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Did Carolina win by lucking out or with true toughness?
What a dysfunctional mess during the middle of the second half, when only R.J. Davis confidently shot the ball. Even after the Tar Heels jumped out to a 10-point lead, the UNC VIP section looked worried. Roy Williams was flanked by Mitch Kupchak and Buzz Peterson. New basketball general manager Jim Tanner has reportedly hired Peterson to be on his administrative staff.
The Heels couldn’t buy one during a long cold spell when Wake Forest rallied and traded the lead until the last three minutes. Davis “willed” in his fifth 3-pointer of the game and Ven-Allen Lubin slammed in a feed from Elliot Cadeau and an offensive rebound. Slam, bam, thank you, man!
UNC shot 34 percent overall and was saved by making eight three-pointers while the Deacons missed 20 of 22 from the arc. Wake is out of the NCAA Tournament again, while Carolina doesn’t necessarily have to beat Duke in tonight’s first ACC semifinal. A decent showing like last Saturday night could be enough. Losses by Ohio State and Arkansas have moved the Tar Heels, temporarily, into the NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN.
The Blue Devils proved they are great beyond Cooper Flagg, who sprained his ankle in the first game against Georgia Tech and will likely not play again in Charlotte as he starts rehabbing for the NCAA Tournament. Duke is 10 deep with guys we haven’t seen much, but they still have firepower.
R.J. was his own hero, playing through a sprained ankle to finish with 23 points and keep his program alive for its first ACC Tourney championship since 2016. He found a hole on the right side and drained the shot that essentially won the game.
“Truly a tough player and shows the type of person he is,” Lubin said.
Seth Trimble, in the midst of a horrid shooting slump, still made 8 of 9 from foul line to finish with 10 points, matching Lubin, who had his second straight double-double tying his career high with 13 rebounds.
The 68-59 victory was much harder than the final score.
The Tar Heels began as ugly as they were beautiful the day before, playing foolish and sluggish as they committed five turnovers before breaking a sweat and missed 9 of their first 10 shots.
With Hubert Davis having conniptions on the sideline, they finally got it together on a couple of runs that tied the game while Wake went cold. On par to shoot a season-low percentage in the first half, Carolina warmed up to take a short lead at halftime, improving to 36 percent from the floor and wound up making 8 for 22 from the arc.
The survivor of this game had to play harder AND smarter in the second half for Hubert Davis to earn his 100th win as UNC’s head coach. His team did, reaching Carolina’s 55th semifinal in 72 ACC Tourneys.
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Featured image via Todd Melet
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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