Quick Hitters - North Carolina vs. Notre Dame

Isaac Schade presents Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 66-65 home win over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon.

Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 66-65 home win over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon.

Highlights:

Condensed Game:

• Carolina got a much-needed first ACC win of the season in the type of game that turned into a loss just about every time last year. After Leaky Black’s driving lay-up gave UNC a one-point lead on the final offensive possession, the Tar Heels survived Notre Dame’s last-second shot. The team did just enough to finally get over the hump. Let’s see if this victory can build some positive ACC momentum moving forward. Here's Black's go-ahead bucket with nine seconds left:

• After starting the same lineup for the first eight games of the season, Coach Roy Williams has deployed two different sets of five starters in the past two games. RJ Davis, Andrew Platek, Kerwin Walton, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Armando Bacot started against Georgia Tech. Today the Tar Heel head man kept Walton, Bacot, and Sharpe, and added Caleb Love and Leaky Black back into the starting unit in place of RJ Davis and Andrew Platek.
• In four of the past five games, Carolina has had precisely 18 turnovers. Today seemed destined for the same outcome. The Heels had committed four by the first media timeout and five in the first 5:00. Thankfully those first 5:00 were not an indicator of what was in store – Carolina only had three more turnovers in the final 35:00. They finished the game with eight, a season low.
• The other major statistical factor, according to Roy Williams, was Carolina’s rebounding (and specifically the offensive variety). The Tar Heels grabbed 21 offensive rebounds (a season high), grabbed 46.7 percent of all available offensive rebounds and 44.4 percent of missed field goals (21 of 45). Overall, Carolina had a season-high plus-21 rebounding margin. Additionally, UNC only allowed Notre Dame three offensive rebounds (after allowing just two against Georgia Tech earlier this week).
• The Tar Heels do, however, need to be more effective at turning those second-chance opportunities into points. Despite leading the offensive rebound battle by an astounding 21-3 count, Carolina only outscored Notre Dame 18-5 in second-chance points.
• Believe it or not, prior to today, no Tar Heel had scored 20 points in a game this season. Day’Ron Sharpe changed that narrative by dropping in 25. One of my big questions coming into the game was, “Who will step up?” Today, and with respect to Kerwin Walton, Sharpe was that person. At times in the second half, he single-handedly carried the Tar Heels offensively. Sharpe also chipped in nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive.

• Another of Sharpe’s contributions today could be easily overlooked: he came into the game shooting 51.4 percent (15-29) from the free throw line, but hit 7-9 today in a game Carolina won by one point.
• The Tar Heels were a more respectable 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from the three-point line today. Kerwin Walton, who made four of eight, was responsible for the bulk of the damage. He has made exactly half of his three-point attempts so far this season (12 of 24). Black, Love, Brooks, and Davis made one three-pointer each.
• Brooks has now hit a three in back-to-back games, giving him two in 10 games this season, matching the number he made in his first three years combined.
• Walton’s shooting is, dare I say, essential for Carolina’s long-term success. Specifically so, because in order for the Tar Heels to exploit their greatest strength, the interior, they need a “floor-stretcher”. Walton might be just the man for the job: He has made 10 of his 15 three-point attempts over the last four games.
• With Walton, it’s not just about the three-point shooting. In the two games that he has started, Walton has seven assists and just two turnovers. I asked him about the balance between facilitating and hunting his own shot. Walton said, “I’m just playing basketball. I’m looking for the right looks, looking for everyone else, and trying to see the bigger picture.”
• Coming into today’s game, an indicator for success or failure has been the opponent’s made three-pointers. In Carolina’s five wins, they are giving up an average of 6.4 per game (8, 8, 5, 8, 3). In Carolina’s four losses, they are giving up an average of 11 threes per game (9, 17, 8, and 10). The season average in all games is 8.44. Today? Notre Dame hit eight threes, seven of which were from Nate Laszewski (who hit the game winner against Carolina in South Bend last year). It appears that the magic number for the Tar Heels is to limit opponents to eight or fewer. Laszewski couldn't miss today from outside (including a bank shot):

• Armando Bacot has been incredibly efficient from the field this year. This reality was amplified by today's sub-par shooting performance. It was the first game of the season where he shot under 50% (1-7 to be exact) and yet he is still making 66.1 percent of his shots. Today was also the first game of the season in which he didn’t make multiple field goals.
• Puff Johnson isn’t being asked to do too much in his freshman season on the court, but when he is called upon he is contributing something. He has scored in four straight games, including an offensive rebound and put back of a missed free throw today. He also played a few solid defensive sequences including walling off his man and gathering a block in the first half.
• Johnson’s put back gave Carolina 17 points with 12:10 to go before halftime. From there the Tar Heels didn’t score again until the clock showed 6:58. Hopefully, scoring droughts of that magnitude will be few and far between.
• Some of the usual scoring threats took awhile to get going, and even once they did, didn’t contribute much. Armando Bacot’s first points came with 2:42 remaining before halftime. Neither Caleb Love nor RJ Davis scored in the first half. Those three combined to score a total of 12 points. That’s not enough offensive production from the group that typically makes up 60 percent of the starting lineup.
• Carolina assisted on eight of their 10 first half field goals (80 percent assist rate!) and finished the game with 15 assists on 24 made baskets, well north of 50 percent.
• This game thankfully had a low foul count. There were only a total of 21 fouls committed and 20 foul shots taken. No Tar Heel had more than two fouls. Two Notre Dame players had three, but everyone else had two or fewer. 

Box Score

Roy Williams postgame press conference

Players postgame press conference

Leaky Black 

Day'ron Sharpe 

Kerwin Walton

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a road game against Miami on Tuesday, January 5. Tip is at 8:00pm ET on .

.@UNC_Basketball's next 🏀 game:

• at Miami (@CanesHoops)
• 🌎 = Coral Gables, FL
• 🏟️ = Watsco Center
• 📅 = Tuesday, January 5
• ⏰ = 8:00pm ET
• 📺 = ESPN
• 📻 = TuneIn (https://t.co/skY7AUuAIP)#UNCatMiami

— Isaac Schade (@isaacschade) January 3, 2021

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