By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Harrison Ingram has only been on campus for a few months, but he’s already a fan favorite and “living the dream” with his relentless hustle and dogged determination on the court.
Whether it was refusing to give up on snaring a rebound or sinking 3-point attempts, Ingram’s toughness had a significant impact on No. 3 North Carolina in the Tar Heels’ 93–84 victory Saturday in the Smith Center over No. 7 Duke.
About five hours before each game, Ingram’s father sends a message group text thread with his brother, and the message is the same each time: “Let’s rock!” Rock, he did in his first experience with the greatest rivalry in sports.
“He was relentless,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Just the loose balls that I’m talking about, he got a lot of them. I don’t know how many, but he got a lot. He played with a great energy. A great physicality. He’s relentless going after the ball, and when he’s shooting the way he did tonight, he’s a really good player, bottom line.”
Ingram’s eighth double-double of the season and fourth in the last five games was huge for ACC-leading Carolina (18–4, 10–1), with Duke face-guarding RJ Davis and trying to keep him from scoring. Ingram’s 21 points, 13 rebounds, a career-high five 3-pointers, and Armando Bacot’s 25 points and 10 rebounds made Duke (16–5, 7–3) pay for that approach.
“Harrison is elite,” Seth Trimble said. “He is one of the best players in college basketball. Just his impact on the game. It doesn’t matter if he is scoring. You take away his scoring today, and he still has a huge impact on the game. He was able to add the scoring today and it was huge for us. I feel like he didn’t miss. He was our go-to guy this game, and I’m glad we had him out there.”
It was quite the debut in a rivalry game after never experiencing anything like this during his two seasons at Stanford. With his sister, a Duke freshman volleyball player, cheering him on in the stands, he more than met the moment.
“It is exactly what I dreamt of,” Ingram said. “Me and my brother were talking about it last night. We talked about playing the UNC-Duke game. The biggest stage against a really good team with really good players and a great coach.
“I can’t put it into words,” Ingram said. “I remember watching when I was a kid. I remember visiting here and going to the UNC-Duke game, and all of my friends were jealous because I got to go. Now that I’m playing in it, absolutely I was living the dream.”
Ingram said that the wrist on his shooting that bothered him for a few weeks feels totally recovered. He still played with tape on the hand but admitted that he no longer needs it and will likely play without it the next game or the game after that.
Ingram is shooting 10 for 20 from 3-point range in the last three games after shooting 8 for 28 in the seven games before that.
RJ Davis, who still scored 17 points, said that Ingram has become an integral part of UNC’s success with his energy on the court, which has become contagious.
“His toughness goes a long way,” Davis said. “Once he got into the flow of things, you know his personality and the way he plays rubbed off on us. Credit to him because he’s a phenomenal player. I think that’s one of the pieces we were missing, just that type of player that does it all, gives his 100% each game and practice.”
What Ingram is doing during games is no surprise to freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau.
“I play Harrison in one-on-one basically every day, so the stuff he’s doing out there, he’s doing to me every day. It’s not surprising,” Cadeau said.
Ingram produced a game-high 24.9 game score in 38 minutes with four steals, a block, and an assist.
“With that size and versatility, to be able to play multiple positions, he helps us defensively and with rebounds,” Coach Davis said. “It helps us on the offense and being able to post them up, shoot from 3, and he can bring the ball up in transition.”
Ingram’s most productive career perimeter-shooting games have all come this season. He also scored four 3-pointers against Northern Iowa, Villanova and Tennessee after never hitting more than three during his two seasons at Stanford.
If Ingram consistently continues his impressive overall play, Carolina will be tough to beat in March.
UNC season statistics
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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