NCAA Basketball: Overall takeaways from 2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Iowa Hawkeyes – Can win even without Garza at his best

Although the game got much closer towards the 30-minute mark of the game, Iowa put on a dominant first-half display against the Tar Heels. And they built the nearly 20-point lead with little help of superstar big man Luka Garza. While he was dealing with the bevy of Tar Heel big men, Joe  Wieskamp, Jordan Bohannon, and CJ Fredick went off from deep. The trio combined to score 64 points total while making 19 of 30 from three-point range.

Garza saved his best work when the game was tied, hitting a couple of and-one baskets to help push back the lead. But the supporting cast were the stars of this show, with North Carolina unable to put too much pressure on the perimeter as they were afraid of leaving Garza alone. When the Hawkeyes are hitting from deep, there may not be a better offense in the country.

North Carolina Tar Heels – Play Day’Ron Sharpe more

Garrison Brooks was questionable coming into the game but he played well overall, going for 17 points on 7/11 shooting in 33 minutes. But an argument can be made that he wasn’t even the most impressive big, as freshman forward Sharpe went for 13 points on 5/6 shooting in 14 minutes off the bench. He played a crucial role in the Tar Heels’ comeback to get the lead for a short period before Walker Kessler came in and allowed a couple of made baskets by Garza.

North Carolina does have a great amount of depth but there’s starting to be a divide between Brooks and Sharpe and Kessler and starter Armando Bacot, who went for four points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes. Some of those need to go to Sharpe, who is starting to blossom into a star in his own right.