Thoughts on N. Carolina 85 – 75 Davidson

1. The type of win that the Tar Heels has become somewhat consistent over the past several seasons: Davidson hits 3s, it gets a little ugly at times, but the Heels win a hard fought game. Davidson plays tough for the first half and into the second, but ultimately dwindles. If this Davidson team plays well enough in the A10 to win the conference tournament or even get an at-large bid, they could certainly pull off a first-round upset with hot shooting come March.
2. The game started just how the Heels didn’t want to, with Davidson limiting the pace and knocking down 3s throughout the first half. Up to around the under-12 media timeout, the Heels looked a bit sluggish all-around, turning the ball over haphazardly (a couple bad ones on fast breaks especially) and allowing Davidson too many open looks at jumpshots.
3. As in years past, the Heels are most effective on offense when shots come within the regular freelance flow or off set plays. Guys going 1-on-1 against a set defense, or making drives through multiple defenders usually ends up in a bad shot or a turnover.
4. There will come a time when saying “what a game from Luke Maye” doesn’t quite have the sheen that it still does, in the same way that “what a game from [insert Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, Isaiah Hicks, Justin Jackson, Joel Berry, Kennedy Meeks]” had lost some of its novelty by the time they had gotten to Maye’s point in his career. Tom Crean said it best at halftime: “Luke Maye is just being Luke Maye.” 24 points, 17 rebounds, ’nuff said.
5. Great to see Brandon Robinson come in tonight and score 8 consecutive points. The sophomore didn’t do much of note before he had sat out a few games with a shoulder injury, but he played solid on both ends of the floor tonight which will give him some confidence moving forward. His contribution as one of the only veterans coming off the bench will be important down the road.
6. I’ve noted before the improvement needed on interior defense by the young big men, but now for a few positive things. Brooks and Manley both look (at least somewhat) confident at the FT line. Hearing the words “freshman big man” would normally indicate very bad FT% to many college basketball fans, but despite some misses tonight from them, they look to be ready to step up to the line and make FTs. They have also played ball screens well, something that is a constant point of emphasis in practice by the entire coaching staff. The big men get out and hedge hard, making the offensive guard change his path, giving the defender enough time to recover back to his man on the perimeter.

Carolina’s depth will give many teams problems this season. Playing 10-11 guys and getting solid minutes from all of them and maintaining what the starters do is an asset which will prove beneficial in bloodbath ACC regular season games. The Heels looked a little shaky at times, but got a few more stops, a few more easy shots, and wore Davidson down for a solid win going into Sunday against Tulane.