Heel Tough Blog: Boston College Recap

Bob Donnan - Imagn Images

It wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from the Tar Heels this season, especially defensively, but yesterday, Carolina gutted out a 102-96 win over Boston College in overtime, to improve to 13-8 on the season, and 6-3 in the ACC. Carolina was down by four with less than 25 seconds left to play, when Seth Trimble effectively took the game over, scoring 4 points in the closing seconds to force OT, after Carolina forced a 5-second call, to get the ball back, down two. In the extra period, Carolina played its best 5 minutes of basketball of the entire game, outsourcing the Eagles 13-7, while going perfect from the field, and from the foul line, all while holding BC scoreless over the final 2:10 in the extra period. 

Seth Trimble returned to the starting lineup, and put together his most complete performance as a Tar Heel, totaling 18 points, and 12 rebounds. RJ Davis had arguably his most complete game of the season, scoring 22 points, on 6-11 shooting, including 2-5 from behind the arc, in addition to handing out 5 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds. Elliot Cadeau continued his improved play from a scoring perspective, adding 13 points, on 4-6 shooting, and going 5-8 from the foul line. And Ian Jackson returned his form, scoring 19 points, on 8-13 shooting, 2-3 from behind the arc, in only 27 minutes. Jalen Washington had one of his best games as a Tar Heel, scoring 18 points, on 7-10 shooting, to go along with his 6 rebounds, giving Carolina a consistent inside scoring threat. Washington would leave the game in overtime, after falling and grabbing his knee, but made it known in the postgame, that he’s fine, and will be ready to go for Tuesday’s all-important game at Pittsburgh. 

The Tar Heels entered the game as the best defense in the ACC in terms of the opponent's field goal percentage, and opponent's three-point field goal percentage, but that wasn’t the case yesterday. Boston College scored the most points they have scored in almost 15 years and shot a blistering 55% from the field, and 58% from behind the arc. Boston College averaged 1.33 points per possession yesterday, which is usually more than good enough to win, instead, Carolina won their 8th game since 2007-08, when allowing an opponent to average 1.20 points per possession or better. 

Carolina may have won, but that doesn’t mean that Hubert Davis was pleased with the effort from his team, and his frustration was evident in his postgame media sessions. In the short term, his team won a game they absolutely couldn’t afford to lose, but on the other hand, flirted with disaster, once again. When you’re this deep into the season, and you don’t have an identity, that’s frustrating for all parties involved, and it’s a big reason why Carolina finds itself in the possession that it currently does. 

1. Overtime: Carolina waited until overtime to put together its best stretch of basketball, and that should be celebrated. After forcing OT, they had all the momentum, and the arena was ready to cheer on a victory. Executing down the stretch hasn’t been an inconsistent part of the season, but yesterday, Carolina stepped up to the challenge and answered the call. They were perfect from the field, perfect from the foul line, and held BC scoreless over the final 2:10 of the period, finishing the game on a 6-0 run, and providing the final margin. Getting Chad Venning out of the game was a big deal for Carolina, as the Boston College big man was a menace in the half-court, either scoring in the low post or screening open Boston College’s perimeter shooters. All in all, there was more pressure on Carolina entering the game, and that pressure only increased once they got into overtime, for a team that has struggled to close out games, you have to be proud of the way they closed out the game, with their backs against the wall. 

2. Perimeter Defense: Carolina has guarded the three-point line very well this season, leading the ACC in opponent field goal percentage from behind the arc, but that wasn’t the case yesterday, allowing Boston College to go 14-24 from distance. Two players had career days from the outside, as Dion Brown was 4-5 from distance, and Donald Hand Jr went 5-8. BC was able to generate quality looks from the outside, by using either Venning or Hastings in a simple ball screen action, and Carolina often paid too much attention to the screener and struggled to close out and contest shots consistently. Expect that to be addressed in the next couple of days of practice because Carolina isn’t equipped to win games when allowing teams to shoot that efficiently from the outside. 

3. Frontcourt Steps Up: A lot has been made about Carolina’s frontcourt this season, but they didn’t win the game yesterday without all three guys contributing. Jalen Washington was a force off the bench, scoring 18 points, and grabbing 6 rebounds. Ven-Alleb Lubin’s stat sheet won’t impress anyone, but his rim protection in overtime helped seal the deal, and he got the dunk to put the game away effectively. Ty Claude saw his first action in a few games, and his energy changed the game on both ends. Claude may have only played 5 minutes, scored 2 points, and grabbed 2 rebounds, but his presence brought an energy that the team was lacking, and you have to be impressed with how he was ready to impact the game, even with his minutes being limited over the last month or so. When Carolina gets impactful minutes from its big men, they play at a higher level and have the look and feel of a typical Tar Heel team. 

4. Free Throws: After not getting to the foul line in the loss earlier in the week to Wake Forest, Carolina was more aggressive yesterday, and they capitalized on the freebies, going 26-33 from the charity stripe. Carolina made 16 more free throws than Boston College did, and attempted 17 more for the game. RJ Davis led the way, going 8-8 from the foul line. 

5. Points in the Paint: Of the 102 points scored, 52 of them were scored inside the paint. They were efficient at the rim, going 18-29 on layups, and 5-5 on dunk attempts. A big reason why Carolina was able to thrive in the paint was the new starting lineup that Hubert Davis deployed, which opened up driving lanes for all the guards and giving Washington more room to operate in the paint. All of that success in the paint, freed up Ian Jackson for some clutch three-point shots in the second, helping put together Carolina’s most complete offensive performance of the season. 

6. New Starting Lineup: After back-to-back losses, it was time for Hubert Davis to switch up the starting lineup, and he did so in a big way, sending Drake Powell and Jalen Washington to the bench, in favor of Seth Trimble and Ven-Allen Lubin. With the way that Carolina performed offensively, it’s hard to justify going back to the other lineup, but what they sacrificed defensively, does raise another concern for Hubert Davis and this coaching staff. 

Up Next: Carolina is back in action on Tuesday night, when they travel to Pittsburgh, looking for another win to add to its ledger, as they continue to build their NCAA Tournament resume. Tip is set for 9 PM on ESPN. 

The Four Corners Podcast: