UNC dominates SMU in ACC basketball tilt behind strong first half

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Jan 7, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) reacts with teammates in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Throughout their college basketball season, the North Carolina Tar Heels have largely struggled to do two things: play solid defense and good basketball in the first half.

On Tuesday night against SMU in a late-night ACC basketball batle, UNC turned in its best defensive performance of the year and – for the second-consecutive game – trotted into halftime with a lead.

North Carolina outscored SMU by 15 in the first half, never trailing en route to an impressive, 82-67 win.

It became apparent pretty quickly that the Tar Heels (10-6, 3-1 ACC), who struggle to find a defensive identity from game-to-game, were going to decide tonight’s outcome with their defense.

UNC limited the visiting Mustangs (11-4, 2-2) to a 33.3 percent (23-of-69) mark from the field. SMU missed plenty of looks from deep in the paint – and North Carolina prevented second-chance points by boxing out. Ven-Allen Lubin and Jalen Washington won their battles against the 7’2″ Samet Yigitoglu. The Mustangs fared even worse from deep, shooting just 22.2% against a Tar Heels lineup that returned Seth Trimble.

UNC continued shooting the ball well, recording a 47.4 field goal percentage as a team. Most surprising about North Carolina’s win, perhaps, was its ability to make 50 percent (11-of-11) of its 3-pointers .

RJ Davis led all scorers with 26 points, his third 20-point outing in six games. Drake Powell, known more for his defense, started the Tar Heel scoring party with a 14-point first half.

UNC still has a long way to go in proving itself as an ACC contender, but Tuesday’s result was the outcome we yearned for all season. North Carolina has all the pieces to play a winning brand of basketball – and beating SMU comfortably goes a long way towards proving that.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/unc-dominates-smu-acc-basketball-044405264.html

Author : Tar Heels Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-08 04:44:00

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