By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — A big part of why No. 7 North Carolina is playing so well is the Tar Heels’ cohesiveness on defense, which they say is built around trust.
UNC (11–3, 3–0 ACC) has held two consecutive opponents to fewer than 60 points for the first time in nine seasons and is No. 16 in the country in defensive efficiency.
“I think there’s great trust amongst the teammates, and I think it’s building every day,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s 8 p.m. game (ESPN) at N.C. State in a battle of two of the three teams leading the ACC at 3–0. “The trust on both ends of the floor, that I know that my teammate has my back.”
Kevin Garnett was asked after a Boston Celtics game why he was so good defensively. Garnett responded that he was where he was supposed to be only because he knew his teammates would be where they were supposed to be.
“I showed that to the team,” Davis said of a video clip of Garnett’s response. “I said, ‘That’s what we’ve got to get to. You’ve got to trust that I’m going to do my job because you know your teammate is going to do his job.”
The team has embraced that trust concept, and the Garnett clip particularly hit home for graduate guard Cormac Ryan. Anybody who sees Ryan’s intensity on the court shouldn’t be surprised that Garnett was one of his favorite players of all time because of the fire and edge to his game.
Ryan loves the philosophy he calls “umbutu.” It’s a South African word that, when translated to basketball, just means he does his job well because he’s confident his teammates will do their jobs as well.
“It’s kind of that chain reaction of being able to trust where your guys are, knowing that they have your back and you have their back,” Ryan said. “It’s a pretty strong force that you can develop in a team.”
With only four players on Carolina’s roster back from last season and many newcomers who had never met, much less played together, building trust has been an ongoing process months in the making.
“That’s something that we’ve talked about from the beginning of the summer and something that we still continue to work on,” Ryan said. “I think we’ve got work to do, but it’s something we’ve taken a lot of steps in the right direction toward doing.”
That trust was apparent in UNC’s four-game win streak, when the Tar Heels showed plenty of grit in closing out games against No. 9 Oklahoma (81–69), at Pittsburgh (70–57) and at No. 21 Clemson (65–55).
“I think trust is a big part of it,” Ryan said in explaining the team’s play late in those games. “I also think hunger is a big part of it, too. You’ve got to really be hungry to get those stops, make winning plays.”
Trust goes hand in hand with unselfishness, and that’s been important in building cohesiveness. Ryan says he’s seen it from teammates who are playing and those who aren’t.
“It’s a team unselfishness of, ‘I’m willing to do what it takes, even if it means maybe it’s not my turn to shoot. Maybe it’s not my turn to do this,’ “ Ryan said. “Making those winning plays, wherever possible. That’s how you win those games. And it might not show up in the stat sheet. It might be a possession with two minutes, 30 seconds left and not a buzzer-beater, but those are the possessions that win games, especially tough games, especially road games.”
Part of that trust plays out during timeouts when there is a lot of conversation between the players and coaches down the stretch of close games, and that togetherness has been a powerful force.
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“I love dialogue,” Davis said. “[The] more time that we spend together, the more comfortable they understand that this is what I like. I love that interaction. I love that conversation, that dialogue in the huddle during the game, in practice, before and after practice. I just love communication. I love talking. And that’s how you build trust in relationships, by just talking to each other through these situations.”
Davis said the process has been gradual, but he started noticing players being more vocal during the Kentucky loss and the Oklahoma victory.
“I would say since the Kentucky game, just the level of conversation has grown not just in the games but in practices and it’s been really good,” Davis said.
Ryan said that despite tweaking the right ankle in the Clemson game that he first rolled in the Nov. 23 Villanova game, his ankle is fine and no longer affects the lift on his jump shot.
“One of the tough things about playing a long college basketball season is if you get an injury, it’s hard to get it back to 100%. And so little re-tweaks like that will happen. It’s something I’ve dealt with before. And so it’s feeling good,” Ryan said.
NOTES — The winner of the game will be alone in first place in the ACC after Florida State beat Wake Forest 87–82 Tuesday to give the Deacons their first league loss. … Dave O’Brien, Jay Bilas and Angel Gray will be on the ESPN call. … Tyler Zeller will be the color analyst on the Tar Heel Sports Network. … Carolina is a 3-point favorite with an over/under of 144.5. … This is the first time in 50 years, and the third time overall, that UNC and N.C. State have played with both teams at least 3–0 in the ACC. On Jan. 22, 1974, the 3–0 Wolfpack beat the 4–0 Tar Heels 83–80 in Chapel Hill in State’s national-championship season. On Jan. 14, 1959, the 4–0 Tar Heels beat the 5–0 Wolfpack 72–68. … UNC has started 3–0 in the ACC for the first time since 2015. … Carolina has won its last two games on the road despite season-low point totals in the 70–57 win over Pittsburgh and the 65–55 victory over Clemson. … The Tar Heels are 4-2 against ranked teams this season, with wins over (ranking at time of the meetings) No. 20 Arkansas, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 16 Clemson. Arkansas is unranked in the current AP poll but the Vols are No. 5, the Sooners No. 9 and the Tigers No. 21. … KenPom ranks UNC’s schedule so far as the sixth-toughest, with only Purdue and Arizona playing more Power 6 conference opponents.
UNC season statistics
N.C. State season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | N.C. State |
| Overall ranking | 8 | 64 |
| Offensive efficiency | 118.7 (11) | 111.4 (64) |
| Defensive efficiency | 94.1 (16) | 99.5 (66) |
| Effective FG% | 52.0 (112) | 51.2 (145) |
| Turnover % | 13.9 (15) | 12.5 (3) |
| Offensive rebound % | 32.2 (94) | 29.2 (183) |
| FTA/FGA | 40.8 (23) | 29.5 (261) |
| Strength of schedule | 6 | 249 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. 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. 11 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 | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
