UNC Basketball Forward: No Wolfpack Player Was 'Suited to Guard Me'

Harrison Ingram was UNC basketball's consistent force to battle NC State in the first half and dominate the second.

Photo credit: Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports

By halftime of Saturday's 79-70 victory over visiting rival NC State in the Smith Center, UNC basketball junior forward Harrison Ingram had 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. He had almost matched his combined total from the team's two previous contests: seven in the win at Virginia and eight in the home win over Miami.

And the 6-foot-7, 225-pound versatile bruiser followed that up with nine more in the second half. He tallied a season-high 22 points, helping the No. 9 Tar Heels (23-6, 15-3 ACC) remain alone atop the conference standings by overcoming a 45-37 halftime deficit to the unranked Wolfpack (17-12, 9-9 ACC) via a 42-25 edge after the break.

Ingram shot 8-for-14 from the field, 2-for-5 from three, and 4-for-4 from deep, also chipping in six rebounds and two steals across his 35 minutes on the floor.

"I don't think [State] had anyone on the court — I don't want to sound cocky — but that was suited to guard me," the 21-year-old transfer from Stanford, whose career-high 19 boards came in UNC's win at NC State on Jan. 10, explained afterward. "They had a four-man that was tall. They were playing guards. They were switching everything.

"We were just trying to take advantage of the mismatch. Their switching put me into a lot of ball screens and posting up."

Third-year UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis had nothing but praise for Harrison Ingram during his postgame presser, noting that "Harrison was Harrison today."

"He can bring it up and initiate offense," Davis added. "And you never have to tell Harrison, 'Let's play hard.'

NEXT UNC BASKETBALL GAME: at home versus unranked Notre Dame (12-17, 7-11 ACC), 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ACCN)

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