By R.L. Bynum
Surviving the physical battles with Pittsburgh is always a challenge for UNC. Throw in frigid shooting, and it was rough going for much of the night.
It wasn’t pretty, but No. 8 Carolina took control in the second half with a workmanlike effort and tough defense down the stretch. It added up to a 70–57 victory and a third Quad 1 win in the Tar Heels’ first true road game Tuesday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, ending a three-game skid against the Panthers.
“A great place to show that the guys fought tonight is we outrebounded Pitt,” UNC coach Hubert Davis told the Tar Heel Sports Network after his team won the boards for the second consecutive game, outrebounding Pitt, the best rebounding team in the ACC, 51–41.
“Not only did we keep them off the offensive glass, we went to the offensive glass,” said Davis, whose team pulled down a season-high 16 offensive rebounds and outscored Pitt 15–1 in second-chance points. “It was fantastic. I’m just really proud of the guys, just the way that they stepped up in pressure situations on both ends of the floor. And to see their smiles at the end of the game was just priceless.”
Armando Bacot scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half, adding 10 rebounds for his 74th career double-double and fifth of the season, to become the seventh Tar Heel in program history to eclipse 2,000 points, now with 2,004.
RJ Davis was the rock again for UNC (10–3, 2–0 ACC) with 15 points, three 3-pointers and three rebounds, but Seth Trimble continues to emerge as a key player off the bench. He brought needed energy in the first half, leading Carolina with nine points. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Carolina weathered Harrison Ingram’s worst shooting game of the season (2 of 14), but he made up for it with a career-high 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, hitting a big late 3-pointer and finishing with a season-low seven points.
More than all of the above, though, was Ingram’s defense on Blake Hinson, Pitt’s leading scorer. He helped UNC hold Hinson to 11 points on 4 of 16 shooting. The Panthers were 21 of 68 from the floor for a season-low 30.9% and 5 of 29 from 3-point range.
“That was great individual defense on Hinson,” Coach Davis said. “I felt like our guys were really disciplined and staying attached to him and not putting him on the free-throw line. There were three areas that we needed to be good at defensively — one, being disciplined in defending Hinson, two, we had to be sound on ball screens, and three, we needed to rebound the basketball. I think we checked all three of those boxes.”
Anybody who says basketball isn’t a contact sport who watched this game would change their mind. Some of the frequent contact was called, but much of it wasn’t, while referees — including Ted Valentine — whistled touch fouls and hand-checks.
Many fouls were called, and that led to foul trouble for UNC’s Elliot Cadeau (4 fouls), Cormac Ryan (4), Trimble (3) and Jae’Lyn Withers (3), as well as Pittsburgh’s Jaland Lowe (4), Federiko Federiko (4) and Hinson (3).
Carolina, which put up a season-low points total and shot a season-low 35.6%, missed its first 10 shots as it took 6½ minutes for UNC to get its first points on a Davis 3-pointer, but only trailed 6–3. After trailing by seven with 11:37 left, the Tar Heels went on a 12–2 run to take a three-point lead after Pitt went scoreless for six minutes and missed 12 straight shots.
“That’s one of the things that we talk to the guys about all the time is [that] it’s about defense, rebounding, taking care of basketball,” Coach Davis said. “Those are the things that keep you in a game when offensively, shots aren’t going in.”
Trimble leaped high for an alley-oop dunk off of a Davis pass, then hit a long 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give UNC a four-point lead. A Davis 3-pointer at the buzzer gave UNC a 31–28 halftime lead despite shooting a season-low for a half of 31.4%.
Carolina rebounded 33.3% of their first-half misses for 11 second-chance points.
Cadeau’s driving layup in the first minute of the second half put UNC up by seven, but he landed on his tailbone and was in pain. He grimaced for a few minutes, and didn’t come out until he picked up his fourth foul.
Trimble’s free throw with 12:03 left expanded UNC’s lead to nine. After Pitt cut it back to five, Withers’ follow dunk with 6:57 left was UNC’s first field goal in nearly four minutes, and Ingram’s first bucket, on a transition layup, pushed the lead to 10 with 5:46 left.
Ingram’s 3-pointer and a Bacot dunk shoved the lead to 11 with 3:41 left.
Freshman guard Carlton Carrington led Pittsburgh (9–5, 0–3) with 20 points.
NOTES — Carolina plays the second of three consecutive ACC road games Saturday, visiting No. 16 Clemson (11–2, 1–1) at noon (ESPN2) in another Quad 1 game. The Tigers visit Miami (11–2, 2–0) at 8 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN). The Hurricanes won at home Wednesday against the Tigers 95–82. … Pittsburgh’s previous worst shooting game was 34.0% in a loss to Missouri. Pitt shot 26.5% in the second half, the lowest total in a half by a UNC opponent this season. … It was UNC’s worst shooting game since hitting only 33.3% of its shots last season against Notre Dame. … The 0-for-10 shooting start for UNC was the worst since the Heels missed their first 15 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4, 2020, trailing by 22 after Garrison Brooks scored the first UNC field goal with 6:49 left in the first half. UNC trailed 47–27 at halftime and lost 96–83. … Carolina made 19 of 22 free-throw attempts, its second-highest percentage (86.4%) of the season behind the Northern Iowa game (87.1%). … An RJ Davis first-half turnover ended 95 minutes, 27 seconds without him committing a turnover. His last previous turnover was in the second half against Kentucky. … Carolina is 5–1 this season and 53–21 all-time when Bacot has a double-double. … Ingram’s previous best rebounding game was 11 points for Stanford on Nov. 15, 2021, against San Jose State, when he scored 19 points. … Carolina ended a three-game losing streak against Pittsburgh. The Heels lead the all-time series 16–8, including 7–3 in Pittsburgh and 4–3 in the Petersen Events Center.
No. 8 UNC 70, Pitt 57
UNC lineup combinations
| Score | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Segment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | 20:00 | Cadeau | Davis | Ryan | Ingram | Bacot | 0–4 |
| 0–4 | 15:34 | Davis | Ryan | Ingram | Withers | 7–5 | |
| 7–9 | 12:12 | Trimble | Wojcik | Washington | 2–5 | ||
| 9–14 | 10:01 | Ingram | 0–0 | ||||
| 9–14 | 9:24 | Ingram | Washington | Bacot | 3–0 | ||
| 12–14 | 8:14 | Cadeau | Ryan | Ingram | 3–0 | ||
| 15–14 | 6:07 | Davis | 4–2 | ||||
| 19–16 | 4:19 | Davis | Trimble | 8–10 | |||
| 27–26 | 41.8 | Washington | 1–2 | ||||
| 28–28 | 16.5 | Cadeau | Davis | Bacot | 10–5 | ||
| 38–33 | 17:52 (2nd) | Davis | Trimble | 4–5 | |||
| 42–38 | 14:41 | Withers | 2–0 | ||||
| 44–38 | 12:41 | Washington | 3–0 | ||||
| 47–38 | 12:03 | Ingram | 0–3 | ||||
| 47–41 | 11:18 | Ryan | 0–0 | ||||
| 47–41 | 11:06 | Washington | Bacot | 2–2 | |||
| 49–43 | 9:26 | Trimble | Ryan | Ingram | 0–2 | ||
| 49–45 | 9:05 | Ryan | Ingram | Withers | 2–0 | ||
| 51–45 | 8:30 | Cadeau | 2–1 | ||||
| 53–46 | 7:30 | Davis | 2–1 | ||||
| 55–47 | 6:20 | Trimble | Ingram | 2–2 | |||
| 57–49 | 4:40 | Davis | Trimble | Ryan | 13–8 | ||
| 70–57 | Final |
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 12 North Carolina | 1–0 | 13–1 | 18 |
| No. 6 Duke | 1–0 | 12–1 | 5 |
| Miami | 1–0 | 12–2 | 39 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–0 | 12–2 | 56 |
| No. 16 Louisville | 1–0 | 11–2 | 11 |
| Clemson | 1–0 | 11–3 | 37 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 10–4 | 32 |
| Notre Dame | 1–0 | 10–4 | 70 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–1 | 10–5 | 160 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 11–2 | 28 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 7–6 | 182 |
| California | 0–1 | 12–2 | 55 |
| No. 21 Virginia | 0–1 | 11–2 | 31 |
| Stanford | 0–1 | 11–3 | 93 |
| Syracuse | 0–1 | 9–5 | 89 |
| Wake Forest | 0–1 | 9–5 | 69 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 7–7 | 123 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 7–7 | 112 |
* — Through Thursday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 79, Florida State 66
Miami 76, Pittsburgh 69
No. 16 Louisville 90, California 70
Notre Dame 47, Stanford 40
Wednesday’s results
N.C. State 70, Wake Forest 57
Clemson 64, Syracuse 61
Virginia Tech 95, No. 21 Virginia 85, 3 OTs
Duke 85, Georgia Tech 79
Friday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 11 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday’s games
No. 21 Virginia at N.C. State, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Clemson at Pittsburgh, noon, The CW
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
No. 12 North Carolina at SMU, 2:15, The CW
No. 6 Duke at Florida State, 3:45, CBS
Tuesday, Jan. 6, games
No. 6 Duke at No. 16 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Syracuse at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at Boston College, 9 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 21 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 16 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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