By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — In early-season mismatches when winning is a given, meeting the expected standard and improving are the goals.
From the first Blue-White game, turnovers have been an obvious area that No. 18 North Carolina has had to clean up. Ten first-half turnovers, many of them of the careless variety, in the Tar Heels’ 97–53 victory over N.C. Central showed that problem lingers.
Whatever Coach Hubert Davis said at halftime fixed that problem, as Carolina (4–0) had no second-half turnovers, even with no starters playing the final six minutes.
“It’s something that we talk about, and I talk about to them every day, the importance of making the easy play,” he said. “Make routine plays routinely. We don’t need home runs. We just need singles. Simple works perfectly. I was really proud of them to have zero turnovers in the second half after coming off with 10 in the first.”
UNC rolled, with runs of 18–5 to open the second half and a 22–2 run later. Davis said those surges were tied to ball security. In addition to the turnovers, he was frustrated that the Eagles got, by his estimation, about 15 deflections.
“In the second half, it wasn’t that — we were getting shots,” Davis said. “And then also defensively, we were getting stops, we were rebounding, and then it was allowing us to get out in transition. But I think the number one determining factor was because we took care of the basketball.”
Multiple players said that Davis was upset when talking about the turnovers at halftime.
“He was a little bit mad at us because we turned the ball over a lot,” said Luka Bogavac, who had 13 points and two 3-pointers. “But, in the second half, we didn’t have any turnovers. He was a little bit mad at us for sure but I think we came out of halftime and showed that we can play clean basketball.”
Caleb Wilson (21 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks), who nearly earned his second consecutive double-double by halftime, again led the way, repeatedly showing off his athleticism. But he clearly heard Davis’ halftime message.
“We have to stop letting Coach get on us, and that changes us,” Wilson said. “So, we have to just come out with the mindset that we’re going to be disciplined. But we just came out and focused on limiting turnovers in the second half.”
The first-half turnovers were the only blemish on an otherwise dominant effort that included a season-high 11 3-pointers. The Tar Heels’ length disrupted NCCU (1–4), leading to a Davis-era-record 14 blocks, five from center Henri Veesaar, who notched his second double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
“It’s real,” Davis said after UNC blocked the most shots in a game since it swatted 15 against Northern Kentucky on Dec. 27, 2013. “If they don’t block a shot, their ability to alter shots is huge for us. When guys get into the lane, it’s not easy to finish around there.”
It was only the seventh time in program history UNC has blocked at least 14 shots.
“We just focused and locked down on defense,” Wilson said. “And we just decided to be physical and just focus on that end of the court. That’s something that’s very important, and we’ll play against better teams later down the road — and defense wins championships.”
The first 12 UNC field goals were assisted, as were 21 of 30 for the game, with UNC shooting a season-high 54.5% from the floor. Zayden High (11 points) was in double figures for the first time in his career and Derek Dixon scored nine on three 3-pointers.
“I definitely felt good seeing a few go through,” Dixon said. “I felt like I hadn’t knocked down as many looks as I wanted to before tonight, but having a game like this definitely feels good.”
Davis noted Dixon’s poise as a freshman that he admitted he didn’t have at the same age.
“It’s been four games, and I’m amazed at these freshmen, how comfortable they are,” Davis said. “Derek is someone who’s very confident in his game, and obviously you can shoot the basketball, but I think he’s done a nice job handling the ball and defending.”
A 15–1 Carolina run, including a transition dunk and a jumper from Wilson, gave the Tar Heels a 12-point lead 10 minutes into the game on a pair of Wilson free throws. The lead reached 13 on a Jonathan Powell free throw before NCCU went on a 9–2 run to cut the lead to six with 3:41 left in the first half. Carolina then finished the first half with a 12–1 run to lead 39–24 at halftime despite committing 10 turnovers.
A corner 3-pointer and transition layup from Jarin Stevenson during an 8–0 Carolina run shoved the lead to 32 with 10:43 left. After NCCU ended a two-minute scoring drought with a basket, the Tar Heels went on a 15–0 run, punctuated by two Dixon 3-pointers to go up by 41 with 6:29 left.
Ramondo Battle II led NCCU with 14 points.
NOTES — On Tuesday, UNC plays the last of five consecutive home games to open the season, facing Navy (ACC Network). The Midshipmen (2–2) beat Division III Washington College 97–64 in a Friday night home game. … The Tar Heels are 4–0 for the first time in two seasons. … Carolina has won all four meetings, all at the Smith Center, with N.C. Central, which went 0–3 against the ACC, losing 114–66 at N.C. State on Nov. 3 and 81–62 at Virginia on Nov. 7. … UNC is 181–18 against in-state non-ACC teams and has won 51 in a row. … Wilson is the first UNC freshman with consecutive double-doubles since Day’Ron Sharpe in 2021. … UNC is 38–1 under Davis when shooting 50% or better from the field, including 3–0 this season. … NCCU’s 53 points were the fewest by an opponent since Virginia scored 44 on Feb. 24, 2024.
No. 18 UNC 97, NCCU 53
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 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. 9 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 | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 21 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 16 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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