By Adam Lucas
1. One of the best performances of the season for Carolina, at least for the first 30 minutes, as the Heels smack Syracuse, 87-77. In some ways, you hope that late 37-11 Syracuse bulge–which was not attractive–is exactly what the Tar Heels need for this week: a win, but plenty to improve on going into the Duke game.
2. Sure, Caleb Wilson had 22 points and eight rebounds, but this was also a game with a wide variety of contributors. Three other Heels joined him in double figures (Henri Veesaar with 17, Jonathan Powell with 12 and Luka Bogavac with 10). Since ACC play began, the Heels are third in the country in offensive efficiency. They had another potent game, putting up 1.27 points per possession.
3. As you probably noticed, two of those double-figure scorers came off the bench, a great sign for the next six weeks. The Tar Heel reserves outscored the Syracuse bench, 27-16.
4. Carolina had one of the best three-point shooting nights of the year, both in terms of percentage (they were 8-for-18) and in the way they were selective about shooting them. Powell sank three trifectas and five other Heels made one.
5. Befitting a game with multiple contributors, even the players who didn’t score in large quantities had important roles. Derek Dixon has reignited the UNC tempo and continues to occasionally push the ball upcourt with hit-ahead passes. Jarin Stevenson worked hard running the floor to try to be available for some of those passes. Seth Trimble had four rebounds and converted a couple plays at the rim in addition to hitting some big free throws late. It was just a quality all-around night.
6. There will be more on Bogavac in the postgame column (which should be a fun one), but for now, just know that he’s 14-for-23 from the field in his last three games and 7-for-13 from three-point range. He’s also working harder on defense, which tends to go hand in hand with the shots finding the basket.
7. Two positive trends lately: first, the Heels are taking very good care of the ball. After committing just two at Georgia Tech on Saturday, they had only seven against the Cuse until suddenly becoming unable to take care of the ball late and coughing up four more. For most of the game, they looked like a more comfortable offensive team, both with ball movement and with finding teammates in quality scoring positions.
8. And the other: the Heels are dominating points off turnovers. In the last three games, that category is now 53-16 in favor of Carolina. Some of points off turnovers is just luck (live ball turnovers are more valuable than dead ones because of the transition chances), but it’s also a product of the general better flow of the offense.
9. UNC coaches have challenged the Tar Heels to be more active with their hands defensively, and it paid dividends in the first half. Carolina forced nine Syracuse turnovers and turned it into nine points in a half they led, 46-32. Also beneficial to the defense: Carolina used a variety of pressure to force a Cuse timeout off a made Wilson free throw, then surprised them again by applying some three-quarter court pressure. Just changing the defensive looks was responsible for a timeout and two turnovers during a 90-second stretch. Now the challenge is to do it for a full game: Syracuse committed just one turnover in the second half.
10. If there’s a quibble with the victory, it’s Carolina letting Syracuse trim the margin late. The Heels had a 32-point lead with ten minutes to go, but the visitors eventually got it all the way down to six with 45 seconds left. It’s still a win, but metrics take things like margin of victory into account. And metrics are important for postseason seeding. Carolina has had approximately a half-dozen games this season when a huge second-half lead eventually dwindled to just a solid win. Again, it’s a win. But the schedule gets much tougher going forward and it’s going to require 40-minute efforts.
11. Bucket hats were given to the first 2,500 students on Monday night. Well, maybe 2,499 students plus one former head coach. Roy Williams drew a big cheer when the video board showed him sporting one of the hats. “I went into the bathroom at halftime and looked in the mirror and saw how I look in it,” the Hall of Famer said after the game. “And I said, ‘Oh, no.'”
12. Carolina has quietly dominated Syracuse since the Orange joined the ACC. The Tar Heels are 15-4 against the Cuse since they joined the conference, 8-0 against them at home, and 19-7 against them all-time. The two teams will meet again at Syracuse on Feb. 21.
13. This is the kind of insight only available when you run into Tar Heel superfan and all-around nice guy David Stone before the game: Carolina is now 23-10 on Groundhog Day. Perhaps the most famous of the games on this date: the 102-100 double overtime win at Duke in 1995 (no, Jeff Capel’s halfcourt shot didn’t win it for the Blue Devils).
14. Everyone knows what comes next: Carolina’s 13-0 record at the Smith Center this season (with a margin of victory of over 20 points per game) will be tested when Duke visits on Saturday. ESPN’s College Gameday will be in town, the Smith Center will be humming, and it will be the usual bucket list evening in Chapel Hill.
