Former North Carolina Coach Roy Williams used to say, ‘Everything looks better when the ball goes in the basket.’ And for the 2023 rendition of the Tar Heels, the most efficient way for the ball to go through the basket is at the free throw line.
Getting to the line is a staple in Carolina basketball. Playing inside-out, and using the combination of size and skill that the stereotypical UNC big has to get the opposing post players in foul trouble, and put the Heels in the bonus earlier.
This season has been no different for the Tar Heels in that regard. On the year, Carolina gets to the line an average of 23.8 times a game, making 17.6 per game, often resulting in the Tar Heels making more free throws than their opposition attempts. According to Kenpom, 22.6 percent of UNC’s points come from the stripe, ranking them first in the ACC in the category and 16 in the country.
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UNC hasn’t shot the ball well from three this season. In conference play, the Heels are shooting 30 percent from behind the arch, and it appears lately that teams are willing to give up the open three to UNC perimeter players, while putting extra bodies in the paint to deal with Carolina’s best player Armando Bacot.
Despite the Tar Heels not catching fire from deep, the group has been able to keep up its efficiency rating through the free throw line.
So far in February, however, the free throw line hasn’t been the Heels’ friend. Hubert Davis’ team opened the month with three consecutive losses, and the common theme is Carolina's inability to maintain its lopsided margin on the free throw line.
In UNC’s most recent three-game losing streak, its opponents have attempted 68 free throws while the Heels have attempted just 51.
“A huge part of our success is attacking the basket, through post or penetration and being able to score at the basket and get fouled and get to the free throw line…,” Davis recently said. “I hope that’s something we can get back to and improve on…
“In the Pitt game, I felt like we shot too many (threes) I don’t like that we got away from attacking the basket through post or penetration. And against Duke, I felt like we attacked the basket. It was also a little more difficult with Lively in the middle because of his ability to block shots and alter shots.”
During the three-game losing streak to Pittsburgh, Duke and Wake Forest Carolina has only attempted more free throws than Pitt, but in that game the Heels only shot 59 percent from the free throw line, well below the team’s 74 percent average on the year, minimizing the advantage the Tar Heels earned at the charity stripe.
In the other two games against Duke and Wake Forest, the Blue Devils and the Demon Deacons made more free throws than UNC attempted. In another game, against Virginia, Carolina allowed the Cavaliers to make more free throws than it attempted.
When this is the case, Carolina’s weaknesses usually are brought to the forefront, and the Tar Heels become an easier team to beat.
For the Heels to turn this around they must recommit themselves to getting in the paint and to the free throw line. When this team can go to the line, it usually indicates aggressiveness in attacking the paint, where Carolina usually has an advantage, allowing the group to be more efficient despite poor shooting.
