By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Since No. 3 Carolina’s 10-game win streak ended, opponents have altered how they defend graduate center Armando Bacot and senior guard RJ Davis, and that’s led to a period of adjustment.
The double-teaming of Bacot increased, leading him to combine for only 19 points in games against Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech, but he has combined for 49 points in the last two games after Coach Hubert Davis came up with different ways to get him the ball.
“Every time he touched the ball in the post, they were doubling a post,” Coach Davis said at a Friday press conference with league-leading UNC (18–5, 10–2) visiting Miami (15–8, 6–6) at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at a sold-out Watsco Center. “On ball screens, they were staying with him and allowing us to still be able to get to the rim, so they were sticking to him.”
There’s no doubt that Bacot has been more aggressive in the last two games, scoring 12 of UNC’s first 14 points in Tuesday’s 80–76 loss to Clemson and following up a 25-point night in the 93–84 win over Duke with 24 points.
Coach Davis attributes the shift not to an increase in Bacot’s energy and effort but to his attention to detail so that he gets the ball where he wants it.
“[We’ve done some things] to get him the ball in situations where he can be effective before another defender can come down,” Coach Davis said. “I think it’s a couple of things, but I’ve always felt like there’s an urgency with him because this is it. And that this being his last year, he wants to end his career here with something special that he can remember for the rest of his life.”
More good news for Bacot is that Coach Davis says his smile is beautiful following a dentist visit after chipping five teeth. That’s allowed Bacot to shift from only milkshakes and smoothies to eating solid food again.
The adjustment is an ongoing process for RJ Davis, who is getting extra attention from opponents, sometimes with tall defenders.
“Defenses have adjusted to him in terms of being more physical,” Coach Davis said. “Their team defense is more geared toward not even letting him catch the ball.”
He said that RJ Davis is changing his approach to ensure he gets the ball in position to take the shots he wants.
“We’ve got to help him out as well,” Coach Davis said. “We’ve got to set better screens for him, tweak, pivot some of our plays in order to get him in spots where he can be effective because, for us to be successful, RJ has to be a big-time player. He’s had an unbelievable season, and he’s going to continue to have that the remainder of the season.”
Other topics Coach Davis covered during the press conference included:
— An update on sophomore guard Seth Trimble:
“He’s continuing to improve, and it’s gonna be a game-time decision, but every day he’s getting better.”
— How practices have been going after he and the players said Monday’s practice didn’t go well:
“Much better. The energy, the enthusiasm, the attention to detail, the talking has been back to normal in terms of just communication on both ends of the floor. So I’ve been happy with the practices leading up to Miami.”
—His assessment of UNC’s play on defense in the last three games compared to during the win streak:
“From a defensive standpoint, I don’t think it has been as good as it was during the win streak. I feel like we’ve had halves of good defense, but the consistency in terms of details, boxing out, defending without fouling, those things over the last week, week and a half, there’s been some slippage in that.
“That’s something that we’ve talked about is diving back into the preparation, the process, in terms of our practice and our preparation of getting back to the small little details, the simple things that you have to do on the defensive end that allowed us to be successful this year.
—His explanation of what has gone wrong defensively:
“One of the things I always tell the guys is make routine plays routinely — those little simple discipline and details. And I mentioned before, like a missed box out, fouling, putting them on the free-throw line, defending and getting them into the penalty, not going hard enough on a loose ball, and [it goes] out of bounds, and they get the ball. Just little things like that. It’s not any one big thing; it’s just little small, important details that — not just down the stretch — that just accumulate over the course of the game that just needs to be tightened up, it needs to get better.”
—On the challenge for his team that has been successful when it gets to the free throw line, frequently facing a Miami team that is among the top five teams in the country at giving up the fewest free throw attempts.
“They have good individual defenders that do a great job of winning their one-on-one individual matchups, and [the] team defensively, they’re equally as good. It’s going to be a key for us [Saturday] is to be able to attack the basket through post penetration, offensive rebounding and generate those points at the free throw line because that’s been a big, big key for us offensively this season.”
—On the shooting slump of graduate guard Cormac Ryan, 17 of 59 (28.8%) from the floor and 9 of 35 from 3-point range (25.7%) in the last six games.
“I do like the shots that he’s taking. I think he’s getting good looks and good shots in the flow of our offense, whether it’s in transition or a half-court situation. … I have no concerns at all about shot selection or missed shots.
“There’s so much that Cormac brings to this team. His defense, his rebounding, his passing, his leadership, his energy and his effort alongside his ability to be able to shoot the basketball. Not just him, for any player, [when] one part of their game is not where it usually is, there’s so much that each one of the players brings to the table that allows us to continue to be successful.”
NOTES — Saturday’s game starts a tough stretch of two road games in four days, as UNC visits Syracuse (15–8, 6–6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN). … Miami will be without freshman guard Kyshawn George, who injured an ankle in Saturday’s 82–74 win over Virginia Tech. … Junior guard Wooga Poplar, who has been slowed by a sprained ankle since late December wore a boot around the Miami campus this week as a precaution but practiced late this week and is expected to play, according to the Miami Herald. … RJ Davis is the ACC’s leading scorer in all games (21.3 points per game) and in ACC games (21.5). … UNC and Miami are two of the top five teams in the league in scoring margin (the Tar Heels first at 82.8 points per game and the Canes fifth at 79.0) and rebounding margin (the Heels first at +6.9 and the Canes fifth at +3.4). … UNC leads the ACC in 3-point percentage defense (30.1%), but Miami is fourth in 3-point accuracy (37.1%). … Carolina leads the all-time series with Miami 26–10, including 8–4 at Miami but the Hurricanes have won the last two meetings. … The teams play again in Chapel Hill on Feb. 26. … The Hurricanes are 11–2 this season in the Watsco Center, with losses to Louisville and Florida State. … Brian Custer and Cory Alexander will be on the ESPN call of the game. … Marcus Ginyard will be the analysts on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
UNC season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | Miami |
| Overall ranking | 8 | 74 |
| Offensive efficiency | 117.8 (23) | 113.9 (56) |
| Defensive efficiency | 93.1 (8) | 103.0 (107) |
| Effective FG% | 51.1 (154) | 54.7 (31) |
| Turnover % | 14.1 (22) | 17.6 (201) |
| Offensive rebound % | 32.7 (66) | 29.1 (175) |
| FTA/FGA | 38.9 (42) | 27.5 (313) |
| Strength of schedule | 16 | 77 |
UNC-Miami series
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 |
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