It’s the week of Thanksgiving, which means Feast Week is here, and Carolina will be at the forefront of the action, as they are set to compete in the 40th Maui Invitational, a field that has four top-10 teams in it, for the second straight season. The Tar Heels are participating in the Maui Invitational for a record ninth time and will look to match the Duke Blue Devils for the most Maui titles, at 5. The last time we saw Carolina, they beat Hawaii, 87-69 on Friday night, after making the trip to Hawaii earlier than any other school competing in the Maui Invitational, to help get adjusted to the time difference, ahead of the tournament. Carolina’s guards were dominant once again, combining to score 48 points, to lead the way, while the frontcourt got overwhelmed, losing the rebounding battle 40-27. You know that rebounding was reinforced in the practice after the Hawaii, and will be a common theme to watch over the next three days.
Ever since Anthony Grant took over as the head coach at Dayton, he has restored the Flyers to one of the best mid-major programs in all of college basketball. The Covid pandemic took away Dayton not only earning a #1 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but that team was very capable of winning it all, despite playing in the A10. This year? The Flyers were picked to finish second in the league, and they have lived up to the hype, running out to a 5-0 start. They have four players averaging double-figures scoring, led by Enoch Cheeks, who leads them in scoring at 15.0 points per game, and in rebounding, at 8.3. In an era where many teams live and die by the three-point shot, Dayton is among the best teams from inside the arc. The Flyers shoot 62% from two-point land, a top-11 mark in all of college basketball.
The last three times that Carolina won the Maui Invitational, (2004, 2008, and 2016), the Tar Heels would go on to win the national championship the following April. Obviously, Carolina can’t win a national championship this week, but they can send a message because to do so, they’ll more than likely have to beat two top-5 teams in the process. To do that, Carolina will have to start playing close to 40 minutes, something they’ve failed to do so far this season, and hold their own on the backboard, another area that needs improvement in the early part of the season. But they can’t get too far ahead of themselves, and take this one game at a time, starting later tonight, with the Dayton Flyers:
Win the Race to 80: The Tar Heels are a top-10 scoring offense, at scoring over 93 points per game. Meanwhile, Dayton has been high-scoring in their own right, at 77 points per game. The Flyers won’t be afraid to seek their opportunities in transition, and given their ability to shoot from inside the arc, they are more than capable of scoring against Carolina. But can they keep up with the Tar Heels and their many different scoring options?
Compete on the Glass: Both teams enter this game, averaging exactly 39 rebounds per game. But then again, Carolina entered the Hawaii game with a plus-7 rebounding margin on paper, and they were overwhelmed 40-27, including 23-14 in the first half. Hubert Davis has talked at length in the early part of the season, about the importance of rebounding the basketball, and reminding them that Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot aren’t suiting up anymore. Jalen Washington has yet to have a big night on the glass, and his 5.3 rebounding average just isn’t good enough for this team to reach its fullest potential. Dayton doesn’t have the size that will overwhelm Carolina, but neither did Hawaii and they owned the backboards. It comes down to energy, effort, and want to, and you hope they received the message, and at least hold their own on the offensive and defensive glass tonight.
Get Into Their Bench: Dayton isn’t afraid to play 8-9 guys, but their bench isn’t as talented as Carolina’s, which has two McDonald’s All-Americans. One thing Carolina has excelled at early in the season is getting to the foul line, they average making 23.9 foul shots per game, and they shoot 86% from the foul line as a team. It’s one of the reasons why their offense is as elite as it's been to start the season. Teams are going to try and manage their minutes all tournament long, but Carolina can force the issue, by getting them into foul trouble, and force them to rely on their reserves more than they want to.
UNC in Maui:
The Tar Heels are 22-4 all-time in Maui, including 18-3 in the Lahaina Center. They have won the event four times, most recently back in 2016. Back in 2020, the Tar Heels played for the Maui title, but ultimately fell to Texas.
Series History:
The Tar Heels are 1-2 all-time against Dayton, with the most recent matchup coming back in the 2010 NIT Final, a win for the Flyers. Dayton also beat UNC in the 1967 Final Four, the first Final Four for Dean Smith. They have only played one on-campus game, an 81-51 win for UNC in 2006.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 11th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 119.9 (5th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 96.4 (38th)
Dayton - 38th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 112.9 (48th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 95.8 (32nd)
TV Info:
Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at approximately 11:30 PM on ESPN2.
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