PITTSBURGH – North Carolina closed out its January schedule with an impressive 75-65 win at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, marking its sixth win in seven games.
The Tar Heels (11-5, 6-3 ACC) relied on their size advantage on both ends of the court, executing from the inside-out offensively to shoot 52.5 percent while consistently frustrating the Panthers at the rim (10-of-27 on layups) to hold Jeff Capel’s squad to 41.8 percent shooting.
UNC held Pitt without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the first half to take a 34-27 lead at the break. The Tar Heels pulled away with a 17-7 run midway through the second half to take a 64-49 lead with 8:24 remaining. The Panthers threatened to make it a game with a late 10-0 run, but UNC scored seven of the game’s final nine points to cement the victory.
UNC shot a season-high 60.7 percent in the second half, marking the fourth time in five halves it has shot better than 51 percent.
The Tar Heels received various scoring contributions once again as three players reached double figures and seven scored at least five points. Armando Bacot led UNC with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds, while Garrison Brooks added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Kerwin Walton contributed 10 points for his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season.
Caleb Love struggled shooting the ball (8 points, 3-of-10 FG, 1-of-5 3FG, 1-of-4 FT), but had his best assist-turnover ratio of the season (5:1).
Justin Champagnie led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, but he didn’t get much help as his teammates combined to shoot 34.8 percent from the floor.
The victory gave UNC a much-needed Q1 win for its NCAA Tournament resume after losing its first four games against that quality of opponent.
Steady Diet of Post Play
The Tar Heels relied on their size advantage down low against Pittsburgh’s small lineup, continuing a successful trend in recent weeks. Three days after scoring 39 points on 19-of-32 shooting against N.C. State, UNC’s bigs combined for 43 points on 19-of-26 shooting. Bacot and Brooks made their presence felt early, scoring 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting in the first half.
Offensive Rebounding
Tuesday’s game was billed as a matchup between the ACC’s top offensive rebounding teams, although their differential on the defensive glass was significant both in the stat book and on the Petersen Events Center court.
UNC rebounded 43.8 percent of its misses and limited Pitt to a 32.4 offensive rebounding percentage. The result was a 37-29 rebounding edge and an 18-9 advantage in second-chance points for the Tar Heels.
Play of the Game
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— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 27, 2021
Up Next
UNC remains available for a rescheduled game this weekend, although its next contest is currently scheduled for next Tuesday at Clemson (7 p.m./ACCN). The Tigers have cooled off after a hot start, losing their last three games by an average of 24 points.
