DURHAM, NC – North Carolina was about as healthy Saturday night as it’s going to be for however many times the Tar Heels lace up their sneakers the rest of the way, and still lost.
But that’s okay. The Heels finally know exactly who they are and how they must play to notch anymore wins, beginning Tuesday night at the ACC Tournament when they face Virginia Tech.
Duke turned a 55-54 lead with 11:07 left into an 89-76 win over the Tar Heels, and if this was the final lab experiment for Roy Williams and his staff to determine what their ingredients are all about, it’s now clear: Among several things, Carolina must get a Grade A performance from Cole Anthony if it’s going to pull off any miracles next week.
Anthony had a subpar game against the Blue Devils, finishing with nine points and three assists, numbers well below his 72 points and 19 assists during the three-game win streak UNC brought into fabled old Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It wasn’t that the freshman point guard played poorly, though he was outdueled by Duke’s more polished lead guy Tre Jones (21 points, 11 assists), it’s just that when Anthony plays at a level that has NBA scouts drooling, he’s producing but also involving teammates making Heels a far more complete team.
Now, the Heels did some nice things Saturday: Outrebounded the Devils, including 19-10 on the offensive glass, a reason they held an 18-10 advantage in second-chance points; and they showed a whole lot of grit, hanging in the game when it wasn’t as smooth as the three straight wins.
That fight has been there much of the season with a few exceptions – see Georgia Tech, at Pittsburgh, at Wake and at Louisville – and it was a component Saturday.
Garrison Brooks was outstanding again, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Has there been a better big man in the nation over the last month? But the Heels are 5-5 in games Brooks scores 20 or more points. He’s essential to UNC getting on a run next week, but he needs help, and it begins with Anthony, who was 4-for-14 from the floor missing both of his 3-point attempts.
Carolina is 5-4 when Anthony scores 20 points, but the Heels are 4-2 when he scores 15 or more points and hands out five or more assists, with one of the losses the buzzer-beater at Notre Dame.
Either Christian Keeling or Brandon Robinson need to knock down shots, and if Armando Bacot performs like he did Saturday – 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes thanks to foul trouble – UNC is capable of beating a lot of teams.
Of course, that’s provided Anthony puts on lottery-pick performances.
These Heels were never going to be vintage even if none of the injury stuff hamstrung their season, but they could have been a solid club, especially when Anthony is at a special level.
He wasn’t there Saturday, so Carolina lost a game it trailed by just one point with 11 minutes remaining even though he had just one bucket at the time. So, imagine if Anthony was in the same mode he was at the Carrier Dome last week or at home versus Wake Forest a few nights earlier, this could have been a different outcome, or at least another thriller.
This isn’t exactly unearthing something new, but with the regular season now complete and the 13-18 Heels as healthy as their going to get, we now know who they are and what must happen to generate headlines next week.
