For the 15th time in the last 21 seasons, the Tar Heels have swept the regular season series from the NC State Wolfpack, after they blew out their in-state rival, 97-73 tonight in a snowy Smith Center. With the weather in the area, Carolina pulled the tickets for tonight’s game and encouraged fans who could walk to the game to show up, and they did so in a big way, creating a unique environment, which Carolina fed off of right out of the gate, on the way to the blowout victory. The Tar Heels were led by RJ Davis, who scored 21 points, despite a 6-18 shooting night, and a 1-8 night from behind the arc. He made up for it by going a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe, as he moved into 4th place on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. He was one of four UNC players to reach double figures scoring, followed by Ven-Allen Lubin (13), Seth Trimble (15), and Ian Jackson (12). Carolina scored its 97 points on an efficient 57% shooting night, and they stayed hot from behind the arc, connecting on 8 of 20 (40%), three-pointers. In total, 10 players scored for Carolina tonight, in what might’ve been the most complete performance of the season, as UNC improved to 16-11 on the season, and is now 9-6 in the ACC.
Despite the win at Syracuse over the weekend, Hubert Davis opted to switch up his starting lineup again tonight, moving Seth Trimble to the bench, in favor of freshman Drake Powell. The move gave Carolina more size and length, and it appeared to pay off in a major way, as Carolina was relentless in the halfcourt contesting shots and was able to force multiple turnovers when they picked up the full-court press. As has been the case when this team has played at a high level, it was the defense fueling the offense in the first half, as Carolina raced out to a 52-26 lead at the break, their largest halftime lead against State since 2017. State would heat up in the second half to shoot 46% for the game, but they shot just 26% from the field in the first half, and were 2-10 from behind the arc, looking like the second-worst offensive team in the ACC, which they are statistically.
Given the Tar Heels record and lack of Quad 1 wins, the team finds itself in “must-win” mode heading down the stretch of ACC play, with many people believing they have to win out in the regular season to make the NCAA Tournament. Tonight started a stretch of three games in five days, that could allow the team to get hot at just the right time, and if tonight was any indication, they may have found something in the win at Syracuse last Saturday, which may have saved the season.
Defense to Offense: Carolina is built to live in transition, and score in the open floor, and when they’ve been able to do that, they’ve had the look of a team that could play with anybody in the country, Tonight, it allowed them to overwhelm a rival, who had no answers for their energy, and intensity out of the gate. Hubert Davis was aggressive with the press, which resulted in multiple turnovers, and layups the other way. When Carolina wasn’t forcing turnovers, they were getting missed shots, and running the ball up State’s backside as they tried to get back in position defensively. Carolina scored 14 points in transition, on their way to scoring 52 points in the paint.
New Starting 5: Hubert Davis is still looking for the right mix of starters, and he may have found it with the lineup he went with tonight, consisting of Cadeau, Davis, Powell, Withers, and Lubin. That starting 5 gives Carolina more length and size, allowing them to impact the game more on the defensive end, and crash the boards more effectively. They were able to set the tone, which was carried over by the reserves.
Bench Production: Speaking of the bench, they enjoyed a big night as well, as Seth Trimble and Ian Jackson both scored in double figures. You could argue that Trimble was the best player on the floor tonight, scoring 15 points, and grabbing 7 rebounds, in 26 minutes. Jackson was able to follow up his 23-point performance at Syracuse, with 12 points tonight, including a ridiculous three in front of the Carolina bench that will have NBA scouts drooling when they watch the film. In total, Carolina’s bench outscored State’s bench, 43-26.
Rebounding: The bigger lineup led to Carolina controlling eh glass immediately, on their way to outrebounding State, 40-21. Even with Carolina shooting 57% from the field, they still managed to grab 14 offensive rebounds and score 21 second-chance points. Trimble led UNC in rebounding with 7 off the bench, while Ven-Allen grabbed 5 to rebound out his 13-point night.
Perimeter Shooting: After making 13 threes at Syracuse, Carolina followed that up tonight by going 8-20 from behind the arc, overcoming RJ’s 1-8 effort. Five different Tar Heels got in on the action from deep, including Cade Tyson who was 2-3 from behind the arc. If Carolina can somehow get him going…
RJ Davis: It wasn’t the best shooting night for RJ, who was just 6-18 from the field, but he still managed to score 21 points and move into 4th place on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. With the ball in his hands more, he handed out 5 assists, giving him 11 assists against 2 turnovers in Carolina’s last two wins.
State Dominance: Carolina is now 168-81 all-time against NC State, the most wins against a single opponent in program history. They are 32-7 against the Pack in the Smith Center, and they are 40-7 overall against State over the last 22 seasons.
Up Next: Carolina is back at home on Saturday when they will host the Virginia Cavaliers. Tip is set for 4 PM on ESPN2.
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