By Adam Lucas
1. A little closer than expected, but still a win. Brown played very well but Carolina played just well enough to win, escaping with a 94-87 win that was much closer than the score indicated.
2. Thank goodness for RJ Davis. The sophomore was electric, pumping in a career-high 26 points, including a career-high six three-pointers. Davis’ last three trifectas were critical, as he hit one to give Carolina the lead with seven minutes to play, then drilled two more with less than two minutes to go. By the time there were 27.1 seconds left and Carolina had a six-point lead, the crowd was chanting his name. Davis also led the team in assists with six.
3. Davis’ perimeter explosion somewhat overshadowed a stellar effort from Armando Bacot, who kept Carolina close for much of the game. Brown eventually resorted to double-teaming Bacot, who did an effective job of passing out of the double team (including one that led to one of the late Davis three-pointers). Bacot finished with 22 points and ten rebounds.
4. There was deservedly some concern about Carolina’s offensive rebounding after the season opener. The Tar Heels did a better job in that category on Friday, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds on 30 missed shots and holding a 19-9 edge in second chance points.
5. Hubert Davis‘ rotations continue to take shape. Dontrez Styles made a first half appearance on Friday, playing three mostly uneventful minutes. Then the rotation got very tight in the second half as the game remained close. Six players–Bacot, Davis, Caleb Love, Brady Manek, Dawson Garcia and Leaky Black–played most of the second half minutes. Love won’t get a ton of attention, but was effective on defense in the second half when Carolina was making a push.
6. Thank goodness for good three-point shooting (been a while since we could say that). The Tar Heels hit nine of 21 three-pointers, 43 percent, and it was a difference in the game.
7. Also part of learning about Davis’ strategies: what’s he going to do when a player picks up two first half fouls? When that happened to Leaky Black with 17:08 left in the game, Davis put Black on the bench, but then reinserted him about nine minutes later.
8. Carolina’s defensive pressure wasn’t strong enough in the first half, and the Bears were excellent in taking care of the basketball. Brown had just one turnover in the first 20 minutes, and used their efficient offense to put up a startling 50 points in that time span.
9. Hubert Davis is officially the Tar Heel head coach now, because he got to experience his first “crowd murmuring that the Tar Heels need a timeout” moment during the first half. Davis did call a timeout with 4:42 left in the first half, with Brown leading 41-34. After the stoppage, Carolina cut four points off the deficit before half.
10. The son of former Tar Heel assistant coach Doug Wojcik, Paxson Wojcik, certainly made an impression in numerous ways in his return to the Smith Center. Wojcik played very well and also made sure to let everyone know about it. Wojcik scored four points in the second half.
11. As you might have noticed, one element of last year’s unusual season remains: the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches voted to keep last year’s coaching attire selection of pullovers and polos. That’s a league-wide choice, not a Hubert Davis decision, and it will be the case all season.
12. As you probably noticed, the Tar Heels were wearing special camo shooting shirts in recognition of Veterans Day, with the coaches wearing military green polos. The polos are staff-only, but the shooting shirts are available online now.