North Carolina, after successfully winning nine games in a row, fell to the NC State Wolfpack in the ACC championship. Coach Keatts' team becomes the first to ever win five games in five days, securing not only the hardware but also an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. As the big dance approaches this coming week, North Carolina sets its sights on bigger dreams, such as cutting down the nets on the last Monday of the season in Phoenix.
1. More than just RJ Davis and Armando Bacot
Seniors RJ Davis and Armando Bacot were carrying the scoring load for Carolina as they combined for 48 of the team's 76 points after the two halves concluded. Davis ended with a game-high 30 points, converting 10-26 attempts. This includes an unusually inefficient performance from three-point land, going 4-13. Alongside his scoring contributions, Davis had 6 rebounds and 5 assists as well.
Armando Bacot excelled in the paint yet again, surely a healthy sign for Coach Davis going into the main event soon. Bacot carved up 18 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double. Just like his long-time running mate, Davis, Bacot also went 6-8 from the charity stripe. The duo provided every bit of life that Carolina needed in order to have a chance at matching NC State's offensive production. Both DJ Horne and DJ Burns had 29 and 20 points, respectively.
It's just hard to win a basketball game when there are only two guys producing at such an elite level. Harrison Ingram added on a quiet 10 points, marking the only other player besides Davis and Bacot to score in double figures. Although Ingram was not performing up to his usual standards, especially on the glass, he grabbed only 3.
The bench production consisting of Seth Trimble, Jae'Lyn Withers, and Jalen Washington tallied a total of 6 points. A very below-average performance from three guys who are much more capable than that, and it has been proven already.
The chances of UNC making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament become slimmer and silmmer if there is little to no help off the bench.