Even Hanlan's sharpshooting could not outshine the effective post play of Hicks and Johnson as the Heels took the ball inside all game long and dominated the points in the paint, 46-32. The duo downlow combined to shoot 16-of-24 from the field (66.7%) as the Eagles were completely overwhelmed in post position size and skill categories. Hicks started in place of Kennedy Meeks, a "coach's decision", and got off to a shaky start turning the ball over and missing a chippy layup on the offensive end in the first couple of minutes. Coach Williams took him out, gave him a breather, sent him right back in, and that is where Hicks flourished. The Oxford, N.C. native consistently beat the BC big guys down the court making Isaiah a great choice for quick and easy buckets. The starting five shake-up was due to the Heels' coaching staff looking for a change and they saw an opportunity against the Eagles.
"We hadn't played as well," said Coach Williams. "Different things for different people. I hesitated a little bit to make any change...and the reason we chose to go a little smaller is because of their lineup. They're really a little smaller, too."
Williams also started Nate Britt in the place of J.P. Tokoto as Tokoto really struggled versus Virginia and has recently been turning the ball over way too much. Britt picked up a couple of early fouls and never could gain solid footing in this game. In fact, Carolina's backcourt would not score a single point until a few minutes into the second half. Tokoto responded with nine points, five assists, and zero turnovers. But, this one was all about the bigs.
"We switched rotation with our bigs because we saw some things and we thought we could take advantage of it with Brice and Isaiah at the same time," Paige said after the game. "Usually he plays behind Brice and doesn't get as many opportunities offensively. Today, we played them together and he showed us he's capable of being a real threat inside."
The 1-2 punch for the Heels was all that was needed to thwart Hanlan's superb offensive display. No need for Carolina to shoot from beyond the arc in this one (the Heels only attempted five threes making just one - Paige) because getting position in the low post was simple as pie on this particular afternoon. The Eagles have struggled significantly against bigger teams and the Tar Heels were able to flex their muscles time and time again. With so much success coming from close range, Carolina was able to shoot a scorching 66.7% from the field in the second half, finishing with a 56.9% shooting percentage for the game. The Heels were so unstoppable in the paint that it took an incredible magic trick to keep the ball from going through the net on one specific play in the second half. Just ask Brice Johnson if he believes in magic after watching this crazy video clip...
Boston College was sniffing an upset early on in this one as both Hanlan and grad student Aaron Brown (18 points, six rebounds) were lighting it up from the field as the Heels were sloppily turning the ball over (10 turnovers to be exact). The game was tied at 36 going into the half and BC scored the first deuce of the second half before Carolina would answer with six consecutive points and never trail for the rest of the way. The Tar Heels would only turn it over four times in the second half and that would help the cause immensely. Hanlan and Brown exerted great effort to keep the Eagles in this one, but too many missed outside shots for the Eagles (5-of-23 from 3-pt range) turned into the exact opposite on the other end for the Heels...made inside shots. Layups and hooks were the most popular menu items ordered by Carolina, peppering BC with an assortment of moves in the paint. And, with a size advantage, came the rebounding advantage as the Heels were able to win the battle on the boards 37-23. It was a total overpowering effort by Hicks and Johnson all game long. And, once Hicks learned in pre-game warmups that he would be starting just his second game of the season, he realized he could be seeing a whole lot of the ball.
"Kind of, yeah, I knew it," Hicks said. "Coming in, Coach was saying we had an advantage inside, so the bigs should be working."
And, Hicks took full advantage of his opportunity, bringing to the forefront the idea of more possible starts in his near future. With Meeks' recent inadequacies in the paint, Hicks has positioned himself for a ton more minutes. Meeks only had 4 points and 2 rebounds in just 12 minutes of playing time in a game that he seemed healthy (coming off a 101-degree fever vs Virginia) but unproductive.
Carolina's three-game road swing took off on the right foot with a victory in Chestnut Hill and the Heels will now have a full week of practice and preparation before it visits the Pittsburgh Panthers on Valentine's Day afternoon and then the much-anticipated rivalry game in Durham versus the Dookies. This coming week will be critical in getting major practice time and healing the aches and pains that many Heels are encountering at this point.
However, those bumps and bruises feel so much better after a sweet road victory in the shark-infested waters of the ACC.
Next Game: #12 North Carolina (18-6, 8-3 ACC)
vs
Pittsburgh Panthers (16-8, 5-5 ACC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 14, 2015
Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA
TV/Radio: ACC Network or ESPN3 / Tar Heel Sports Network
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