By Adam Lucas
1. Workmanlike when for Carolina, doing what they had to do in order to edge past Boston College, 72-64.
2. Armando Bacot’s double-double–which he amassed before halftime–ties the school record. Bacot’s 60th double-double ties him with Billy Cunningham, a record that has stood for 60 years. He’s also just a handful of rebounds away from passing Tyler Hansbrough as the school’s all-time leading rebounder, a mark that should fall in the next game or two. He finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
3. Carolina continues to juggle personnel. Tuesday marked the return of Pete Nance from a back injury, and he announced his return by hitting a pair of three-pointers in the first four minutes. But the Tar Heels played without Jalen Washington, who was limited by an ankle injury suffered during shootaround earlier in the day. Nance had six points and five rebounds in his return.
4. That was an old-time battle in the post between Bacot and Boston College’s Quentin Post. Post eventually fouled out, but not before he and Bacot had traded numerous pushes and shoves. Post had 17 points but just five rebounds.
5. That was a fitting matchup for an Eagles team that plays more offense inside the three-point arc than any opponent Carolina has seen this season. Continuing their pattern throughout the season, BC took just two three-point shots in the first 20 minutes (Carolina hoisted 14). The Eagles take more long two-point jumpers than perhaps any team in college basketball, but appear to be very well-coached by Earl Grant (the move to a zone late in the second half briefly flummoxed the Tar Heels). Boston College did not make a three-point shot in the game, finishing 0-for-6. Per Bryan Ives, it was the first time since Nov. 1990–a span of 1,149 games–that the Tar Heels did not allow a three-pointer.
6. Nance helped on the boards, especially on the offensive end. Bacot did his usual heavy work on the offensive glass, grabbing five, but Nance supplemented it with three. That helped Carolina hold a whopping 19-3 edge in second chance points.
7. Completely true that Caleb Love did not have his best game as a Tar Heel. It’s also true that he made two huge shots when Boston College cut it to a one-point game with under six minutes to play, converting a three-pointer and scoring off a loose ball. That flurry quickly pushed it back to a six-point advantage. He hasn’t been shooting well, but he’s still the guy who wants to take all the big shots. He also finished with 16 points.
8. On a night when three-point shots were hard to come by for either side, RJ Davis was a lifesaver. The junior guard hit four of them on his way to 18 points. Both entire teams combined, other than Davis, hit six three-pointers.
9. Funny moment in the arena during the second half, as the video board showed Luke Maye highlights and then showed Maye himself, who was in town on a brief respite from his overseas career. The caption read, “Luke Maye/Drake Maye’s Brother.” The camera then panned down the aisle…where it found Drake Maye, who was shown with the caption, “Drake Maye/Luke Maye’s Brother.”
10. The game also marked the debut of an in-arena light show at the under-4:00 media timeout. The Smith Center crowd at first seemed slightly confused, but overall seemed to enjoy the lights going down and a high-energy timeout before the game’s closing minutes.
11. Carolina has now won 15 of the last 16 against Boston College. It also concludes the softer part of the ACC schedule. A very difficult stretch begins Saturday against NC State in what should be a lively atmosphere at the Smith Center.
12. Don’t think we’ve mentioned this in this space before–remember that anytime it’s your first time seeing a game at the Smith Center, go by Guest Services outside of section 126 to get your certificate. Two young Tar Heels got theirs signed by Armando Bacot on Tuesday night, which makes for a great memory in an era where printed tickets are hard to come by. Can’t guarantee the Bacot signature, unfortunately, but just the certificate is a fun souvenir.