By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — While RJ Davis’ 36 points were the most impressive part of No. 3 North Carolina’s 85–64 victory Monday over Wake Forest, the trend of solid defense and rebounding continues to be a big reason for the nine-game winning streak.
During a high-energy speech to his team at halftime, Coach Hubert Davis challenged his team to eliminate defensive mistakes and play better on that end. The Tar Heels delivered by holding Wake Forest to 26.7% shooting from the floor and 0 of 9 shooting from 3-point range in the second half.
The Deacons settled for many one-and-done possessions with only two offensive rebounds. That was a season-low for Wake Forest and a UNC opponent, and the fourth consecutive game with the Tar Heels allowing five or fewer.
“Rebounding is the main ingredient of success,” Coach Davis said. “Another part is our commitment to the defensive end.”
UNC (16–3, 8–0 ACC) leads the ACC in defensive rebounding (20.1 per game) and rebounding margin at (+7).
The Tar Heels have outrebounded nine consecutive opponents after having a 43–30 edge against the Deacons, allowing them to rebound only 9.7% of their misses. Those rebounds on the defensive end led to transition opportunities, particularly in the second half.
“It allows us to get out on transition,” Coach Davis said. “We’re just really good in transition. All five guys are running, pitching the ball ahead. We’ve got great spacing, so we can get to the basket, we can spray 3s. We can hit our bigs in the middle of the post. Once we started, that got us going. But it all started on the defensive end.”
Seth Trimble didn’t score but consistently is a terrific defender off the bench.
“Seth is our most gifted on-ball defender,” Coach Davis said. “He just is, with his athleticism and strength. He can pick up full-court and make it hard for you to get across half-court. He can play on the ball, and he can get through screens off the ball.”
Elliot Cadeau’s improvements game-by-game on defense are obvious, and he might face more challenges in practice guarding RJ Davis than he does during games.
“It’s a good challenge for me,” said Cadeau, who had one steal. “One of the things I have been getting better at throughout the year is my defense. Having to guard him and every other guard on the team is making me better every day.”
Coach Davis said that Cadeau is figuring out how to be a good defender in high-level college games and distribute better on the offensive end.
“I feel like he gets better and improves every day of practice and every day of the game,” Coach Davis said.
Hunter Sallis led Wake Forest with 18 points, but Carolina made him earn every point and held him to seven after halftime on 1 of 5 shooting. UNC disrupted the Deacons’ offense and often made them play faster than the would prefer.
Carolina leads the ACC in defensive 3-point shooting percentage at 29.1%.
Louisville is the outlier, making 44.4% of its 3-point attempts, but the seven other January ACC opponents only made 13.8% (18 of 103) of their shots from outside the arc.
Wake Forest entered the game making 39.3% of its 3-point attempts but was only 3 of 20 against UNC’s defensive pressure that forced numerous tough shots. That was a season-low for the Deacons, but only the third-lowest by a UNC opponent (N.C. State shot 10% and Clemson shot 5.6%).
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The Deacons shot 35.6% from the floor, leading to many UNC rebounds and transition opportunities, particularly in the second half.
“We were really good in transition. All five guys were running. We pitched the ball ahead. We’ve got great spacing, so we can get to the basket. We can spray 3s. We can hit our bigs in the middle of the post, and once we started, that got us going.”
The Tar Heels will try to keep the momentum going at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Florida State (12–7, 6–2), which won Tuesday at Syracuse 85–69
UNC season statistics
| 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 via @UNC_Basketball
