UNC Basketball: 3 takeaways from shootout victory over Tennessee Vols

1) This might be a vintage UNC offense

The Volunteers entered the game Wednesday night with the #1 ranked team in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, and do you know what that got them? Biscuits. Carolina reached the fabled 100-point marker usually reserved for the Tennessee Techs of the world to trigger Tar Heels fans’ favorite promotion, and they did it against Rick Barnes’ team. Somewhere Dean Smith is smiling.

The Heels were at their most electric in the first half, as they hung 61 first-half points on Tennessee by scoring every which way: from three, on the break, off offensive rebounds, and from the line.

Freshman Elliot Cadeau wowed with his court vision and passing ability, fittingly dishing out 10 assists with former Tar Heel great Ed Cota sitting at midcourt. Cadeau also played a season-high 31 minutes in the game and committed zero turnovers. It hasn’t taken long to demonstrate that the rookie is going to be a big part of Hubert Davis’ plans for this team.

Armando Bacot, now in his fifth year at Carolina, is a player that sometimes gets taken for granted, but he proved why he’s one of the best centers in the country with a 22-11 that included 13 attempts from the free throw line. His screen-and-roll game with Cadeau was a thing of beauty all night.

Speaking of the charity stripe, the best Carolina teams always make more free throws than their opponents attempt, and UNC took that to the extreme against the Vols. The Heels didn’t miss any of their 16 attempts in the first half, and they finished the game 32-38 compared to just 13-16 for Tennessee.

If Carolina could hit the century mark against a team with a defensive pedigree as impressive as Tennessee, something tells me there may be more discounted Bojangles biscuits in the not-so-distant future in Chapel Hill.