After a slow start offensively, the Tar Heels rebounded to shoot 50% on the night, led by Garrison Brooks best night since Cole Anthony’s return to the lineup. The biggest issue for the Tar Heels, though, was once again missed free throws. The Tar Heels were 9-14 from the foul line and Christian Keeling did hit three key free throws late, but they still left points on the line that ended up being the difference in the game.
Just like in the first meeting of the season, timely shots were the killer for the Tar Heels. Everytime that the Cavaliers needed a basket to regain or at least slow the momentum of Carolina, they found one. Tomas Woldetensae hit clutch shots repeatedly all night, a guy who has struggled to make much noise outside of the two games against North Carolina. He capped off his night by hitting the game-winning three, faking out Leaky Black to get an open look and once again ripping the hearts out of a Tar Heel team that came so close once again.
This season is just an anomaly. We all knew the minute that Woldetensae pulled up he was knocking down the shot. It’s just been that type of season where everything that can go wrong does. Saturday’s night did show, though, that Carolina is still playing up to their opponents and may still have a chance to make a run in the ACC Tournament if they finally get some luck to go their way.
-The Tar Heels ripped down 32 rebounds on Saturday, led by a huge performance from Armando Bacot on the glass. The freshman ripped down 16 rebounds, the most a Tar Heel in a single game this season. No other Tar Heel finished with more than five rebounds on the night.
-This has become a tradition after each game over the last couple of weeks, but we once again must mention another strong performance from Christian Keeling. In his first start since November, Keeling dropped 11 points on 4-6 shooting in 33 minutes of play. Something that was unthinkable earlier in the year, the graduate senior honestly needs to look to shoot more often, because the shooting touch is there.
-The Tar Heels injury issues this season are well known and they were on display once again in Saturday’s game. The Tar Heels played just seven players on Saturday night, with the bench failing to produce a point in 29 combined minutes on the floor.
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