Two questions arise from Carolina’s 92-73 domination of Miami Saturday at the Smith Center.
Was the Tar Heels’ fifth straight win (over the ACC’s last place team) more about their own improvement than the Hurricanes tropical storm mentality, blowing hot and cold, if not on and off, as the worst defense in the league?
And will UNC be looking ahead to Saturday and Duke when it goes to Virginia Tech Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum, where the well-coached Hokies could be a dangerous opponent despite their 12 home losses this season?
The Heels are on a mission to win six straight to keep alive a bid to an NCAA tournament. They will be heavy underdogs against the second-ranked Dukies — but such a streak would have them and the home crowd as high as the Teflon dome by tip-off.
Carolina’s team and individual stats against Miami were almost out of the (Dean Dome) world, a combination of hot shooting and The U’s lack of resistance. The Tar Heels continued their sensational offensive numbers against five opponents whose combined ACC record is 21-64, shooting a season high against conference opponents and the best three-point percentage in all 30 games thus far.
Since losing at Clemson, they have averaged 91 points per game, and before that it was only 80 points per game. Their leads in those last five games were at least 21 points, shooting 59 percent from the floor and the second highest since a 52-point win over American in November. Making 68 percent in the second half was the highest of any half this season.
Everything was going in the hole, including the 94-foot putt by a student who won $500 from Harris Teeter during a timeout.
Who is to credit and who’s to blame?
Carolina is playing and shooting better, for sure, even if the winning streak included two teams (defending ACC champion N.C. State and Miami) favored to be among the three schools that will not make the 15-team conference tournament in Charlotte. That’s a new rule implemented after the ACC added Cal, SMU, and Stanford, all three likely qualifiers.
The two-forward lineup that Hubert Davis has settled on is working like magic. On Saturday, Ven-Allen Lubin led the Tar Heels in scoring for the first time this season with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting, his fourth straight game in double figures. He is the ninth Tar Heel to lead the team in scoring, which should indicate a well-balanced team, but only lately.
UNC’s Ven-Allen Lubin continues to have one of the best shooting efficiency seasons in program history, with many of his baskets coming right at the rim. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Jae’Lyn Withers, who admitted after 26 games that he finally “woke up,” is now living the dream with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double that included making both his 3-point attempts and adding 4 assists while sharing the most minutes (33) with R.J. Davis. Carolina is now 5-0 when J-Wit has a double-double, and he has scored in double figures for three straight games and four of the last five. During this winning streak, he has totaled 65 points — one more point than in the Heels’ previous 18 games. If only he had woken up sooner.
“He thinks he’s getting a little bit older and lost a little bit of his athleticism,” said Tyler Hansbrough, game analyst on the Tar Heel Sports Network. “He’s athletic and he’s long and he can do a lot of different things besides scoring to impact the game. He moves well without the ball, too. At times, he needs to play more disciplined, [but] I think you’re gonna see a huge improvement from him.”
Meanwhile, super-senior Davis played in his 168th game and will tie Armando Bacot’s UNC and ACC record at Virginia Tech. They both took their fifth “COVID” season. With 13 points, R.J. surpassed the 2,600-point mark in his career — third place in UNC history — and, with three 3-pointers, moved into sixth place in the ACC for most career long balls with 377.
Other Tar Heels shot well from long distance on Saturday, which helped keep Miami at an arms length. Drake Powell and Seth Trimble each went 2-for-3 from the arc. Powell finished with 16 points, one off his season high against SMU. Trimble continues to get his groove on, combining to make four treys in the previous 10 game, adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists against Miami — one behind game leaders Davis and Elliot Cadeau.
“At times we’ve moved the ball better than we have all year,” added Hansbrough, UNC’s all-time scorer. “We went from side to side and guys were cutting and moving. Lubin did a great job, especially in the high pick-and-roll situations. Whenever his man helped on R.J., Lubin cut right to the rim while his man was still on R.J. Overall, our whole team is playing with more of a purpose. We’re taking better care of the ball and we’re having a little better structure when we get into our offensive sets as well.”
Everyone who played scored, and only Cade Tyson and Jalen Washington did not scratch in the second half, when Miami was behind by double figures after trailing 46-31 at the half thanks to a 12-2 run by the Tar Heels over the last three minutes. That was fueled during an atypical timeout called by Hubert Davis with his team lapsing on defense all over the place.
Lubin explained what went on in the animated huddle. “If they don’t feel us on the defensive end, they just feel like they can get the shots, whatever they want and we just gotta be more of a defensive presence in making them feel us and making tough shots. Coach just said we know we can do it, and we haven’t seen it yet, so he wants us to start.”
Head coach Hubert Davis speaks to his team in a huddle during a timeout in the first half of Saturday’s game vs. Miami. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
So, Tuesday night in Blacksburg once again becomes the most important game of the season: one the Tar Heels must win to avoid needing a miracle to return to the NCAA Tournament. Beating Miami was expected — now the must-win is at Virginia Tech.
“Miami’s not the best team to really gauge the shooting percentage because defensively they haven’t been good all year,” Hansbrough said. “But what I do like from this game is you didn’t see a lot of guys taking the first look they got from the outside. Sometimes, we’ve kind of settled and have shot early three-pointers instead of working the defense and getting the ball inside for the high percentage shot. And you’re finding guys that are putting themself in better position, and we’re moving the ball to where a lot of those three- pointers aren’t contested and we’re not having to take as many shots late in the clock.”
The other clock is ticking. Five down, one to go.
Featured image by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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