As I eluded to in my earlier post, UNC needed Paige to set the tone offensively. And, he did. Paige hit a three early and added a few nifty drives to the hoop to get the ball rolling. It was the start that the Heels needed and a shot in the arm for a team that was searching for answers following its loss to Butler one night earlier.
What was even more interesting about the beginning of the game is that Coach Roy Williams switched up his usual starting lineup, mixing up things for the first time this season. Williams inserted Joel James, Nate Britt, and Hicks into the starting lineup and set Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson, and Tokoto to come off the bench. The shakeup allowed more playing time for Hicks; and the 6'8" sophomore from Oxford was determined to influence the game with his hard work ethic and determination. And, boy, did he ever. Hicks was all over the place, diving for loose balls, grabbing rebounds, dunking put-back rebounds, getting out on the break. His breakout play in the last couple of games has really turned some heads and will definitely lend to more playing time and, hopefully, light a fire under Brice Johnson as the season moves along. (Johnson was not himself this game with many mental errors and only offering up 4 points and 3 rebounds).
Even with the early baskets by Paige, Carolina trailed 18-11 with 13:55 left to go in the first half. It was all down hill for UCLA from there. UNC picked up the defensive pressure and the Bruins could not handle the heat, turning the ball over time and time again. 10 turnovers in 15 minutes of play in the first stanza had already allowed the Heels to run off 14 transition points. By halftime, Carolina had stunned the Bruins with a 32-11 run over the last 13:55 of the half that placed the score at 43-29.
The perimeter defense followed the gameplan to perfection, wreaking havoc on UCLA sophomore standout Bryce Alford. Alford came into the game averaging over 19 pts/gm and 8.2 ast/gm but, on this night, Carolina held him in check (only 10 points and 3 assists). More noteworthy is the fact that Alford turned the ball over six times and the Bruins totaled a staggering 23 turnovers. UNC knew what to do with the ball once in transition as the Heels outscored UCLA 31-6 in transition points. Carolina loved the pace to the game as it seemed UCLA wanted to run, so the Heels obliged and showed their speed and effectiveness against a more tired, run down Bruins squad. And, you know Tokoto had to get in on the fast-break action with a little Thanksgiving stuffing of his own!
UCLA did not get any better in the second half. In fact, Carolina continued to turn the Bruins over and score at will. Paige drilled two huge 3's during an 11-0 run that completely nailed the coffin on the Blue & Gold. Hicks and freshman Theo Pinson (7 rebs, 3 assists) were splendid for the Heels during the second half blow-out tonight proving that UNC's depth can be a dynamic weapon. Even though Hicks started the game against UCLA, him and Pinson have been great off the bench. In tonight's contest, the Heels bench outscored the Bruins 28-9!
Senior Norman Powell led the Bruins with 15 points, but had 5 turnovers. Kevon Looney, who had been on a double-double tear, was completely taken out of the game by Carolina defenders and his own foul trouble. Looney finished with 11 points and just 6 rebounds.
North Carolina was much sharper on both ends of the court than in its loss to Butler on Wednesday. There was a noticeable difference in effort and will to get to the ball at any cost. UNC players identified their struggles and used the game against UCLA to begin to iron out those mistakes. Paige talked about this in his post-game interview.
"It's easy now for us to see the difference in how we played tonight versus how we played (against Butler)," Paige remarked. "The way everyone was into it, playing unselfish, flying around on defense, being active, that's a more fun way to play...And when you see the results as drastically different as they were, why wouldn't you want to play that way?"
Not only was Carolina flying around on defense, but they were boxing out and grabbing more rebounds this evening which was pretty much non-existent against Butler. Even though Carolina lost the rebounding battle, it was by a much narrower of margins, 38-35. And, the Heels actually won the offensive rebounding war, 13-9. So, that is a tremendous step to bringing the fundamental, boxing out, aggressive rebounding style back to the court. Also, the Heels shot 73.7% from the free-throw line which was a drastic improvement from the last few games.
All in all, this commanding victory over the Bruins can be summed up by saying it was..."Sweet as Pumpkin Pie!"
Carolina will play for 5th place in the Battle 4 Atlantis when it meets #18 Florida Gators at 8:00pm EST Friday night. If the Heels can pick up a win in that one, it will head back to Chapel Hill sporting a 2-1 record from the tournament and feeling pretty good about itself beating two Top 25 teams. A loss would be a disappointing finish to the trip and a 1-2 record in the tournament which could sour the Heels' return home.
But, until then, Tar Heels get to celebrate the win by enjoying a hot Thanksgiving night meal with all the fixings!!
Next Game: #5 North Carolina (4-1, 0-0 ACC) vs #18 Florida Gators (3-2, 0-0 SEC)
Date & Time: Friday, November 28, 2014 @ 8:00pm EST
Location: Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas
TV/Radio: AXS TV / Tar Heel Sports Network
No comments:
Post a Comment