Tar Heels Ensconced In Themselves This Week

CHAPEL HILL – There isn’t much of a secret as to what sits atop North Carolina’s to-do list during its self-introspection week that arrived Monday.

The tenth-ranked Tar Heels don’t play a mid-week game, as this is their open date portion of the ACC schedule, with the next contest at Virginia on Saturday.

So, the time away from game action allows the Heels some needed rest, get their legs back, as some players said following a 96-81 win over Virginia Tech at home this past Saturday, and focus on themselves.

And sitting squarely above everything else as the primary point of emphasis neeing work is to improve its slumping defensive efficiency.

“One-on-one defense, just winning our individual one-on-one matchups,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said Monday during the ACC Conference Call. “You don’t get into rotations if you can guard the ball. And one of the things I’ve always said is the ball is the problem. If you take care of the ball, whether it’s in one-on-one, transition, ball-screen action, Chicago, DHO, if you take care of the ball, everything else will take care of itself.”

Davis also said it’s important to win the drives no matter where they come from, be it the top, wing, or baseline, and being crisper in helping defend those drives. Helping the helper is a point of emphasis right now.

“I feel like at times that has broken down a little bit,” he added.

Fortunately for him, he can point to the team’s recent ten-game win streak to draw a clear correlation to why the Heels went on that run, and compare it to the last six games, in which they have gone 3-3.

In the ten-game win streak, UNC’s opponents shot only 36.5 percent from the floor, including 24.9 percent from 3-point range. Over the last six games, those numbers are 45.6 and 33.8 percent, respectively.

Also, UNC blocked 49 shots during its ten-game win streak, which is obviously 4.9 per contest. But in the last six games, the Heels have blocked just 15 shots, which comes out to 2.5 per outing.

In addition, and this speaks directly to Davis’point about not staying on the ball leading to help side issues, the Heels have allowed a much higher percentage of conversions at the rim over the last six games. Opponents were 71-for-164 converting layups during the, which is 43.3 percent and an average of 7.1 makes per content. Over the last five games, opponents are 73-114 on layups, which is 64 percent, and an average of 12.2 made layups per contest.

One more unsettling stat: in the ten-game streak, only one opponent converted more than 23 shots, but in each of the last six games, each opponent has made at least 25.

“In that ten-game stretch, I thought we were really locked in, particularly halfcourt defending without fouling, finishing possessions with a rebound, protecting the paint, and also protecting the three,” Davis said. “Those are things thing these last six games, or whatever, we have done, but not as consistently well.

“And those are things that we’ve talked about as a team and as a group that we’ve got to get back to, is just being more consistent and sound from the fundamental standpoint.”

Thus, the well-placed timing of this break is being put to good use.

“One of the things that I’m excited about this week, not having a mid-week game, is that for the first time in a long time we can actually practice as opposed to practicing for preparation for a particular opponent,” Davis said.

The Heels (20-6, 12-3 ACC) will also focus some on the offensive side of the floor, as Davis is constantly looking to adjust how opponents defend RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, more specifically. And, evolving is important at this time of the season when there is so much tape on everyone.

This week allows the Heels to do some heavy tweaking.

“I don’t want to give is the opponent a steady diet of understanding or knowing exactly what we’re going to be doing on both ends of the floor,” Davis said. “So, anytime that we can add or change or tweak or alter things, I think that’s good news for us.”

Carolina returns to a more conventional practice schedule Thursday, when the Heels begin preparation for their game at Virginia, a place UNC has not won since 2012. But first, the focus is on themselves, specifically getting back to their January defensive level.