Aftermath: Riding High After a Victory Against the Blue Devils, #3 UNC Lets One Slip at Home

 

(Photo Courtesy Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports) 

Starters 

Elliot Cadeau - 20 MIN, 5 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2-6 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-1 FT

R.J Davis - 38 MIN, 22 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 7-22 FG, 5-12 3PT, 3-5 FT

Cormac Ryan - 30 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 1-10 FG, 0-6 3PT, 0-0 FT

Harrison Ingram - 33 MIN, 11 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 4-7 FG, 3-5 3PT, 0-0 FT

Armando Bacot - 33 MIN, 24 PTS, 13 REB, 1 AST, 7-13 FG, 0-0 3PT, 10-11 FT

Bench 

Paxson Wojcik - 22 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-4 FT

Jalen Washington - 13 MIN, 2 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT

Zayden High - 5 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT

Jae'Lyn Withers - 5 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

James Okonkwo - 1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

Chapel Hill - Only three days after beating #9 Duke, the #3 Tar Heels took a hit against the Clemson Tigers at the Dean Smith Center last night, 80-76. This was the second time ever that the Tigers outlasted North Carolina on the road, as the only other time was back during Armando Bacot's freshman year during the 2019–2020 season. A slow start, along with inefficient shooting, was the dealbreaker for Coach Davis and his squad.

Tar Heels Down Early 

The slow starts have been a kryptonite for UNC this season as it came to bite them in the back once more against the Tigers. The 16:00 mark of the first half, following a Chase Hunt-made jumper, had the Tar Heels down 17-4. The only two buckets made up to that point were by Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot. A couple minutes later, at the 11:45 time stamp, Bacot brought the squad back within six points, 20-14.

 

During the closing moments of the first 20, Clemson stretched their lead to as large as 16 points after a Jack Clark layup, raising the score to 41-25. However, UNC was able to rally it back a little bit, as in the end, before time expired, a pair of threes by RJ Davis and Ingram kept them within single digits at 43–34.

 

The rest of the entire night, UNC on their home floor never led the game once. That's something hard to wrap your head around considering the amount of success they have had up until this point in the season. Although, Coach Davis and staff look to bounce back and get the team rolling back in the right direction moving forward with a lot of season left to play.

Armando Bacot Keeps it Rolling 

After finding himself in the rivalry game this past Saturday, Armando Bacot continued the momentum over to last night's clash as he put up 24 points and 13 rebounds on 7 of 13 shooting and 10 of 11 from the free throw line. These numbers are nothing but the usual and expected outputs of the school's all-time leading rebounder.

The production by Bacot is much needed if the Tar Heels are looking to make a deep run in March as the postseason arrives.

 

One final ride for the center from Richmond, Virginia.

On to Coral Gables 

The next game for the Tar Heels is this Saturday, February 10th, at 4:00 p.m. as they take on the Miami Hurricanes (15-8, 6-8 conference) for the first time this season.

 

The last time these two teams met was February 13th, 2023, in Chapel Hill. North Carolina fell 80-72. Jordan Miller led the way for Miami with 24 points and 11 rebounds through 39 minutes of play.