By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — It was like No. 9 North Carolina flipped a defensive switch early in the second half.
The Tar Heels gave up seven 3-pointers and 1.4 points per possession to N.C. State in the first half but forced the Wolfpack to come unglued offensively after halftime.
UNC limited the Wolfpack to one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the second half and held on for a 79–70 victory Saturday at the Smith Center after trailing by eight at halftime.
“That was an elite performance by the guys defensively in the second half,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, whose team forced State to miss 15 consecutive shots and limited the Pack to 0.7 of a point per possession after halftime.
Carolina (23–6, 15–3 ACC) held State (17–12, 9–9) to 2 of 8 shooting from outside the arc in the second half after combining to give up 21 3-pointers in the previous three halves. State shot 22.2% in the second half, the seventh time this season that UNC has held an opponent under 30% in a half and the third time the Heels have done that to the Wolfpack.
There was plenty of halftime discussion about the Tar Heels’ bad defensive performance.
“They’re running their offense like they do at shoot around, getting wide-open shots,” Coach Davis said of the first-half play.
“We weren’t impactful, physical on the ball, and that’s something that we had talked about before the game is being competitive on the ball, whether it’s one-on-one situation ball screen, in the post,” Davis said. “Then, in the second half, we stepped up and I felt like we were making them work so hard to be able to get a shot that it was allowing them to miss shots.”
Points off turnovers flipped the game as State went from 13 in the first half to two in the second half, and UNC went from two in the first half to 10 after halftime.
“I thought we weren’t into the ball as much on the ball screens,” said Harrison Ingram, who scored nine of UNC’s first 11 points and led the team in scoring for the second time this season with 22 points (led UNC with 21 in the win over Duke). “They were just coming around ball screens, getting wherever they wanted to go.”
Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau had a masterful game with 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds. He repeatedly got into the lane and penetrated through contact to open things up for his teammates.
“He was very impactful,” Coach Davis said of Cadeau. “From an offensive standpoint, just his ability — whether it’s one-on-one or ball-screen action — to be able to get into the lane and be able to make plays.”
Cadeau said it was a very satisfying victory.
“The crowd was crazy, and there was definitely a higher energy,” he said. “But we have bigger goals for the season. Our goal is to hang a banner and win the ACC regular season. So it was really nice to come out there and win that game.”
Seth Trimble praised Cadeau’s play.
“He’s been great,” Trimble said. “I think he’s just shut out the negativity and focused on doing what he is best at. When Elliot gets downhill, it opens up so much for our team. He literally just blows past his player, so the defense has to help. His confidence has skyrocketed throughout this year. We’re glad to see it.”
Armando Bacot had 13 points and seven rebounds, with RJ Davis collecting 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Bacot missed a dunk attempt in the second half and was clearly frustrated that he didn’t take advantage of his opportunities better.
“I left a lot of points on the board today, but we pulled it out,” Bacot said. “It really speaks on our team. Harrison went out and scored a season-high. We have so many guys that can step up, and I think that really showed today just how versatile our team is. Look at me and RJ, I shoot 4 of 12 and RJ shoots 4 for 11, but we got guys like Harrison stepping up and Elliot playing a big role. It just shows how good of a team we really are.”
Ingram was confident he could score against the Wolfpack.
“I don’t think they had anyone on the court — I don’t want to sound cocky — that was suited to guard me,” Ingram said. “They had a four man that was tall. They were playing guards. They were switching everything. We were just trying to take advantage of the mismatch. Their switching put me into a lot of ball screens and posting up.”
After State pulled within five points with 2:49 left, RJ Davis hit two free throws and a jumper to expand the lead to nine, and Cadeau put the game away on a drive with 27 seconds left.
Bacot said that D.J. Burns Jr. playing only five minutes after halftime made playing defense easier and also put the clamps on State guard DJ Horne, who only scored four of his 20 points after halftime.
“That kind of allowed us to play up higher on the screens because you don’t really want to give him from angles,” said Bacot, explaining that he played back more with Burns in the game. “[It] allowed us to play up higher and kind of affect Horne more and get him out of his rhythm.”
It got a little chippy, and Hubert Davis and Bacot said that it fired up the Tar Heels.
“It ignited us a little bit, and I was really happy with how the guys responded in the second half,” Coach Davis said. “We talked about having that competitive fire but also keeping your composure, and I felt like we did that also.”
It is the first time Ingram has led UNC in scoring since the win over Northern Iowa when the Tar Heels trailed by six at halftime. That was the previous largest halftime deficit in a win (also Florida State on Dec. 2)
Neither team led by more than three points and there were 11 lead changes before UNC went on a 13–3 run. Cadeau threaded the needle on an amazing pass to Ingram to cap the run with 9:17 left in the first half to put the Heels up six.
UNC led by five when State finished the first half with a 14–1 run. Horne’s jumper with four seconds left gave the Wolfpack a 45–37 halftime lead. It was the second time this season that Carolina has shot better than 50% in the first half (54.2%) and trailed (also against UConn.)
After a Casey Morsell jumper to start the second half gave State a 10-point lead, UNC went on a 14–2 run, tying it on a Cadeau drive and taking a two-point lead on RJ Davis’ first 3-pointer of the game with 15:40 left. Bacot’s three-point play highlighted a 10–1 run to push UNC’s lead to 10 with 9:51 left.
“We did a good job of just coming out more ready to play,” RJ Davis said. “Cormac got us going with that three. We set the tone on the defensive end, getting stops and limiting their shots.”
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By the time Taylor gave State its second field goal since halftime with a 3-pointer with 8:52 left, that only cut its deficit to 10, and RJ Davis responded with a 3.
Jayden Taylor came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for the Wolfpack.
“What a heck of a boxing match,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “Some very competitive guys out there today. I thought we got the best of them in the first half, but, obviously they did a really good job in the second half of getting the best of us.”
NOTES — Carolina is home again at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ACCN) for a senior night game against Notre Dame (12–17, 7–11). The Irish upset Clemson 69–62 on Saturday after Tuesday’s 70–65 home victory over Wake Forest. … UNC is 7–3 when it trails at halftime. … The Tar Heels are 7–0 when Cadeau scores in double figures. … Ingram and Cadeau both scored more points in the first half than either had scored in the previous two games. … Bacot (2,216 points) passed Wake Forest’s Randolph Childress for 18th on the all-time ACC scoring list, made four field goals and passed Al Wood for the third-most field goals in UNC history (826) and played his 161st game, tying Virginia’s Kihei Clark for most games played in ACC history. … Carolina outscored State by 17 in the second half, the largest second-half margin since the Heels outscored Wake Forest by 22 on Jan. 22. … UNC wore throwback uniforms from the late 1960s. … RJ Davis became the first Tar Heel to collect 1,800 points, 200 3-pointers, 500 rebounds and 400 assists, getting his 400th assist on a Bacot bucket four minutes into the game. … Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, freshmen at Carolina next season, had front-row seats. … Bobby Jones and Dave Hanners, members of the 1973–74 team that rallied from an eight-point deficit with 17 seconds left in regulation to beat Duke, were at the game. … Carolina leads the all-time series with N.C. State 166–70, including 82–23 in Chapel Hill and 31–7 at the Smith Center and has won six in a row in Chapel Hill. … State has lost its last six games at the Smith Center, last winning 95–91 in overtime on Jan. 27, 2018. … UNC is 5–1 against the Wolfpack under Hubert Davis.
No. 9 UNC 79, N.C. State 70
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 13–1 | 25–2 | 2 |
| No. 11 Virginia | 12–2 | 24–3 | 15 |
| Miami | 10–4 | 21–6 | 35 |
| N.C. State | 10–4 | 19–8 | 26 |
| Clemson | 10–5 | 20–8 | 38 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 9–5 | 21–6 | 27 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 9–5 | 20–7 | 13 |
| SMU | 8–6 | 19–8 | 31 |
| Florida State | 7–7 | 14–13 | 74 |
| California | 7–7 | 19–8 | 59 |
| Virginia Tech | 7–8 | 18–10 | 50 |
| Syracuse | 6–9 | 15–13 | 76 |
| Stanford | 5–9 | 16–11 | 72 |
| Wake Forest | 5–9 | 14–13 | 65 |
| Notre Dame | 3–11 | 12–15 | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–11 | 10–17 | 122 |
| Boston College | 2–12 | 9–18 | 165 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–13 | 11–17 | 171 |
* — Through Sunday games
Monday’s game
No. 24 Louisville at No. 18 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 1 Duke at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at No. 11 Virginia, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Boston College, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Miami at Florida State, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
Pittsburgh at Stanford, 8 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at California, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
No. 11 Virginia at No. 1 Duke, noon, ESPN
N.C. State at Notre Dame, noon, The CW
Florida State at Georgia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 24 Louisville at Clemson, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Boston College at Miami, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at California, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at Wake Forest, 5:45, The CW
SMU at Stanford, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia Tech at No. 16 North Carolina, 8:30, ESPN2
Next Monday’s game
No. 1 Duke at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, March 3, games
Clemson at No. 18 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Wake Forest at No. 11 Virginia, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at No. 25 Louisville, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Boston College at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 19 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. 14 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. 13 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. 11 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 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 | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 1 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
