By Adam Lucas
1. The Heels got a solid 81-61 win over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center.
2. Carolina’s combination of big men was just too much. Henri Veesaar had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Caleb Wilson had 20 points and 14 rebounds.
3. Carolina faced a tough offensive challenge against a Georgetown team that was willing to sag into the paint and concede some three-pointers. The Heels wanted to take the shots that were available, but also wanted to capitalize on their advantage in the paint. They took 15 of their 33 shots from three in the first half, hitting four of them, while piling up 20 points in the paint and shooting 67 percent on two-point attempts.
4. The second half offense, in contrast, usually went inside first, and that opened up some much better looks from the perimeter. The Tar Heels hit five of 13 from three in the second half, with five different players hitting a trifecta. When the Heels shoot like that from the outside they’re very tough to stop. UNC hit 48.1 percent from the field in the second half.
5. One of those players hitting from the outside was Derek Dixon. The freshman continues to do many things solidly and shoot from the perimeter extremely well. He made three of his five three-point attempts and is now 12-for-25 from three on the year. Dixon finished with 14 points and three assists against just two turnovers in his 27 minutes.
6. Another Hoya characteristic–the ability to dramatically limit turnovers–played a role in short-circuiting many transition opportunities. The visitors had just one turnover in the first half, meaning the Heels got very few running chances and had zero fast break points. Georgetown had just four turnovers in the game.
7. Either Veesaar or Wilson has now led UNC in scoring and rebounding in eight of the nine games this season.
8. They were also an important part of the defensive effort, where UNC–the 15th-best field goal percentage defense team in the country–was again solid. The Hoyas hit just 33.3 percent from the field and UNC is now 50-4 when holding foes under 40 percent from the field in the Davis era.
9. Fun day on Sunday, as Carolina had a throwback game and encouraged fans to wear their best vintage gear. The Tar Heels also participated, as they wore their white throwback jerseys from the 1980s. Expect more theme games for the rest of December: Saturday (12/13) fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy for charity (and Mr. Beast will be on hand to give away money to a lucky UNC student), the Dec. 16 game against ETSU will have a puppy race at halftime, Dec. 22 against ECU will be holiday-themed, and the Dec. 30 ACC opener against FSU will be a Happy Blue Year game, with everyone–including the Heels–wearing blue.
10. Sunday’s win evened the all-time series with Georgetown at five wins apiece. That takes down to eight the number of programs that have played at least ten games against Carolina and sport a winning record (they are Army, Navy, George Washington, West Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Ole Miss and NYU). Somewhat surprisingly, Sunday was the first UNC win over Georgetown since the Maui Invitational in November of 1999.
11. The Tar Heels now get a week off for exams after finishing a tough four-game stretch where the opponents were a combined 27-6 coming into Sunday’s game. The Heels picked up three wins in those four games and are well positioned for a couple of home games before facing Ohio State in Atlanta on Dec. 20.
