By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — A North Carolina team that headed into the exams stressed out with shaky confidence got a much-needed boost from a feel-good victory.
UNC combined good defense, better inside play, strong efforts off the bench and Belmont transfer Cade Tyson’s best game of the season in an easy 93–67 victory Saturday over La Salle in the Smith Center.
The big difference from recent games is that Carolina (6–4) made a concerted effort to get the ball inside in different ways, such as having the big men come off screens, and Tyson found the perimeter range with 23 points and five 3-pointers.
“It felt like we were missing opportunities to get our bigs the ball close to the basket,” said Davis, who expects that they can either score or get fouled if UNC does that consistently. “It has been an emphasis all week to get our big guys involved close to the basket.”
After there were very few post-ups from big men in the first eight games, lots of practice time was spent last week on getting the ball to them, which opened up opportunities for perimeter shooters on kick-outs.
Carolina got better ball movement, with 22 of its 36 field goals assisted. The ball didn’t stick nearly as much as it has been in recent games. There was much less dribbling from the guards and improved spacing.
“As someone caught the ball, they either passed, drove it or shot it,” Coach Davis said. “There was no hesitation. I felt like maybe the last three games, three or four games, we weren’t consistently making the extra pass, and I felt like today we did.”
Ven-Allen Lubin, who got his second consecutive start, led the charge inside with a season-high 10 points. James Brown pitched in six, and UNC got three points each from Jalen Washington and Ty Claude.
“Coach emphasized getting the ball in, trying to dominate, posting in the paint and post penetration to try to get the big guys the ball,” Lubin said.
The burden of scoring has been heavily on the guards, but the coaches are trying to shift that.
“We’re really just trying to make the big guys a threat down low,” RJ Davis said. “We did a lot of practice and working with our post entries, pick-and-roll defense and offense, just making sure the big guys are giving the touch.
“Obviously, the guards are gonna have a ball in the hands a lot, but we can do a better job of getting the ball to the bigs and getting them involved,” he said. “So we did a better job of doing that in practice, and kind of translated to the game, whether that was finding them through post entries, finding them in transition, because they did a good job of setting screens, and we had to reward them. So we did that today.”
Tyson’s five 3-pointers were the most since hitting five against Murray State for Belmont on Feb. 28. It was the breakout game Carolina had been waiting for all season.
“It’s been pretty frustrating,” said Tyson, who has eight career games with at least five 3-pointers. “But I try to keep my confidence high and just focus on getting better every single day. Don’t worry about the uncontrollables.”
After playing only a minute or two in several games, Coach Davis said Tyson kept plugging away.
“It’s very easy when things don’t go your way to point fingers and make excuses,” Coach Davis said. “And Cade has never done that. He’s shown up to work every day. His preparation is fantastic, and he showed up today and played extremely well. It’s not about a shot. He’s a basketball player. He can rebound, he can handle the ball, he can pass, he can defend.”
UNC’s bench outscored its starters, 49-44, for the first time since playing against Marquette on Feb. 24, 2021, with only four players scoring in double figures. J Davis scored eight of his 13 points early in the second half and Seth Trimble added 10 points in a balance attack.
A Jahlil White 3-pointer gave La Salle a six-point lead in the first 3½ minutes as UNC missed six of its first seven shots, four from RJ Davis. UNC responded with a 20–2 run that included a Tyson 3-pointer to go up by 12, forcing the Explorers into tough shots with good defense.
A Tyson layup and dunk capped his team-leading nine first-half points to give UNC a 19-point lead before the Heels took a 42–25 halftime lead, its largest of the season. The negative was 5 of 12 free-throw shooting, the worst in a half this season. The Explorers scored the second-fewest points by an opponent in a half behind American’s 21 in the second half.
Davis scored eight consecutive points to push UNC’s led to 23 on a 3-pointer less than four minutes into the second half. Two consecutive Tyson 3-pointers shoved the lead to 27 with 12 minutes left. The lead peaked at 33 with 7:40 left when a Tyson layup ended a 9–0 run.
Demetrius Lilley led La Salle (6–5) with 16 points.
NOTES — Carolina heads to Charlotte on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against No. 9 Florida (10–0) at the Spectrum Center in the third Jumpman Invitational. The Gators blew out Arizona State 83–66 on Saturday at the Holiday Hoopsgiving tripleheader in Atlanta. … Saturday was UNC’s first game as an unranked team in 646 days. The last was a 68–59 loss to Virginia on March 9, 2023, in the semifinals of the ACC tournament in Greensboro. … At halftime, UNC introduced football coach Bill Belichick, and Bryce Baker, his first recruit and the top quarterback in North Carolina. … UNC made only 11 of 23 free-throw attempts. … UNC is 3–1 against La Salle, with the last previous game a 96–82 Tar Heels win in the Smith Center on Jan. 9, 1988. … UNC improved to 25–2 when scoring at least 90 points under head coach Hubert Davis.
UNC 93, La Salle 67
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 12–1 | 23–2 | 2 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 10–2 | 22–3 | 19 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–3 | 20–6 | 32 |
| Miami | 9–3 | 20–5 | 35 |
| N.C. State | 9–4 | 18–8 | 29 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 8–4 | 20–5 | 25 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 8–4 | 19–6 | 12 |
| SMU | 6–6 | 17–8 | 36 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 60 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–7 | 17–9 | 56 |
| Syracuse | 6–7 | 15–11 | 69 |
| Florida State | 5–7 | 12–13 | 82 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 70 |
| Wake Forest | 4–8 | 13–12 | 64 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 87 |
| Boston College | 2–10 | 9–16 | 153 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–11 | 11–15 | 163 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 122 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s results
No. 11 North Carolina 79, Pittsburgh 65
No 4 Duke 67, No. 20 Clemson 54
Notre Dame 89, Georgia Tech 74
California 86, Boston College 75
Florida State 92, Virginia Tech 69
Syracuse 79, SMU 78
Miami 77, N.C. State 76
Wake Forest 68, Stanford 63
No. 24 Louisville 82, Baylor 71
No. 15 Virginia 70, Ohio State 66
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at SMU, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
No. 20 Clemson at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 15 Virginia at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Florida State at No. 20 Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 15 Virginia, 2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 24 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 4 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
Monday, Feb. 23, game
No. 24 Louisville at No. 11 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 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. 9 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. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at No. 25 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. 15 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. 4 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 | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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