Winning Three Back to Back on Road Games, Can North Carolina Make It to the Final Four?

Things seem clear. Especially after the Tar Heels game against the NC State. The North Carolina defeated the NC in their most recent game at the PNC Arena. The UNC outperformed their opponents with a 67-54 tally. For the UNC the best performer was their guard RJ Davis who smoked 16 points with 4 rebounds. Another notable player was their forward Harrison Ingram who nabbed an astonishing 19 rebounds and scored 9 points. With this win, the UNC registered their consecutive third on-road victory.

Despite an exceptional show, the thing that goes against the UNC is that the NC State are not one of the best teams to battle it out in the NCAA tournament. Other than that, critics have also stated their own reasons for not giving the UNC the credit it deserves.

What does the UNC lack?

The North Carolina shot 33.3% three-pointers as a team. When speaking of their defense, they are good defensively but don’t measure to be one of the best teams. The number of mid-range jump shots and throwing into the post wasn’t as effective as someone would expect from a top-tier team. The advantage the UNC have over other teams is that they are playing as a team.

Their guard Elliot Cadeau has only shot 25% three-pointers and doesn’t like to shoot much. He plays like a freshman who is still adapting to the college basketball level. What is good about his play is that he moves the ball, breaks the press, and creates layups.

They weren’t exceedingly better, especially during the first half. The NC State came as close as 28 points in response to the UNC’s 30. Their other guard Cormac Ryan who hasn’t been shooting well made two three-pointers in the first half. That was a positive sign for the sign for the team and if they want to continue their on-song performance then Ryan will have to make more three-pointers in the subsequent games.

Although Ingram grabbed 19 rebounds the amount of rebounds available was incredible. The North Carolina shot 38.7% as a team from the field. Their forward Armando Bacot has become modestly better. But he doesn’t really look to face up and shoot. 

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Meanwhile, Cadeau is a true point guard who doesn’t look to shoot unless he is really open. Ingram and Ryan are also good at their game. Ryan does all three things satisfactorily. He can shoot, pass and defend. Another important thing to note is that the ACC is not particularly one of the best leagues. Their game however does seem to eclipse their problems and that will change things for them.

Why Tar Heels aren’t as bad as they may seem?

The North Carolina has good basketball players who are connected defensively and hence can contribute well. They have players who know each other well and they share the ball without getting selfish offensively. Ingram can push the ball, he has good size. He might not be a knockdown shooter but he is really versatile. He has basketed an average of 13.1 points per game with 6.8 rebounds per match and 2.6 assists per game. He plays the role of a third player to the fullest and has helped his notch up wins by their collective effort.

Their alpha in this season has been their guard RJ Davis. Davis has besotted an average of 20.6 points per game with an exceptional 3.4 rebounds per contest and 3.6 assists per game. He has got continual support from the other members of the team. 

He was a sight to watch during their game against the Arkansas Razorbacks when he smashed a season-high 30 points and a cent percent free throw percentage. He also smoked a 40% three-pointer percentage in the same game diminishing the hopes of victory of the Razorbacks.

Meanwhile, Bacot just stands next to Davis in points, scoring 14.9 points per match. He averages a double-double with 11.1 rebounds per contest. Bacot much like Davis occupies the top position in two stats for his team – rebounds average and blocks average. He has throttled 7 double-doubles with his season-best rebounds of an astonishing 20 against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. 

He has also proven his mettle against strong teams like the Clemson Tigers when he seized 16 rebounds and bashed 14 points. Thus, he has played his role of the second fiddle quite well and has expertise in the backcourt.

Additionally, Ingram has been a small ball four for the team. He has touched his season-high performance of 20 points thrice this NCAA season. What was surprising was that one of his 20 points performance came against the University of Connecticut Huskies in an 87-76 loss. He thus displayed a lot of resilience despite ending up on the losing side. Their fans will be happy reading this since as per analysis they can make it to the Final Four if they satisfy one condition.

Can they make to the Final Four?

The UNC can not be ignored this season. The question looming over them is if they can make it to the Final Four. They might not look like the perfect team considering that they are good in ACC which doesn’t have as many top-tier teams as other conferences, they might fall short when it comes to battling other ranked teams.

But what goes in their favor is that they are a team who has improved from day 1. Especially taking a look at their freshman Cadeau we can be sure to say that this team can deliver results if they continue to make progress in their style of play.

We have a lot of scope with them because Cadeau is a freshman and has been playing a consistent average of 21.9 minutes per game. This gives him good game time and as seen freshmen are quite different towards the end of the season as compared to when they enter the team.

Hence, if all goes well for the UNC then they can pave their way to the Final Four but the only thing they would have to do is continuously improve their game. 

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