North Carolina basketball snaps losing streak against Virginia, beats Cavs 74-58
North Carolina emphatically ended its seven game losing streak to Virginia thanks to Richmond native Armando Bacot having a performance that rivaled Tim Duncan. Seriously. Bacot posted career-highs with 29 points and 22 rebounds to pace the Tar Heels’ 74-58 victory at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.
Duncan was the last post player to have a 20-20 double-double against the Cavaliers when he had 21 points and 23 rebounds for Wake Forest back in 1997. Bacot’s previous two games against UVA, he scored just 15 points combined. Bacot joined current assistant coach and former forward Sean May as the only other UNC player to have 20-plus rebounds in Smith Center history.
“They double team big to big every single time so I mean, it’s like impossible to really have a great game versus UVA as a big,” Bacot said. “...Brady and Justin you can’t really help off them so I got a lot of one-on-one looks and that opened up the floor and just allowed us to space out and do better things.”
No one on the roster had ever beaten the Cavaliers, which UNC coach Hubert Davis reminded his team of repeatedly during their preparation for the game. The Tar Heels (11-4, 3-1 ACC) took note, leading the Cavaliers (9-6, 3-2) for all but 16 seconds.
During its losing streak to UVA, Carolina had not scored more than 65 points and had four of those losses when it didn’t break 50.
UNC was without starting forward Dawson Garcia for a second straight game after he suffered a concussion in the win over Boston College last Sunday. Sophomore guard Kerwin Walton also missed a second game while isolated in COVID-19 protocol.
But forward Justin McKoy returned after missing the last two games, to face his former team. McKoy made just his second 3-pointer of the season and played eight minutes in his return.
Here’s what we learned from the Heels’ win:
Big men shining
Carolina’s frontcourt of Bacot and Brady Manek combined to score the first 15 points of the game for the Heels. They each played more than 30 minutes for the second straight game with Garcia out and in the process showcased the continuity they have.
Manek, who had five 3-pointers en route to 19 points, added a career-high five assists. Three of his passes led to Bacot baskets including two dunks. His other two went to Caleb Love on 3-pointers. Manek said it didn’t take long upon his arrival this summer as an Oklahoma transfer to develop a chemistry with Bacot.
“We don’t ever yell at each other or get on each other, it’s kind of like an unwritten thing I guess between us,” Manek said. “I had one of these relationships couple years ago with my buddy Kristian Doolittle, we grew up together. And I feel like Armando is kind of kind of the same way. We both know what each of us brings to the table and we just try to help the other as much as possible.”
Manek said Bacot got him going early when he passed out for his first 3-pointer. Davis said it’s been “organic” the way that the two work together like they’ve played together much longer than just this season.
“They just really complement each other,” Davis said. “They understand spacing, they understand where each one of them are going to be positioned out there on the floor. I don’t think you can script or for force chemistry either it’s there or it’s not.”
Four out vs. Pack line defense
The biggest difference for Carolina on Saturday that helped end their losing streak to the Cavaliers came in Davis’ offensive approach. The Heels four-out, one-in structure opened up the lane against Virginia’s pack line defense, which had previously clogged the lane and made scoring in the paint difficult.
The style and personnel of this UNC team made defending it a lot more challenging for the Cavaliers. The Heels largely handled the UVA double teams without many hiccups, mainly because the spacing allowed them to see it coming and to better pass out of it.
It also helped Carolina that it made 11 3-pointers to keep UVA from being able to sag in on Bacot in the post.
“The times that we have been successful against Virginia have been times that we’ve been able to shoot the ball from the outside, which gives us that spacing to be able to drive and attack the basket,” Davis said. “I just think it’s a huge benefit when we got guys like Caleb and RJ (Davis) that can shoot and now we have Brady at the four that can hit five 3s. And then you bring Anthony (Harris) and Justin off the bench and they’re knocking down perimeter jump shots that that extend their defense and gives us an opportunity to be able to score.”
Good Love
Sophomore guard Caleb Love played a game that’s the blueprint for how Carolina needs him to perform. He has shown flashes of how good he can be defensively throughout this season. He entered the game leading the team in steals. And when he’s focused like he showed against Virginia, he can be a game-changer. Love had two first-half steals that both led to transition baskets.
After Wednesday’s road loss to Notre Dame, Love admitted he was forcing shots late in the game. But on Saturday, he looked in control while racking up five assists to just one turnover.
Love finished with 16 points and tied his career-high with four 3-pointers.
“Caleb’s just had an unbelievable year,” Davis said. “And it’s why he’s one of the best guards in the country and why he’s going to be an unbelievable NBA player as well.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 2:57 PM with the headline "North Carolina basketball snaps losing streak against Virginia, beats Cavs 74-58."