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North Carolina learned a lot from a four-game losing streak that ramped up the frustrations and turned the Tar Heels from the No. 1 team to an unranked group looking for answers. All along, a couple of the big answers were there. Get Armando Bacot healthy and gear the offense around getting the preseason ACC Player of the Year and AP All-American the ball down low frequently.
Cole Anthony and Orlando have found the Magic to turn their season around and continue to show it. Anthony’s 3-pointer with 7:11 left gave Orlando its first lead and he scored 15 points in a 116–110 road victory Wednesday night over the Houston Rockets.
CHARLOTTE — There was no need for a fiery halftime speech to get North Carolina going this time. A heated exchange late in the first half seemed to light a fire in the Tar Heels. From there, UNC (9–4) went on a 21–6 run to storm away from Michigan (7–4) and the Tar Heels held on for an 80–76 victory Wednesday night at the Jumpman Invitational before 19,236 mostly Carolina fans to take a four-game win streak into the Christmas break.
When Carolina needs a buzzer-beating shot to send a game into overtime, it’s wise to involve Jeff Lebo, and that was also true 35 years ago.
Lebo earned a lot of praise after the Tar Heels’ 89–84 overtime victory Saturday in New York over Ohio State because he drew up the play that sent the game into overtime.
ARLOTTE — UNC point guard Deja Kelly is used to dishing out passes for buckets, but she did a little distributing this week with early Christmas gifts for the Carolina basketball family. One of Kelly’s many NIL deals is with Beats by Dre, and she took advantage of that relationship to gift headphones to every player and coach on UNC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Andrew Platek continues to produce steady performances for Siena, Texas Tech’s Kerwin Walton found his shooting range and Anthony Harris could be close to his season debut for Rhode Island.
North Carolina’s thrilling 89–84 overtime victory Saturday over Ohio State still wasn’t enough to return the Tar Heels to the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The Tar Heels (8–4), the preseason No. 1 team, are unranked for the third consecutive week. Unlike last week, though, UNC received votes, garnering the 32nd-most poll points with 36. The Buckeyes (7–3) fell from No. 23 to unranked.
North Carolina’s 89–84 overtime victory Saturday over Ohio State was huge on so many levels, including that it was the Tar Heels’ first Quad 1 victory of the season. What makes it even bigger is that UNC won’t get many more chances to add to that in a top-heavy ACC. The victory moved Carolina’s NET ranking up five spots to No. 27.
Hubert Davis gained a permanent place in the hearts of Carolina fans with the two wins last season over Duke, but he may have done one of the best coaching jobs of his short tenure Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Davis trusted his team even after falling behind by 14 points in the first half, and they came through.
If it wasn’t clear before Saturday that North Carolina needs to run its offense through Armando Bacot, he left no doubt against No. 23 Ohio State. It also became clear that leaning on Bacot may not be enough if the Tar Heels can’t shake their perimeter shooting slump. That finally happened in the latter part of regulation — thanks to Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Leaky Black — and Pete Nance hit a huge shot at the regulation buzzer as they earned a thrilling 89–84 overtime victory over the Buckeyes in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Harrison Barnes keeps playing good all-around games, and it’s no coincidence that the Sacramento Kings are having one of their best seasons in years. He’s getting the job done on defense, and has the bling to prove it. Barnes made huge plays down the stretch as Sacramento ended a six-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 122–113 victory at Detroit on Friday night.
CHAPEL HILL — If you ask Armando Bacot or most Carolina fans which Tar Heel is the most confident shooter, the consistent answer would be Caleb Love. Love, however, would beg to differ. He gives that honor to freshman Tyler Nickel. “He’s got the most confidence on the team,” Love said after the 100–67 win Tuesday over The Citadel. “He thinks every shot is going in.”
Hubert Davis remembers riding the team bus to Madison Square Garden early in his freshman season before Carolina played in the Preseason NIT. Coach Dean Smith called him up to the front of the bus.
Cole Anthony keeps producing efficient minutes off the bench, and Orlando keeps winning, something the third-year pro hasn’t seen much of with the Magic. Anthony contributed 13 points, five rebounds and six assists while playing good defense in 20 minutes as Orlando rolled to a 135–124 home victory Wednesday night over the Atlanta Hawks for their first four-game win streak since his rookie season.
CHAPEL HILL — As Michael Jordan says in the pregame video, “This is Carolina basketball.” For the first time this season, North Carolina dominated an opponent thoroughly, thanks to season-high totals of 15 3-pointers and 24 assists, and it looked like what fans traditionally expect. A Hall of Fame coach likes to say it looks better when the ball goes in the basket. It does, and it did against The Citadel.
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