Off the cuff: Carolina seems like a unified team right now as the Tar Heels win their sixth game in a row. RJ Davis says they are. Seth Trimble says they are. Coach Hubert Davis says they are.
Coach Davis wasn't exactly on the same page as Jae'lyn Withers at one point when Withers evidently said something in the heat of the moment that didn't set well with the coach.
Coach Davis was as mad at a player as I've even seen him and he yanked Withers out of the game immediately. Word is that he said a word the coach didn't like. A couple of minutes later, Coach put him back in and Withers, who seemed to keep his mouth shut the rest of the game, blasted in a three pointer that made it 66-35 with 12:41 to go. At the time, it was the biggest lead of the game.
Trimble said, "The guys are stepping up and hitting shots and it's not just one person but everybody."
For instance, seven Tar Heels hit three pointers against Virginia Tech and 10 players scored.
While Trimble likely had the biggest highlight reel baskets, which included a hesitation drive by where he left three defenders in the dust and then a flying dunk down the lane at the first half buzzer, others had their moments.
Of course Jackson had five threes but it was especially good to see Jalen Washington hit a three that started a 15-0 run that was the beginning of the end for the Hokies and a hustle play by little-used Cade Tyson, who got a physical offensive rebound, kicked it out to Eliott Cadeau who fed it back to Tyson for a three-pointer.
Cadeau, while he is still having trouble scoring, had 12 assists, which is the second most he's had in a game as a Tar Heel.
The large-margin victory plus a good showing against Duke, combined with at least one nice win in the ACC Tournament and preferably two, should get Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. The late-season surge - along with the new-found entertainment value of this team - should help the Tar Heels make the NCAAs.
Carolina 91, Virginia Tech 59 UNC has fun as they run away from VT
(Photo by UNC Sports Information.) North Carolina, using a season-high 15 three pointers, broke open a close game late in the first half and continued the onslaught in the second half, beating Virginia Tech 91-59 on the road. (3/4)
The impressive performance, which included a 36-point lead at one point, included a 19-1 run and a 15-0 run for Carolina. The Tar Heels actually trailed 23-21 with 12 minutes gone in the first half before hitting the accelerator thanks to their defense.
"Defensively we started pressing the basketball and getting steals - Our ball pressure really bothered them," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "Offensively, we started taking care of the basketball and getting out in transition."
Up just 31-28 with under four minutes to go in the first half, RJ Davis and Ian Jackson hit back-to-back threes to start a late run that ended with an old-fashioned three-point play for Seth Trimble and Trimble dunk at the buzzer.
Carolina extended the 46-29 halftime lead with the first four points of the second half. The Tar Heels ended any thoughts of a Hokie comeback when they hit four straight three-point shots over just two minutes of playing time.
Up 54-35, Jalen Washington drained a three from the right corner to start the run before Jackson hit back-to-back threes from the right wing and Jae'lyn Withers finished off the three-point run during what would become a 15-0 run.
The team win was so complete that Davis, who played in his ACC record-tying 169th game, did not play the final 13 minutes of the game. Still, he was one of five Tar Heels in double figures with 15 points.
Jackson, who sank a game-high five threes, led the Heels with 19 points followed by Trimble with 17. Drake Powell added 13 while Ven Allen-Lubin had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"We are playing our best basketball right now," Coach Davis said, referring to the six-game win streak. "Something has changed in us - mainly we are more consistently doing the little things." He said his squad has developed good habits.
"It's about unity. We are just a bunch of brothers having the most fun we can have," Trimble said. "But we still have a lot of do."
Carolina, now 20-11 and 13-6 in the ACC, has a regular season finale with Duke Saturday at 6:30 pm.
Virginia Tech falls to 13-17 and 8-11 in the conference.
