6 against their rival in the Lenovo Center, and 70-48 all-time in Raleigh.Â
2-0 In the Throwbacks: Carolina opted to wear the 1980’s throwback uniforms today, and they won in them again, improving to 2-0 in the retros. They also wore them in the win over UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. There isn’t a single bad uniform that Carolina wears, but if they could ever incorporate the argyle into the throwback look….
Up Next: Carolina returns home to host California on Wednesday night. That game is set to tip off at 7 PM, on the ACC Network.
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