ACC play begins in earnest this coming weekend, and a pair of pre-season favorites could be playing their best basketball of the season after dismantling two overwhelmed visitors.
North Carolina and Virginia Tech have had inconsistent starts to the season with few quality wins and several close losses. Both teams play solid defense but occasionally struggle at the offensive end. The Tar Heels and Hokies were firing on all cylinders Jan. 2 as North Carolina ripped St. Francis, Pa., 103-54 and Virginia Tech slaughtered Mount St. Mary’s 99-34.
In Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels’ defense smothered the Red Flash, holding them to 32.8 percent shooting. Sophomore forward John Henson set the pace with six blocks in 22 minutes. After the game, coach Roy Williams said the team was poised for a breakout on defense.
“Yesterday in practice may have been as good of a practice as we have had all year long, defensively,” Williams said. “I thought we were good defensively today.”
Good is an understatement, with the Red Flash making only 1-of-15 three-point attempts and turning over the ball 15 times. The most important element was North Carolina’s ability to take advantage of those defensive stops by converting on offense. Junior point guard Larry Drew II had a solid game with three assists and — more importantly — no turnovers. He added 10 points, one of eight Tar Heels to reach double figures. Williams said he was happy to see his team coming together on offense, even though they still have room for improvement.
“We still have some lapses, but I think we are also getting better offensively by moving the ball and sharing the ball, and you have to love eight guys in double figures,” Williams said.
North Carolina figures to be building some momentum heading into Saturday’s ACC opener at Virginia with a three-game winning streak. Although a 49-point win against St. Francis is good, it doesn’t even touch what Virginia Tech did to Mount St. Mary’s Jan. 2.
Already well-known for tough defense, the Hokies smothered the Mountaineers in every phase of the game, allowing them to make only nine shots in the game. Virginia Tech also forced 25 turnovers and blocked nine shots. Senior forward Jeff Allen paced the defense with four steals and two blocks, in addition to 12 rebounds. As usual, coach Seth Greenberg preferred to focus on improvement in his post-game conference.
“I’m not sure how great our defense played today, I’ve got to be honest with you,” Greenberg said. “At times, we did some nice things. We were good on ball screens; we were better on the ball. I just wanted to get some energy from our guys.”
Virginia Tech had plenty of energy for offense, too. The Hokies were ruthlessly efficient in hitting nearly 70 percent of their shots from the field, led by sophomore Erick Green’s 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Virginia Tech moved the ball at will to find good looks at the basket, and the team dished out 21 assists on 36 made field goals.
Like North Carolina, Virginia Tech will try to build on its recent success as it gets into the thick of conference play. The Hokies have won five in a row after losing its ACC opener to Virginia. Their next game is against Florida State Jan. 8 in Blacksburg.
