Quick Hitters - North Carolina at Florida State
Isaac Schade presents Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 82-75 road loss to Florida State on Saturday afternoon.
Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 82-75 road loss to Florida State on Saturday afternoon.
Highlights:
Condensed Game:
- Really hate to celebrate “moral victories” but there were some good things that happened today. To the eye test, Carolina has looked more like Carolina the past couple games. They’ve started games with urgency. The pace is picking up. But the thing that helped Carolina look most like Carolina today was…
- Anthony Harris played for the first time since December 30, 2019 against Yale. The lasting image many remember is Harris sitting under the basket in the immediate aftermath of his ACL injury with Coach Williams and trainer Doug Halverson bent over him. The freshman who brought so much energy was lost after just five games. Thankfully, that same guy was back today and looked incredible. The 8:29 that he played in the second half allowed the Tar Heels to operate at a gear with which they haven’t played all season.
- Harris’ individual stats aside (we’ll get to those in a moment), Carolina was plus-10 with him on the floor. No other Tar Heel posted better than plus-two. Could Harris be the missing piece that everyone hoped he would be? If today was any indication, the answer is yes.
- In his first action of the season, Harris was 2-for-2 from the floor, including a three-pointer, plus three assists, zero turnovers, and forced two offensive fouls. Not to mention that he spent most of his time guarding Florida State’s best player, MJ Walker. Here's video of Harris' two buckets:
- The Tar Heels employed the same starting line-up for second game in a row – Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Leaky Black, Garrison Brooks, and Armando Bacot. This was the first time to have the same starting lineup in back-to-back games since Coach Williams veered from the group that started the first eight games of the season.
- For the first time all season, the Tar Heels have logged back-to-back games of fewer than 15 turnovers (11 against Syracuse, 14 against Florida State).
- Unfortunately, four of today’s 14 turnovers were attributed to Caleb Love, who also finished with zero assists. In several aspects of the game, Love looked more comfortable today, but his ability to take care of the basketball will need to continue to mature. Here's video of a nice steal and transition dunk Love had during the game:
- The Seminoles somehow continue to fly under the radar year after year despite being really good. They have now won 20 straight ACC games at home. That happened today despite being without super freshman, Scottie Barnes.
- This game was much closer than the seven-point final margin indicates, which is interesting because this is the first of Carolina’s ACC games to finish with a margin greater than six.
- An interesting nugget: The Tar Heels’ bench has outscored the opposing bench in 10 of 13 games this season, including today (29-17). That trend is likely to continue, given the return of Anthony Harris.
- A strange stat from the game: Garrison Brooks recorded just one rebound. That’s his lowest rebound total since getting only one against Louisville in the ACC Tournament in the 2018-19 season. Brooks hadn’t registered any fewer than four rebounds in a game since that Louisville match-up.
- Brooks played well in other areas today though. He had 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting, went 6-for-7 at the free throw line, had three assists, and two steals.
- Carolina shot a strong 11-for-14 from the free throw line (78.6%). Unfortunately, Florida State bested that mark by hitting 26 of 27 (96.3%).
- Given today’s performance at the free throw line, UNC has now been over 70 percent in four straight games, including hitting 78 percent in each of the last two.
- The Heels also shot well today from deep. The team was 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. That’s twice in the past three games over 40 percent. What’s encouraging is that not only was today’s three-point percentage the second-highest of the season, but that percentage came while making the most threes in a single game this season (10).
- Interestingly, those ten threes came from three freshmen and a redshirt freshman. Kerwin Walton (four), Caleb Love (three), and RJ Davis (two) each made multiple threes, while Harris made the tenth.
- By the way, Kerwin Walton has shown over the past two games that he is interested in and willing to do more than just sit outside the perimeter and shoot threes. His two point attempts are up, his defensive is growing, and his presence on the court is starting to open up the inside for the big men to operate more. He did make a freshman mistake on one of the last possessions of the game, but he will continue to grow in his mental comprehension as well.
- For just the second time all season, Carolina was out-rebounded (30-29). The Tar Heels did, however, still win the offensive rebounding battle (13-9). They’ve out-offensive-rebounded every opponent this season.
- Carolina assisted on 19 of their 27 made field goals (70.4%), their second-highest percentage this season. The highest was 71 percent (22 assists on 31 made baskets) against Iowa. Perhaps most importantly, the Heels have assisted on at least 62 percent of their baskets in five straight games.
Box Score
Roy Williams postgame press conference
Players postgame press conference
Anthony Harris
RJ Davis
Garrison Brooks
Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is a home game against Wake Forest on Wednesday, January 20. Tip is at 9:00pm ET on ACC Network.
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