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Off the cuff: North Carolina, which had a volatile offseason that saw its head coach resign and several players transfer out of the program, settled things down as Coach Hubert Davis led the program to its 100th season-opening victory.

Things were certainly different and will take some getting used to. Not only did Coach Davis, as expected, rely more on the three-point shot as Carolina hit eight of 21, but he played only seven players more than 10 minutes.

Coach Roy Williams liked to give a lot of players some early season action. Surprisingly, Armando Bacot, who figured to be the team leader, only played 17 minutes. Six other Tar Heels got more minutes.

Bacot was joined in the starting lineup by Brady Manek, Caleb Love, R.J. Davis and Leaky Black. But subs Dawson Garcia and Kerwin Walton got as much playing time as anyone except for Love.

One change I wish Coach Davis had made from the Coach Williams era was running the clock out at the end when guys who don't get to play much are on the court.

Dewey Farris, who didn't score last season, scored his first point of his career with a free throw but wouldn't it have been nice to see him get his first bucket of his career instead of watching Anthony Harris dribble the clock out?

Tar Heels 83, Loyola 67
Coach Davis relieved after opening win

North Carolina, under new head coach Hubert Davis, jumped out to an 18-3 lead after the first five minutes and cruised to an 83-67 victory over Loyola at home in front of a masked up crowd. (11/9)

"It felt like college basketball. It felt like Carolina basketball tonight," Coach Davis said referring to playing to empty stadiums a year ago due to COVID. "I was emotional after the game. It's been an unbelievable, great seven months but it has been a lot. I didn't have time for the emotions to set in."

Some fans didn't have time to get to their seats before the Heels took control. New transfer Brady Manek drained a three to start the game and Caleb Love followed with another three - showing the added emphasis on the three-point shot - to put Carolina up quickly 6-0. Another three - this one from Kerwin Walton - put the Heels up 18-3.

Then, the Tar Heels' fifth three of the half, a triple from the left corner by Love, gave Carolina the biggest lead of the half at 39-22.

Up 45-31 at the half, Carolina faltered in the first five minutes of the second half allowing Loyola to pull within nine. But the Tar Heels quickly took command again, going on a 12-1 run to go up 61-41.

The lead got as high as 26 points before Coach Davis put in subs and the Heels settled for a 16-point victory.

Coach Davis said he was relieved to get the first game in the books and he particularly liked how his club responded when Loyola cut into the lead at the start of the second half.

He credited Love's floor leadership in settling the Heels down. Love, a sophomore who had never played in front of a Carolina crowd, led the Tar Heels with 22 points. He had several highlight reel plays including an early steal and thunderous dunk, several drive-by layups and a long alley oop pass to Leaky Black for a dunk.

"Seeing the fans in the stands motivated me, energized me," Love said, adding that he wants to get more assists and shoot free throws better.

Love, who had two assists, missed four free throws as the Tar Heels were just 17 of 28 from the line.

Brady was right behind Love in scoring for the Heels with 20 points. Rounding out the double figure scorers were Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia with 12 and Walton with 11.

Carolina, 1-0, hosts Brown on Friday night at 9 p.m.

Box Score

A Caleb Love steal and dunk gave the Tar Heels their first double digit lead at 13-3 and it never got closer than nine the rest of the way as Carolina led by as many as 26 points. (UNC Sports Information photo by Jeffrey A. Camarati.)

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