1. Carolina won its 11th straight game at the Smith Center this season by toppling Wake Forest, 87-84. The Heels are now 27-5 in the building against Wake.
2. It wasn’t easy. The Heels squandered a sizable lead in the second half and watched Wake cut it to two on several occasions and finally to one at 75-74. But the Heels made just enough free throws to seal it.
3. And the free-throw line played a big part in the story on a day when the whistles were prolific and the visitors were methodical, leading to a game that lasted well over two hours. Carolina fouled three Deacs and made 20 of 30 from the line on a day when the visitors attempted just 11 free throws (making eight). The percentage wasn’t great (66.7) and there were too many failures until Jarin Stevenson I hit two clutch ones with 5.0 seconds remaining, but the volume was ultimately just enough to give an advantage.
4. Carolina needs better guard play to match up Seth Trimble. Caleb Wilson (22 points and 12 rebounds but only took two shots in the second half) and Henri Veesaar (25 points and nine rebounds) were as usual, but the starting backcourt other than Trimble (10 points) had a rough day.
5. A player who intervened: Jaydon Youngwho scored 12 points coming off the bench. Young went 3-for-5 from three. Unfortunately, if you take out Young and Veesaar (2-for-3), the rest of the team was 4-for-18 from the arc.
6. With a week to prepare for Saturday’s game, Hubert Davis reconfigured its staff. Tar Heels inserted Jarin Stevenson in the starting lineup for the first time since That of Seth Trimble return from injury.
7. Wake became the second ACC foe to bomb three-pointers this season. Florida State did that (heaving 40), then the Deacs made 22 of their 34 three-point field goal attempts in the first half. They hit eight, including four from Juke Harris, who had been a priority on UNC’s scouting report. Harris finished with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Nate Calmese went 7-of-11 from three. Overall, the Deacs went 14 of 35 from three. Twelve of them came from Harris and Calmese.
8. This victory marked the program’s 500th victory at the Smith Center. The Tar Heels are now 500-90 in the building and 259-71 against ACC teams. The win comes as the 40th anniversary of the first game at the Smith Center approaches next week. That milestone — a 95-92 victory over third-ranked Duke — occurred on Jan. 18, 1986.
9. The Tar Heels, a team that hasn’t forced many turnovers this year, were able to set the tone with defensive pressure. The Heels forced four turnovers in the first 4:13 and turned them into eight points. But the mistakes mostly dried up after that, and UNC got just eight points off turnovers the rest of the game.
10. Carolina dominated the first half in the paint. The Heels held the points in the paint 28-14 and also had 13 second chance points. The Heels rebounded eight of their 13 misses in the first 20 misses, an incredible percentage. They weren’t as successful inside in the second half, when they scored just 12 points in the paint and had six second-chance points.
11. One day Wake made a lot of shots, the Heels got two huge blocks. One was by Seth Trimblefor the second time this season, meeting a bigger opponent at the rim and maintaining a five-point UNC lead. The other was by Henri Veesaar with 2:16 left to maintain a two-point advantage over Carolina. Without these two games, the result could have been very different.
12. As usual, an ACC home game Saturday featured a sold-out crowd and a variety of luminaries. Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch, who spoke at the sold-out First Pitch Dinner Friday night, was in attendance, as was former men’s golf player Austin Greaser, who now competes on the Korn Ferry Tour. Former men’s basketball players in attendance included Tyler Hansbrough, Antawn Jamison, Marcus Ginyard, Shammond Williams, new blond Luke Maye and many others.
13. Due to the ACC schedule, Carolina only plays Wake Forest once this season. Saturday’s win gives the Heels 167 wins all-time against Wake, the second-most for UNC against any program (the Heels have 168 wins against NC State).
14. The schedule now gets tricky. The team leaves Monday for a two-game California swing. They return to Chapel Hill for a Jan. 21 date with Notre Dame, then visit Virginia. After a bye week, they close out January with a trip to Georgia Tech, meaning four of the next five games will be on the road.
