UNC basketball’s keys to winning Battle 4 Atlantis
CHAPEL HILL – UNC basketball started last season at No. 1 and reeled off five wins in a row, including a ho-hum victory against Portland at the Phil Knight Invitational.
Thanksgiving week is when things started to shift for the Tar Heels, who left Portland with a bad taste in their mouths as losers of back-to-back games against Iowa State and Alabama.
Those losses turned into two more against Indiana and Virginia Tech as UNC went from the top-ranked team in the nation to unranked. The Heels wouldn’t recover, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
“I think (Thanksgiving week) was a huge learning point for us, just having a sense of urgency and knowing those games mean a lot,” Armando Bacot said after the Tar Heels’ 77-52 win against UC Riverside.
“You look back … the ball may have went a few different ways when we played Alabama. Also, Iowa State. Those games like that are huge, and you gotta win ‘em. Going into this, we’re treating it like it’s a championship. We need to go win it.”
Following a 3-0 start to this season, UNC is set to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis against the likes of Arkansas, Memphis, Michigan, Texas Tech and Villanova. The Tar Heels tip things off Wednesday at noon against Northern Iowa.
“I think we’re gonna learn a lot about us next week,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “It’s an opportunity to compete against some of the better teams in the country. We’re really excited about the opportunity, excited about the challenge we have next week.”
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Here are the Tar Heels’ keys to avoiding a similar fate as last Thanksgiving and leaving the Bahamas with beaming smiles.
UNC basketball has to finish
In the 2022-23 season, UNC lost by fewer than 10 points in 12 of their 13 losses. At the Phil Knight Invitational, UNC led by seven with just under four minutes left before losing to Iowa State. Two days later, in their quadruple overtime loss to Alabama, the Heels had a six-point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third overtime. This year's squad has to show an ability to finish strong against high-level competition.
Armando Bacot has to be ‘dominant’ for Tar Heels
It’s no secret Armando Bacot is the focal point of UNC’s offense. As Davis has stated time and again, the Tar Heels need Bacot to be “dominant” in order to be the best version of themselves. Last season, Bacot averaged 10 shots per game and only had 15 or more shots in seven games. UNC was 5-1 when Bacot reached 15 attempts. Through three games this season, Bacot is averaging 23.5 points and 16.5 rebounds with an average of 13.6 shots. Feeding Bacot will open things up for everybody.
The key 3 for Hubert Davis
There are three things Hubert Davis wants to see every time the Tar Heels take the court.
“There are gonna be nights where we’re not shooting the ball well,” Davis said. “But what is sustainable and what can happen every night is: playing defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball.”
UNC entered its game against UC Riverside at 35th in the nation with a plus-12 rebounding margin, but that was skewed by a 52-31 advantage against Lehigh. The Heels had three more boards than Radford (37-34) in the season opener and were outrebounded by the Highlanders (38-37). Those numbers will have to be better in the Bahamas.
As for turnovers, UNC has been solid at taking care of the ball, averaging 10 turnovers per game. The Heels have 13 more assists (43) than turnovers (30).
Defensively, UNC limited UC Riverside to 52 points for the Heels’ best effort since allowing 49 points against Saint Peter’s in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. In their losses to Iowa State and Alabama last season, the Heels saw four players drop 20 or more points, including a 31-point effort from Iowa State’s Caleb Grill.
Bacot is hopeful the Heels will bring a better all-around effort this Thanksgiving week.
“I just want to be able to see how we stack up against those teams,” he said. “I really do feel confident.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball’s keys to winning Battle 4 Atlantis
