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NEW YORK, NY – Through the first eight games of the season, opponents’ three-point shooting hasn’t been a big problem for North Carolina.
But Tuesday night against fifth-ranked Connecticut at Madison Square Garden, daggers from beyond the arc were what sunk the Tar Heels in an 87-76 loss.
UConn was left open throughout the game for 3’s, but it didn’t hurt UNC in first half, as the Huskies were only 4-for-16 from 3 in the opening 20 minutes.
But in the second half, the Huskies made six of 15, including four in a row to start the half and stretch the lead into double digits. UConn shot 55 percent in the second half to pull away.
Both Armando Bacot and RJ Davis said after the game that the Tar Heels defense wasn’t communicating well early in the second half, not calling out switches, and allowed UConn’s streaky shooters to get hot.
After working hard to cut the Huskies lead to five at the end of the first 20 minutes, UConn drilled its first four 3-pointers in the opening four minutes of the second half.
Solomon Ball hit two, Cam Spencer drained one, and Alex Karaban hit the other as the Huskies lead swelled to 58-45.
Another 3-pointer by Ball from the left corner pushed the defending national champs’ lead to 75-63 with 6:30 to play, and the Tar Heels never got closer than nine points behind after that.
Here are some noteworthy tidbits from UNC’s loss to UConn:
*Rebounding hasn’t been a problem for North Carolina so far this season; it entered Tuesday’s game with a seven boards per contest advantage.
But the Huskies were a different beast than what UNC has seen so far, and the rebounding edge was decidedly for the Big East team Tuesday. UConn outrebounded North Carolina 43-33 Tuesday.
*Armando Bacot had his 73rd career double-double, and seemed to be on his way to a big game when he scored six of UNC’s first eight points. But Bacot was held in check the rest of the way,
*RJ Davis now has five straight games of 23 points or more and has scored 133 points in that span, which is an average of 26.6 points per contest.
*The Tar Heels did well to stay in the game at the end of the first half. A 10-1 run from the Huskies brought a tight game at 32-31 to a 42-32 UConn lead. But with the game threatening to get away from the Heels, they stiffened. Harrison Ingram hit a jumper, and then moments later, after Ingram missed a free throw, Armando Bacot grabbed the rebound and thundered home a dunk, bringing the Madison Square Garden crowd to its feet and reducing the deficit to 42-36. Moments later Ingram then drilled a 3 from the top of the key to end the half with a 44-39 UConn edge.
*It was a quiet game for Seth Trimble, who took only one shot in the first half and two shots in all. He played 16 minutes, two more than in the win over Florida State this past weekend. He was plus-24 that afternoon.
*Considering how long the Huskies are, the Tar Heels did a good job staying out of foul trouble Tuesday. UNC committed only five first-half fouls and no player had more than one. UNC finished with 13 fouls to 18 for UConn.
*Elliot Cadeau shot the most efficiently of any Tar Heel Tuesday, making three of his four field goal attempts.
*RJ Davis was uncharacteristically reticent to shoot to open the game Tuesday, as the Heels’ leading scorer took but four shots in the opening half. But Davis exploded in the second half, keeping North Carolina close, and scored 19 after halftime.
*Harrison Ingram enjoyed another strong game from the field, hitting eight of 13 and scoring 20 points. He didn’t take his first shot until midway through the first half, however. He ended up 8-for-13 from the field.
*Armando Bacot had been off to a great start from the foul line this season, hitting 39-46 (85 percent). But Tuesday he struggled, going 5-for-10. He said after the game an elbow issue affected his shooting.
*Bacot was called for a very iffy technical in the first half; he screamed in celebration after a put-back dunk and was whistled.
*UNC had difficulty with UConn grad transfer Cam Spencer in the first half; the sharpshooter had nine of the Huskies’ first 18 points, as the Heels guards had trouble staying in front of him.
*Cormac Ryan did not have a successful first game at MSG; the New York product was ineffective, shooting 3-for-10 from the field, and 0-for-6 from 3. UNC was -18 when Ryan was in the game Tuesday.
*The Tar Heels had trouble with Huskies guard Tristen Newton early. Newton had a phenomenal game against Kansas last Friday night, and Tuesday he carved up whoever UNC put on him. Newton had 10 first-half points and got them on jumpers and drives, but was held to only four points after the break.
*UNC was physical on Huskies 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan Tuesday, getting the UConn big man into foul trouble in the first half and holding him to two points. Clingan managed just eight points and four boards.
*Two Tar Heels were playing close to home at MSG: Cormac Ryan grew up in New York City before going to Milton Academy in Massachusetts, while R.J. Davis played for Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, just 30 miles from the Garden.
Key stats from the game:
-- UNC had 1.101 points per possession, UConn had 1.243.
-- North Carolina made 13 of 22 free throws (59 percent), while UConn hit nine of 16 (56 percent).
-- UNC led for only 3:23 on Tuesday, while the Huskies had the edge for 34:29.
-- UNC’s last lead was 8-7 early in the game.
-- North Carolina only played six players more than nine minutes Tuesday.
-- The Huskies had 13 fast-break points, to only six for North Carolina.
-- Neither team had trouble with turnovers; UNC had seven, while the UConn lost the ball eight times.
-- UNC got very little from its bench, only four points were scored by reserves.
-- Foul trouble was never an issue for UNC Tuesday; it committed only 13 team fouls.
