Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) is an RTC Correspondent. He filed this report after Saturday afternoon’s game between North Carolina and Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.
North Carolina entered Saturday’s game against Ohio State looking to salvage what had so far been an uneven December. The Tar Heels kicked off the month by suffering a pretty surprising home defeat at the hands of Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That defeat was especially alarming because it illustrated North Carolina’s offensive struggles, as the Tar Heels were an ice cold 27.9% from the field and an abysmal 17.4% from behind the three-point line. After a strong 44-point victory over East Carolina on December 7, North Carolina ran into the Kentucky buzzsaw in Lexington last Saturday. The Tar Heels struggled with Kentucky’s defensive pressure all afternoon, and turned the ball over 18 times in a 14-point loss. Against Ohio State on Saturday, Roy Williams‘s squad was finally able to put together a consistent 40 minutes of basketball against top competition, as North Carolina emerged with a 82-74 win. The following are three takeaways from Saturday’s action.
- North Carolina came out strong. The Tar Heels were able to race out to a 12-point halftime lead due to a strong first half performance on both ends of the court. Led by Brice Johnson‘s eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, North Carolina scored 43 points in the opening stanza on 17-of-33 (51.5%) shooting from the field. The first half scoring was a very balanced effort as Johnson, Marcus Paige, Justin Jackson, J.P. Tokoto, Kennedy Meeks, and Joel Berry II all scored at least five points in the opening 20 minutes. On the defensive end of the court, North Carolina’s hard-nosed defense forced Ohio State into a very pedestrian 12-of-32 (37.5%) shooting in the first half. The backcourt of Shannon Scott and D’Angelo Russell was held to just seven first half points on 3-of-11 shooting. The Tar Heels also dominated the rebounding glass in the opening half, as they held a 23-15 advantage on the boards at the half. Ohio State was able to make this game a little closer than it probably should have been late in the second half, but the strong first half turned in by North Carolina created enough distance that the outcome was really never in question.
- Brice Johnson, J.P. Tokoto, and Kennedy Meeks were North Carolina’s three best players. Preseason All-American Marcus Paige deservingly grabs most of the headlines for North Carolina, but Saturday, it was Johnson, Tokoto, and Meeks that were the most important to the winning effort. Johnson finished with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-10 from the field to lead the way offensively for the Tar Heels. Tokoto was a jack-of-all-trades, filling the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals. North Carolina finished the afternoon a +14 in the rebounding category and the biggest reason for that advantage was Meeks, who gathered 13 boards to go along with eight points and two blocks. Every star player needs a capable supporting cast, and if Saturday was any indication, the Tar Heels have a lot more to offer than just Marcus Paige.
- Ohio State’s offense could be a struggle yet again. The Buckeyes did enter Saturday’s action third in the country with a 53.7 overall shooting percentage. That figure, however, does not tell the whole story of Ohio State’s season. In the Buckeyes’ lone game against top competition – a December 2 loss at Louisville – they shot just 30.4% from the field. Struggling against quality competition was a trend that continued Saturday, as Ohio State shot just 35.2% in defeat. Russell, Marc Loving, and Sam Thompson combined for just a 16-of-44 shooting performance. Most of the problems the Buckeyes faced in Big Ten competition a season ago were due to poor shooting, and if their losses to Louisville and Ohio State are a sign of a trend, Thad Matta‘s squad may once again show some offensive deficiencies when conference play begins later this month.