After getting blown out at Clemson on Monday, Carolina responded in a big way, earning an 88-82 win over Syracuse on Saturday night, snapping a four-game losing streak on the road, and in the process, improved to 15-11 on the season, 8-6 in ACC play, keeping them in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament. Carolina was led by Ian Jackson, who scored 23 points off the bench, on 8-15 shooting, including going 5-10 from behind the arc. This comes after was moved to the bench after a rough three-game stretch, including being held scoreless in the win over Pittsburgh, and the loss to Clemson. He wasn’t the only Tar Heel to enjoy such a big-time performance, as Jae’Lyn WIthers led UNC starters with 19 points, on 7-10 shooting, including a blistering 3-4 from behind the arc. Those two guys paced an offensive performance that saw Carolina score 88 points on the road while shooting 49% from the field, and 46% from behind the arc.
Unlike in the losses at Pittsburgh, Wake Forest or even Clemson earlier this week, Carolina was able to sustain its intensity over the course of 40 minutes, and that’s the biggest reason why they won. The Orange were able to hang around in both halves, but they never were able to take the lead, even with Eddie Lampkin scoring a career-high 26 points, and JJ Starling adding 22. Hubert Davis told his team before the game that this game was going to be won in the trenches, and even though Carolina lost the battle of the boards 40-36, they competed on the offensive glass, losing the margin 15-13, but they didn’t allow the bigger Orange to overwhelm them on the glass. Syracuse may have scored 82 points, but they only shot 44% from the field and were just 4-13 (31%) from behind the arc in last night’s game. When they upset UNC last season, they were able to do so while shooting efficiently and effectively from mid-range and beyond, but that was not the case this time around.
With other bubble teams earning big wins over the weekend, it was important for UNC to keep pace, and not lose a game that would make their path to the NCAA Tournament that much harder. While the win may not be as pretty as some fans would’ve liked for it to be, or as dominant, winning is the name of the game right now for this team, and the win sets the team up with a chance to build momentum as they return home for two games against struggling opponents. Here’s what to take away from the win over Syracuse last night:
Ian Jackson Responds: After having multiple mid-week film sessions with Hubert Davis, the freshman from New York responded with 23 points, on 8-15 shooting, including going 5-10 from behind the arc. He took better shots, he created rhythm with his dribble drive, and competed defensively as well as he has in any game this season. He needs to be the Robin to RJ Davis’s Batman, and hopefully, last night was him coming out of his midseason slump because Carolina is going to need him down the stretch, as they try to take advantage of a less-than-stellar schedule to close down February.
Jae’Lyn Withers Delivers: WIhters has had an up and down two seasons in Chapel Hill, but was big for Carolina last night, scoring 19 points, on 7-10 shooting, while going 3-4 from deep. The 19 points, tied a high for him at UNC and was one off his career high in between stops at UNC and Louisville. He started his second straight game, and after this performance, it’ll be hard to take him out of the lineup. He set the tone with energy and effort defensively and was rewarded with his best offensive output of the season. You just have to hope it’s not a little too late for Hubert Davis to have found out the best role for the super senior forward, who returned to Carolina to avenge his unfortunate mistakes in the loss to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Perimeter Shooting: Carolina shot 46% from behind the arc, on 13 makes. That’s not too bad for a team that entered the game as the fourth-worst three-point shooting team in UNC history. The 13 makes are tied for the most this season, tying the 13 they made against Elon in the season opener back in November. Ian Jackson led the way with his 5 made triples, as he was one of five Tar Heels to make at least one three.
Point Guard Davis: Sure Elliot Cadeau only played 18 minutes because of foul trouble, but it’s also because Hubert Davis has entrusted RJ Davis to run the offense, and he showed why last night, scoring 16 points, and handing out 6 assists against just one turnover. Cadeau on the other hand, turned it over 4 times in his 18 minutes and has 18 games of at least 3 turnovers this season alone. This only works if Davis has help from Ian Jackson providing some additional backcourt scoring, but nonetheless, Davis’s decision-making is better than Cadeau’s, and he needs to be the one initiating all of Carolina’s offensive action, to ensure they are getting the most out of their possessions to finish out the season.
Defensive Adjustments: Not only did Hubert Davis make some adjustments on the offensive end, he did so defensively as well, applying the full-court press more frequently, and even dropping back into a 2-3 zone a time or two, to confuse Syracuse. Those subtle changes did change the rhythm and the flow of the game and helped Carolina get key stops and pivotal points in the game. UNC has its flaws defensively, but when you apply the full-court press and change up things in the halfcourt, it does give them a better chance at competing on that end of the floor.
Up Next: Carolina is back at home on Wednesday night, when they host in-state rival, NC State, with tip set for 7 PM on ESPN.
The Four Corners Podcast;
Commentaires