Three takeaways from UNC basketball’s win over Western Carolina

The North Carolina Tar Heels are 1-0 in the young college basketball season. While it wasn’t easy and there was some stress involved in the second half, the Tar Heels were able to pull out a win over Western Carolina, 80-72 on Monday night.

It was the first win under Michael Malone, as he took over as head coach from Hubert Davis. While it’s a long season, there were still some concerns with this first game and our look at this team in a game that counts. In the three exhibition games, we saw some of those struggles as well. But now it’s translated into the regular season.

Advertisement

North Carolina fans will take the win, but we need to take a look at what was good and what was bad in this game.

Here are some takeaways from the big win in the season opener for North Carolina.

The offense doesn’t have much of a rhythm

Nov 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Neo Avdalas (17) dunks the ball against the Western Carolina Catamounts during the second half at Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

I think it’s going to be clear early on that this offense will struggle without a true point guard. The Tar Heels had Neo Avdalas as the primary initiator on offense in this game, and I don’t know if that’s a good idea moving forward. The first-step quickness just isn’t there for Avdalas, which limits some drives to the bucket. The defense doesn’t have to collapse as much, which would lead to open threes.

Advertisement

I don’t know who Malone turns to in terms of the point guard spot but my best guess is Terrence Brown. But even so, he’s never really been a high-assist guy in his career either. How about Matt Able? I don’t know if he’s comfortable there, as his primary spot is at shooting guard and the Tar Heels will need his shooting ability.

Not having a true facilitator could haunt this team this season.

Rebounding is an issue….again

Nov 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Western Carolina Catamounts forward Fola Sodipo (23) looks for a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/three-takeaways-unc-basketballs-win-172219954.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-11-03 17:22:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.