1. Carolina got what it needed in another home win, this one an 81-64 decision over Notre Dame. Carolina had 19 assists on 31 field goals in a well-played win. The challenge now is to do it on the road, where the Heels are winless this season – a big test awaits Tuesday in Charlottesville.
2. Armand Bacot very quietly has an ACC Player of the Year season. Perhaps because he started off slowly, his recent performances have gone under the radar. You couldn’t hide it on Saturday, however, as he was the only Tar Heel that Our Lady had no answer for. And he doesn’t just dominate his opponents. Against the Irish, he showed the shrewd ability to dribble a double team (he’ll see plenty more of that this Tuesday in Virginia) and also had two shots in the first half. Let’s not forget that Bacot also had the defensive duty on Nate Laszewski, who had torched the Tar Heels in the last two meetings. The Virginia native finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. He also passed Sam Perkins for second all-time Carolina in rebounding and essentially single-handedly flayed Dom Campbell. For the first time in his career, Bacot has scored more than 20 points in five straight games.
3. The Tar Heels played without Pete Nancewho suffers from a back injury. Hubert Davis opted to go small with the starting lineup in the absence of Nance, benefits Seth Trimble Starting as the fifth starter and deploying the three-guard formation that was so effective in the second half against Wake Forest.
4. Having depth doesn’t always mean playing 12 guys every game. Sometimes that means having the staff to find matches that work and go with them. On Saturday, that meant the Tar Heels had the versatility to start Trimble but also give long minutes to Johnson Puff, who had six points in the first half and also contributed three rebounds on his way to 11 points, six rebounds and a fun field goal thanks to a touch on Cormac Ryan in the second half. It’s starting to look like this year’s team which might not have a “regular rotation”, but has the ability to use different personnel depending on the matchups. The bench was very good, with Johnson, Jalen Washington (who managed to find the middle of the Fighting Irish area), Trimble (two other blocks) and D’Marco Dunn (a big offensive rebound and a pullback forced a timeout from Mike Brey) all contributed to big plays. The Carolina bench scored 22 points in the game.
5. This flexibility has given the Heels the ability to change almost anything defensively. Because the Tar Heels were ready to compete even when they found themselves with a bad game – like Seth Trimble stand up to Nate Laszewski in the post and force a miss on a second-half play – the Heels were able to stick with the strategy for most of the game.
6.welcome, Caleb Love. After a couple of mediocre games, Love was much more effective on Saturday. He had 13 points in the first half, but more importantly, he did it on eight effective shots. Love finished with 18 in one of his best games in recent weeks. Love’s favorite play of the day, however, might have been the way he immediately stepped in when Ryan kicked Johnson to the ground. It’s St. Louis’ advantage is a valuable quality in a teammate.
7. As expected against the undersized Irish, Carolina dominated the rebound battle. The Tar Heels had a double-digit rebounding advantage, won the offensive rebound battle, and had the advantage on second-chance points.
8. Notre Dame’s entire offense is based on an effective three-point shot. So it was a bit surprising to see Carolina shoot more trifectas than the Irish in the first half (10-8). Add in the fact that the Heels made it five with a points advantage in the paint (18-14), and you have the formula for a comfortable 13-point advantage at halftime. For the game, Notre Dame hit 7 for 18 from the arc.
9. Good to see Marvin Williams at the Smith Center, who got a big roar from the crowd.
10. In the absence of Nance, leaky black drew the mission on the opening tip – and won it.
11. The 11:30 a.m. Saturday start is considered the earliest start time in Smith Center history (if anyone remembers a pre-noon start in the building, let us know ). The reason for the early advice was the NFL schedule, as ESPN has a three-hour pre-game show to air before their 4:30 NFL game. Therefore, the two-hour broadcast window for a basketball game opened at 11:30 a.m., and here we are. The Fighting Irish didn’t seem bothered by the early start – their team bus arrived at the arena before 9.30am.
12. Remember that if you still need your copy of Together, signed copies (plus a few other things that make great gifts for your favorite Tar Heel fan) are available here. The behind-the-scenes stories from last season, including the rise of the match at Cameron and the Final Four battle, never get old.
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