5 Takeaways From UNC's Win Over Gardner-Webb

CHAPEL HILL – It wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but North Carolina notched its third victory in as many games by surviving a scare from Gardner-Webb, 77-61, on Friday night at the Smith Center.

The Tar Heels were led by Cole Anthony’s 28 points while Armando Bacot added 12 points and 11 rebounds. No other Tar Heel scored in double figures. The Bulldogs dropped to 0-3.

Here are 5 Takeaways from UNC’s victory over Gardner-Webb:

Sluggish may not even really describe how poor the Tar Heels were in every facet for much of the game. It began with having low energy and minds that were seemingly elsewhere. Turnovers (Cole Anthony had thee by the intermission, four on the night), Garrison Brooks’ inbound pass after a GW made basket that was stolen, Leaky Black passing the ball to Brandon Huffman in the secondary break, defensive lapses (Platek leaving his feet 25 feet from the basket), limited help defense, and so on.

As a result, UNC had just nine points midway through the first half and led only 30-27 at halftime.

And even in the second half, the Heels struggled shaking the Bulldogs. A 41-27 Carolina lead was trimmed to 44-39 after a 12-3 GW run, and later UNC led just 51-47, but the Heels outscored the Bulldogs 26-14 the rest of the way.

“I just think we were pretty lethargic,” grad transfer Justin Pierce said. “It’s tough having a week in between games and right now with us being such a new group – I’m a veteran so I know what kind of a grind college basketball is, so just stay involved every day and bring it in practice.

“And we really have to get a lot better because we’re far from a finished product and if we play like that in ACC competition we’re going to lose by the same score.”

Armando Bacot’s talent and potential is considerable. He’s going to be an outstanding player and make a lot of cash playing this sport, but part of that process is refining certain aspects of his game. And on this night, Bacot’s propensity to bring the ball down too low to his waist and lower was a problem. Gardner-Webb recognized this early and swatted the ball away three times in the first half and again four minutes into the second half.

Gardner-Webb Coach Tim Craft said this wasn't a point of emphasis when scouting Bacot, but his team recognized it and took advantage of the times the UNC freshman did so.

“They stripped him before he got to go up…,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said.

What makes this time of year so important and valuable is the many lessons learned, especially by freshmen, and Bacot will have plenty of tape to watch and get better from. For the night, he finished the night with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 11 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass.

The thing many fans need to remember about Cole Anthony is that he’s a freshman, and as good as he is, sometimes he’s going to play like one. That happened in a few stetches Friday night. Anthony was far from smooth against the Bulldogs, dribbling into a defender a few times, turning it over with a poor pass, getting stripped, and taking some shots that appeared a bit forced. He ended up with two assists against four turnovers.

Most of UNC’s opponents will be much better than Gardner-Webb, but a terrific lesson for Anthony on this night is that guys can play everywhere in college, and off nights will be exposed. He’s human, so he’s going to have so-so performances. He’s a freshman, too, so they will happen.

But the very impressive thing about Anthony is that he kept plugging away. His motor is an attribute and his ability to stuff the stat sheet is, too. Anthony finished with 28 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range plus he hit 11 of 13 from the free throw line.

In the process, he became the only freshman with 20 or more points in his first three games in UNC history and his 82 points are the most by a freshman through three games, 19 more than Rashad McCants in 2002-03.

Christian Keeling’s catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the right wing coming off a screen early in the second half was the most fluid thing he’s done through three games this season. It was part of a sequence in which his skill set was on display. An ability to score is the main reason the grad transfer was brought, and he did it with confidence on that shot and in that stretch.

Keeling hit a lot of threes at Charleston Southern, but his game is more driving, and he had two buckets going toward the hole. What’s important to note is that he felt good during that stretch, and said as much after the game.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I’m pretty good off the catch-and-shoot. It’s not falling but coach tells me ‘Just keep shooting, just keep shooting.’ He recruited me, he believes in me, so I’m confident in my shot and I’m going to keep shooting and it’s going to fall.”

There’s no need for UNC fans to be alarmed by the fact that Gardner-Webb pushed the Heels because it happens in college basketball, as we see every week. Evansville winning at Kentucky is one example, but Georgia State pushed Duke on Friday night, too, and Western Carolina led FSU for most of that game before losing by five. It happens and Carolina, particularly the composition of this UNC club, isn’t immune to that.

The key for Carolina is for this to not happen again, at least against a team like GW. The Tar Heels are very much a work-in-progress, so what you see now isn’t what you will see in a few months, so understand that when watching a game like this. And, also understand this stuff happens in college hoops often enough it shouldn’t be a huge surprise when a blue blood struggles.