By R.L. Bynum
GREENSBORO — The newcomers Carolina expected to score most didn’t, but returnees filled the void nicely as the Michael Malone era began.
Improved second-half defense held USC scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Tar Heels took control. UNC rebounded from a halftime deficit for an 88–70 win Friday night over Southern Cal at the First Horizon Coliseum in the exhibition opener for both teams.
Malone pointed to the defensive turnaround as the biggest factor in the comeback, turning the Trojans from 47% first-half shooters to 27% shooters after halftime, going from 16 paint points to six paint points.
“I felt at one point I think we got seven or eight straight stops, which is something we try to pride ourselves in,” Malone said. “Did not happen in the first half very often, so we got our defense into the game that got us out running, playing with a little bit more of an attack mindset.”
Returnees Jarin Stevenson (25 points, 10 rebounds, five 3-pointers) and Isaiah Denis (14 points, four rebounds, two 3-pointers) led an offense that got no points from either Terrence Brown or Matt Able until a Brown free throw with 1:42 left. Neo Avdalas collected 15 points, nine rebounds and a team-high five assists in an impressive UNC debut.
Stevenson said the key to his night was mental.
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“I feel like there’s a lot of things that put me in this situation,” he said. “Again, the work that I put in, just staying present in the moment. That’s something I’ve been working on, and not letting the crowd or past experiences or past misses affect what I’m doing.”
That output bettered Stevenson’s career-high in games that count of 22 for Alabama against Texas.
Malone said that Stevenson has the tools to impact the game at both ends.
“One of his goals should be first-team all-defense in the ACC,” Malone said. “He can guard one through five, I think, on any given night. This was a hell of a performance. We’ll have some time to get ready for playing Indiana next. And now the challenge is: You want to be a great player. Can you do it again? Because that’s what the great ones do.”
The Tar Heels were in control after a 12–0 second-half run, which freshman center Sayon Keita punctuated with a steal and dunk. After the Trojans feasted on mid-range jumpers, UNC’s defense redirected shooters toward Keita and Stevenson, making USC’s shooters less effective.
UNC got a taste of what it will be like playing without the big and physical Cameron Fens, who is still in eligibility limbo. Without him, the Heels took numerous shots from beyond the arc; they ran a good bit of five-out offense with Stevenson at the five spot more than he expected.
“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Stevenson said. “Being at the five, I can do a lot of different things, or switch or play different coverages. So yeah, it was nice being the five, and it was a nice little surprise.”
Malone reacted quickly when he didn’t like something. He called an immediate timeout after the Tar Heels didn’t get back on defense in transition at one point. Brown quickly found a seat on the bench for nearly six minutes after a lazy second-half pass led to a turnover. It’s clear already that Malone hates turnovers.
Malone said he expects to fix the lack of production from Brown and Able, and he took some responsibility himself.
“We’re going to need them to be a lot better players than they were, and that’s not just on them,” he said. “I always put it on myself as well. My job as a head coach is to help those guys get into the game.”
Malone pointed to the depth of the roster as the reason the Tar Heels could absorb the quiet nights from Brown and Able, and he explained why they were not on the floor late.
“We have a deep team. It could be somebody’s night each game,” Malone said. “So we just have to understand that we went with a certain lineup down the stretch. But it was a great starting off point.”
Malone and Denis had an intense conversation midway through the second half, but it ended with a handshake as the sophomore headed to the bench.
“Most definitely, this is definitely personal,” Denis said of his confident performance after barely playing a year ago. “It’s about making that sophomore jump, just being able to be a point guard more than anything, and trusting me with the ball in their hands.”
Malone and Denis also chatted later.
“He came up to me after the game and said, ‘Thanks for taking a chance on me,’ and I told him, ‘No, thanks for taking a chance on me,’ ” Malone said. “He didn’t have to stay.”
He added that Denis had earned the minutes with his work in practice.
“He has been waiting for this opportunity, and he took it and ran with it tonight,” Malone said.
In the first half, USC’s Jacob Cofie bulled his way past Keita (who started at center) for a 3-point play, but Keita held his own in many moments. He did well off ball screens, was aggressive and moved well on defense.
Freshman Maximo Adams had an impressive debut in a UNC uniform with 11 points and six rebounds.
UNC’s defense forced USC to use nearly the entire shot clock of its first possession before Keita blocked Cofie’s shot and Stevenson hit a 3-pointer at the other end. But USC scored the next 10 points, forcing Malone to call his first time out after a Rodney Rice 3-pointer three minutes in.
Malone said the speed of the college game was an adjustment for Keita early.
“There’s a lot going on,” the coach said. “I thought the game was fast for him.”
An Adams follow-up shot ended a nearly five-minute UNC scoring drought and started an 8–1 UNC run that included 3s from Adams and Denis.
UNC briefly regained the lead, 23–22, on 3-pointers from Denis and Stevenson, the latter with 8:21 left in the first half. After USC went up by five, 3s from Avdalas and Jaydon Young ignited an 8–2 run to put UNC up 31–30 with 4½ minutes left in the first half.
An Avdalas three-point play capped a 6–2 run to tie it again at 37 after USC went up by four, but the Trojans led 39–37 at halftime.
UNC attempted 22 3-pointers in the first half but only nine in the second, and Malone said afterward that he did not see it as a deliberate change in approach.
“I felt that we got a lot more aggressive. We played in the post more,” said Malone, whose team went from attempting eight first-half free throws to 21 in the second half, shooting 83.3% for the game.
Malone said that the shot selection got better.
“We really spend a lot of time talking about our shot spectrum. We do not want to be a mid-range shooting team,” he said. “It’s just the worst shot in the game, so we want to live at the rim. We want to live at the foul line, and we want to get quality threes up.”
Malone said the early misses did not bother him because of the quality of the shots.
“We had a ton of looks early in that first half, really good looks that just weren’t going down. And a good shot is not one that goes in. A good shot is a wide open, uncontested shot. And I felt for the most part we did a pretty good job of generating those,” Malone said.
USC led by four when UNC scored 12 consecutive points and forced six turnovers. Alex Samodurov’s 3-pointer, Avdalas’ driving three-point play, and Keita’s steal and dunk gave the Heels a 61–53 lead with 9:16 left.
Malone looked overjoyed as he watched Keita make that play.
A 12–3 Tar Heels run shoved the lead to 17 on Denis’ layup with 1:58 remaining.
Rice led USC with 22 points, three 3-pointers, and five assists. Allijah Arenas added 17 points and Darius Ratliff pitched in 13.
Notes
— UNC gets nine days off before traveling to Indianapolis to face Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 in the second of three exhibition games. The Hoosiers, who finished 18–14 last season, visit Butler in their first exhibition game at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. To stream the Indiana game on the Big Ten Network’s B1G+, you’ll have to pay $8.99. Get details here.
— This was the first of at least three games in Greensboro. UNC faces N.C. State on Dec. 15 in the Tobacco Road Classic. The ACC tournament March 9–13 is in Greensboro.
— Although it had the feel of a Carolina home game, the UNC pep band wasn’t there.
— Adams was the first UNC player off the bench after Brown, Able, Stevenson, Avdalas and Keita started, with Stevenson sliding over to the five. Next in were Samodurov, Angelo Brizzi, Denis and Young. Freshman Kevin Thomas didn’t enter the game until midway through the second half.
— Missing the game for USC were senior guard KJ Lewis (ankle injury), sophomore center Eric Reibe (foot injury) and freshman forward Christian Collins (undisclosed injury).
— In addition to Fens, freshman guard Malloy Smith also was not in uniform. Smith is still working his way back from spring hip surgery.
— The entire UNC coaching staff wore identical Carolina blue quarter-zips and navy-blue pants.
— Former UNC guard Ty Lawson was at the game, wearing a replica version of his jersey.
— Curtains obscured most of the upper arena of the Coliseum, with the crowd 7,892.
— There was a schedule posted on the basket stanchion on UNC’s end of the court before the game that detailed what was to transpire during warmups. Nearly all of the pregame activities, including intense ball movement, were organized.
— The UNC win comes after winning eight of nine games that counted against USC.
UNC 88, USC 70
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | 5 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | B1G+ * |
| 27 | 7:30 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | ACCN Extra |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 24 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
