IOWA CITY, IA – If last week’s three games in three days in Asheville was more of a lab for Roy Williams and North Carolina, Tuesday night at No. 3 Iowa was more like a big exam.
The Tar Heels found out plenty about themselves last week, and then had a few days to regroup, get in some valuable film time, and begin the process of getting better.
Now, taking on arguably the best player in the country in Hawkeyes’ big man Luka Garza and legitimate national title contender in Iowa, the Heels got a portrait of how they stack up against a team with Final Four written all over it.
The Heels are an okay club right now with potential for much more down the road, but they are also quite flawed, and much of it is traced to their immense youth. And that’s pretty much where everything begins with the Tar Heels.
Yet, in the COVID-shortened season every team is navigating, there just isn’t the same amount of time to tinker here and tweak there before having things humming a couple of months into the season and still be in early January. That’s so pre-pandemic.
Furthermore, with no so-called cupcakes remaining on the schedule, unless UNC finds a comparable replacement for the cancelled game versus Elon, the Tar Heels will be tested every night from here on. The ACC is clearly down, and it’s doubtful anyone will present the kind of challenge the Heels saw here in the frigid Upper Midwest until sometime in March. But it’s still the ACC, and the rigors of life in that league haven’t exactly vanished.
Thus, the Carolina kids need to grow up fast. And despite the result here, they did some of that tonight.
The Heels could have wilted when Iowa exploded showering threes from all over the perimeter taking leads of 25-9 and 30-15. It looked like a blowout loss was imminent. But Carolina didn’t quit.
Garrison Brooks said last year’s team “would have lost the game by 25,” and was proud of how they kept fighting, saying they “made some strides.”
The Heels closed to within nine before a three at the buzzer gave the Hawkeyes a 43-31 halftime lead. Then, they put on a show to open the second half displaying a departure from how they played in Asheville by outscoring Iowa 37-24 over the first 10:30 of the second half. The defense still struggled some, but that was some serious Carolina hoops there. Really, given the competition, it was the first time this group has played like that.
Freshmen Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Day’Ron Sharpe combined for 12 points and five assists during the stretch. It was a step forward for sure.
“I do like the fact that they don’t roll up in the corner and get into the fetal position kind of thing, they keep playing,” Williams said afterward.
In the push, the Heels converted 14 shots from the field, nine of which were assisted. One was a put back, three were dunks, two layups, five jumpers inside the arc and four 3-pointers, all of which were assisted. Again, that’s some hoops.
In fact, over a span of 18:14, beginning with 7:44 remaining before halftime, the Tar Heels scored 53 points. Love and Davis were finding teammates. The Heels were intent on running stuff through the post. Luka who? They went right at Iowa’s stud, whom Williams favorably compared to UNC legend Tyler Hansbrough.
Yet, with that impressive stretch, the other 22 minutes were laced with poor defense and many more turnovers. Carolina allowed 50 points off 54 turnovers in Asheville, and against the Hawkeyes gave up 23 points off 18 turnovers.
Love and Davis stepped up their assist game combining for 14, but they also added seven turnovers. Sharpe also had three. That’s 10 right there by important pups who will log a ton of minutes this season, so they need to clean that up some more.
“You can’t talk about them being freshmen anymore,” Williams said. “We’ve played five games, we’ve had 36 practices, I think you’ve got to stop turning the ball over. I think it’s been, probably of all the things, I’d say the turnovers have been the biggest thing that’s been a negative for us.”
But a positive here is Carolina basketball surfaced on the offensive end for really the first time this season. That’s progress, which is being measured on a curve right now.
But not for much longer. Mid-terms and finals will be here before they know it.
