CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – North Carolina got a road win on Tuesday night that won’t help their NCAA Tournament profile, but could help them get there. The Tar Heels came into the game just 2-4 on the road and hope that an 82-70 win at Boston College will help them pick up more of those later on. To do that, they will need to improve on some things that they improved upon slightly in this game.
North Carolina hasn’t played well defensively in ACC play, and the first half of Tuesday night was no exception. The Tar Heels force plenty of turnovers – nearly 15 a game, more than any ACC team except Duke – but when opponents don’t cough it up they tend to make shots at a good rate. The Eagles turned the ball over nine times in the first half but shot 48 percent from the field, going 5-10 from long range. In the second half, they shot below 42 percent and were just 2-10 from deep, and it was more important since they turned it over just once in the second half.
“We were fortunate that they missed some shots they normally make,” said head coach Roy Williams, adding that they emphasized guarding the three-point line leading up to the game.
For the Tar Heels, the better second half was in part learning from past experience.
“They’re a tough team to guard because as soon as you help at all, which is what our defense is predicated on, they pitch for a three,” said freshman point guard Marcus Paige. “We struggled with Miami doing the same thing, but we were able to do a better job of fighting through screens better and guarding the ball better in the second half, and they didn’t get as many open looks.”
You can see the young talent North Carolina has to go with the veterans, but you can also tell they have some work to do. Paige is physically gifted at the point and seems to have a good feel for the game, but he seems a bit unsure at times and his body has a lot of maturing to do. Brice Johnson has nice length and athleticism for the frontcourt, but makes the kind of freshmen mistakes many others do. J.P. Tokoto is a jumping jack who will make a highlight reel or two before it’s all said and done and has made some strides lately.
Paige, in particular, had a noteworthy game on Tuesday night as he bounced back from Saturday. Against NC State, Paige was 2-11 from the field and had four assists with three turnovers. His room for growth is clear, and he had six assists with just one turnover at Boston College, and as Williams noted, he hit a key three-pointer after BC scored consecutive baskets to get within 11 with a lot of time left.
“Everybody said he played the worst game in mankind on Saturday – not me, but everybody else did,” said Williams. “I think it was a tough game for him, he’s a tough kid and he bounced back and played well tonight. I’ve been pleased with Marcus, he’s going to be a very good player.”
There’s good veteran talent with Reggie Bullock, P.J. Hairston, James Michael McAdoo, Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland. After they fell behind 8-2 early, Hairston turned the game around as soon as he came off the bench with his shooting on Tuesday night before getting hurt on incidental contact with Strickland and likely scaring many in the arena since he almost collapsed twice. McAdoo came alive in the second half to finish with 17 points and 10 boards, though he was 7-20 from the field.
Hairston, who scored 14 points on 4-5 shooting including 4-4 from long range in 12 minutes before getting hurt, was back in the arena and on the bench for some of the second half, and it was amazing he was even in the arena at all. While the main hope is that he’s okay physically, from a basketball standpoint the Tar Heels could ill-afford to lose another shooter, though they will get Leslie McDonald back from a three-game suspension on Saturday against Virginia Tech. McDonald also missed three games before that due to a knee injury, but he will be ready to play.
Hairston did not travel back with the team but was expected to travel back to Chapel Hill before long.
“It was scary, because I thought he’d be all right, then he did the little stumble,” Paige said of Hairston’s injury.
For his part, Strickland wasn’t having an easy time knowing he made the incidental contact.
“I apologized to him because I should have been in help position at the time,” said the senior guard. “I was hurt, so I knew it hurt him. He said he’s still a little dizzy, but hopefully we’ll have him next game.”
North Carolina has an RPI of 36 entering the week, but what that tells you more than anything is that they have had some chances for quality wins that they have whiffed on. They lost to Butler in Maui, were blown out at Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, lost to Miami at home and NC State in Raleigh on Saturday. They beat UNLV at home, but after that their best win is probably Maryland a week and a half ago.
There are plenty of opportunities left, however. The Tar Heels still go to Miami and Duke in back-to-back games soon, host NC State later in February and host Duke to close out the regular season. The stretch with the first two will likely set a tone for the rest of the way.
The Tar Heels have enough talent to get the wins needed to make the NCAA Tournament. To get those wins, they need to keep up the defensive improvement they showed in the second half, overcome adversity the way they did on Tuesday night and get continued growth from their freshmen, especially Paige since he has been handed the keys to the offense.
