UNC playing inspired basketball, something the Tar Heels hope continues against Elon
No need to check the ACC Network’s broadcast schedule before North Carolina’s 8 p.m. tipoff against Elon on Saturday night in the Dean E. Smith Center. There aren’t any Formula 1 racing programs in the ACC.
Many fans did not see the first half of Sunday’s win at Georgia Tech on ESPN2 because the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ran long with multiple red flags and stoppages. That forced extended post-race coverage, and who knows how many Tar Heel fans tuning in that helped boost the peak viewership of the race to 1.2 million — the most ever on ESPN2.
The game was originally scheduled to start at 4 p.m., but in September, ESPN moved the time back an hour to 3 p.m., a change confirmed by the ACC and UNC, anticipating the race would be over by then. A statement from ESPN also explained why the game wasn’t moved to another channel in the family of ESPN networks:
“Regrettably, the F1 race ran longer than anticipated due to multiple stoppages and post-race coverage was extended due to championship implications. Other ESPN networks, including ESPNU and ESPNEWS, were tied up with live programming, so the start of the basketball game was moved to ESPN3 and the ESPN App.”
When the game resumed to live coverage, the Tar Heels (6-2) showed how they’ve continued to improve during their three game winning streak since, arguably their worst showing this season in a loss to Tennessee.
The Tar Heels don’t expect Elon (2-7) to pose much of a challenge as the Phoenix enter the Smith Center on a six game losing streak. And the last time Carolina had a week between games is why UNC coach Hubert Davis said they were able to get better. After beating UNC Asheville on Nov. 23, the Heels didn’t play Michigan until Dec. 1.
“Sometimes you’re playing so many games you’re in game mode, but where you get better is at practice,” Davis said. “I’m really thankful that that we had those eight days not to have to really prepare for a game; that we could practice and get better at the things we needed to improve on.”
Against the Wolverines, that meant having arguably their best defensive performance of the season. Carolina limited Michigan to a season-low 51 points and held it to 35 percent shooting from the floor.
Against the Yellow Jackets, that meant sharing the ball better than it had in any game this season. Carolina posted a season-high 21 assists, which accounted for 67 percent of their made baskets. Finding the best shot also led UNC to shoot a season-high 58 percent from 3-point range.
The Heels will look to keep that momentum going against the Phoenix.
“Every since (Tennessee), we’ve been locked in on defense,” guard Caleb Love said. “And the other thing, just getting the right shots, knowing our personnel, knowing what got us easy buckets. So on the offensive end, we’re just taking the right shots and making the right play.”
It certainly helps that Love and fellow sophomore guard R.J. Davis are showing why they were so highly recruited.
Love had a game-high (and season-high tying) 22 points against Michigan. He’s made 7 of his last 13 3-point attempts and totaled 14 assists in the past three games. Love has also improved defensively. He had a total of three steals through UNC’s first five games, but has a combined eight over the past three games.
Davis scored a game-high 23 points with five assists against Georgia Tech. He’s shooting 51 percent from 3-point range for the season and drew a comparison to former UNC standout and current Chicago Bulls guard Coby White, from senior forward Leaky Black.
“He can really shoot the ball and that makes it hard for people to guard him,” Black said. “They’ve got to come out and go out further in the half court and guard him. And once they do that he can just easily drive by them.”
And that’s a Formula 1 reference the Heels can live with on Saturday.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 5:00 PM with the headline "UNC playing inspired basketball, something the Tar Heels hope continues against Elon."