North Carolina
Baseline thoughts: UNC is putting 2022 behind them with a strong start
Pat Welter breaks down UNC's 100-92 win over No. 10 Tennessee.
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Pat Welter breaks down UNC's 100-92 win over No. 10 Tennessee.
All right, let's do some baseline thoughts from a 100 to 92 UN C win over number 10, Tennessee and sure it is just November, but I think it is ok to be really excited about this win. If you're a UN C fan, if you look back at around this time last year in the nonconference of these preseason tournament type games. UN C really struggled and it was a sign of things to come. They lose to Iowa State, they lose overtime to Alabama and they never really recovered from some of those games they lost to Indiana as well. Those were opportunities to get some ranked wins that did not happen this year. It's been a different story. Yes, they lose to Villanova in the Bahamas but played really well at times in that game, they beat Arkansas, they beat Northern Iowa and they actually came home hungrier. Elliott said they have goals in their locker. One of them win that battle for Atlantis. They were upset that didn't happen. They came into this game and let it all out on Tennessee. It was player driven, it was also Hubert Davis driven who has taken a little bit more of a hands on approach with this team after last year's season was just a train wreck for lack of a better, lack of a better term. Davis at the beginning of the year, didn't let the team write out some of those goals. He made them for them. And coming back from the Bahamas, all the players were saying how intense the practices were this week, the team wanted to send a message and so did Hubert Davis and I would say message received. They come out in this game, everything is going right for them points off, turnovers, fast pace up tempo, hitting threes, getting to the free throw line, not turning the ball over. They were doing everything right. They got up by as many as 23 but you still got to think you're playing the number 10 team in the country. They're going to make a run and Tennessee did in this one in some ways. It's just as impressive that Un C withstood it. Dalton connects in this game. This guy is a potential first round draft pick for Tennessee 37 points, which is the most by an opponent inside Dean Smith's Center since 1988 I believe was the stat we got after the game, he went absolutely off and carried the team back. They got as close as six at times in the second half, but UN C to the credit didn't blink in this game. You know, that's where some of that veteran leadership comes in from that experience, whether it's from the guys that have been here RJ Davis, Armando Bacot or some of the transfers. And Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram who all contributed tonight. And it's one of the things that Bacot talked about after the game is you saw what it looks like when all of us are clicking out there, we're going to be really difficult to stop. And I got to say, I agree with him. I also like the fact that Cormac Ryan's injury. He didn't start tonight. He didn't even practice for most of this week. Open the door for a little change in the starting lineup. We saw Elliott Cao the true freshman make his first start. Pax and Wojick a move to the bench. J Withers started as well for UN C tonight and Cade has been everything you hoped he would be leading up to the season. And all the hype that he had reclassifying has been a little bit disappointing and he was a guy that was a bright spot in this game. He told us afterwards that he slept two hours a night after some of those single digit performances he had in the Bahamas 22 points, 11 rebounds in this one. He was a steady force for them at both ends for sure. So I think we've learned a lot about UN C from the Thanksgiving tournament in the Bahamas to this one tonight. Conference play for them begins Saturday with the matchup against Florida State and they got a lot more ranked opponents coming up. They've got three more over the next month including defending national champion.