PITTSBURGH – North Carolina closed its January schedule with an impressive 75-65 victory in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, marking its sixth victory in seven games.
Tar Heels (11-5, 6-3 ACC) had their size advantage at both ends of the court, running from the inside outwards to shoot 52.5 percent while consistently thwarting the Panthers on the edge (10 of 27 in layups) to hold Jeff Capel’s squad at 41.8 percent pitches.
The UNC held Pitt without a goal for more than eight minutes in the first half, taking a 34-27 lead at halftime. Tar Heels retired with a 17-7 run in the middle of the second half to take the lead 64-49 with 8:24 remaining. The Panthers threatened to make the game with a final 10-0 streak, but UNC scored seven of the game’s nine final points to cement the victory.
UNC reached the season’s highest record of 60.7 percent in the second half, marking the fourth time in five times that reached 51 percent.
Tar Heels received several scoring contributions once again, with three players reaching double digits and seven scoring at least five points. Armando Bacot led the UNC with 21 points, the best of the season, on 8 of 10 shots and 10 rebounds, while Garrison Brooks added 16 points on 8 of 11 shots. Kerwin Walton contributed 10 points to his fifth double-digit game of the season.
Caleb Love had difficulty throwing the ball (8 points, 3 out of 10 FG, 1 out of 5 3FG, 1 out of 4 FT), but had his best assist / turnover ratio of the season (5: 1).
Justin Champagnie led all the top scorers with 23 points from 7 of 9 shots to go along with nine rebounds, but he didn’t have much help because his teammates combined to kick 34.8 percent off the ground.
The victory gave UNC the much needed victory in Q1 for its return to the NCAA Tournament, after losing its first four games against that quality opponent.
Post-game stable diet
Tar Heels relied on his small size advantage against Pittsburgh’s small formation, continuing a successful trend in recent weeks. Three days after scoring 39 points on 19 of 32 shots against NC State, the UNC bigs combined 43 points on 19 out of 26 shots. Bacot and Brooks were present early, scoring 21 points out of 10 out of 13 shots in the first half.
Offensive rebound
Tuesday’s game was classified as a clash between ACC’s best offensive rebound teams, although their differential in the defensive glass was significant both in the statistics book and on the court at the Petersen Events Center.
UNC recovered 43.8 percent of its errors and limited Pitt to an offensive recovery percentage of 32.4. The result was a 37-29 lead on the rebound and an 18-9 lead on second chance points for Tar Heels.
Game Play
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– Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 27, 2021
Next
UNC remains available for a rescheduled game this weekend, although its next contest is scheduled for next Tuesday in Clemson (19h / ACCN). The Tigers cooled off after a hot start, losing their last three games by an average of 24 points.