The North Carolina Tar Heels improved their record to 8-1 after defeating the Georgetown Hoyas 81-61 on Sunday night at the Dean E. Smith Center. This game was another example of the Tar Heels’ ability to dominate the pace of the game with their rebounding and shot-blocking capabilities.
The two halves were complete opposite representations of the game, as both teams jumped out to hot starts offensively to begin the game. The second half was completely different, as North Carolina suffocated the flow of the game with their unrelenting interior defense. With all that being said, here are takeaways and analysis from North Carolina’s smooth-sailing win over Georgetown.
The Tar Heels’ Offensive Production was Balanced
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar will continue to be the focal points of the offense, which was the case again on Sunday, but the Tar Heels had four total players score at least 14 points against Georgetown. Wilson led the team with 20 points, Veesaar followed up with 18, while Luka Bogavac and Derek Dixon each contributed 14 points.
The problem with the Tar Heels earlier in the season was the fact that the offense was overly dependent on Wilson and Veesaar. The last two weeks have proven that the supporting cast can step up when needed.
North Carolina has the potential to develop into a legitimate national title contender if the supporting cast consistently performs at this level.
North Carolina Dominated the Boards
The Tar Heels’ calling card this season has been the rebounding department. North Carolina outrebounded Georgetown 42-33, which was a major factor in Hubert Davis’ team controlling the game in the second half.
Davis talked about the importance of rebounding in his postgame press conference on Tuesday night.
“I always say rebounding is the most important factor in the outcome of a game,” Davis said. “We got 20 offensive rebounds and outrebounded them by nine. To me, that was the ball game.”
“I’m so glad I can hammer this,” Davis said. “One of the things I always tell them is that I’m not a big stats guy, but I will use them to confirm what I already know—and I keep telling them: this is who we are. We have got to get to the offensive glass. We have to get second-chance opportunities.”
Ironically, the Tar Heels lost the offensive rebounded department, as the Hoyas had 11 offensive rebounds compared to the Tar Heels’ six offensive boards.
