Chapel Hill, N.C.—As commissioning progressed, things were spinning and spinning in North Carolina on Friday night, even if it wasn’t fully assembled.
Preseason No. 1 Tar Heels sprinted on Johnson C. Smith (101-40) as Caleb Love scored 20 points and Armando Bako grabbed 20 rebounds in exhibition basketball at the Smith Center. did.
Pete Nance scored 19, Baccott scored 12 and Love had eight assists, playing lead guard without backcourt partner RJ Davis (right hand sprain). Justin McCoy (non-COVID illness), Puff Johnson (sore right knee) and Jalen Washington (rehabilitating injured knee) were also not in uniform.
Despite their absence, UNC quickly handled the Division II Golden Bulls 10 days before their season opener arrival against UNCW. The Tar Heels were on the strength of 15 consecutive points in his first six minutes of the exhibition and he led 18-3. As part of that surge, Love saw him score nine points early on. He finished 4-9 from 3-point range.
UNC unleashed scoring tears throughout. In the second half, Nance’s line-drive 3-pointer from the top of the key pushed the lead past his 40-point threshold to him 78-36. UNC scored his next 19 points and on Will Shaver’s jumper he went 87-36. The Tar Heels eventually finished halftime with him 40-5.
Missing Seth Trimble (11 points, 5 assists from the bench), DiMarco Dunn (9 starts), Tyler Nickel (9 points from the bench) and Dontrez Styles (7 points, 10 rebounds from the bench). as a contributor.
Cedric Patterson was Johnson C. Smith’s only player to hit double figures with 11 points.
double double machine
Bako, a Preseason All-American and ACC Preseason Player of the Year, put together a double-double before the first half was completed. He came into halftime with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and had 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.
Friday night’s stats don’t count in North Carolina’s numbers for the upcoming season, but consider Baccott picking up where he left off on several counts. In a magical run, Baccott became the first player in college basketball history to complete six consecutive double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament.
outside the bench
Freshman guard Trimble was the first sub-coach Hubert Davis used from the bench. He replaced Dunn about three and a half minutes into the game, and the Tar Heels continued to use eight players in the first half. Styles (13:54 mark) and Nickel (10:48 mark) were the other players off the North Carolina bench before halftime.
Nickel found open looks against Johnson C. Smith’s zone defense, hitting two 3s in the first half. His second bucket from across the arc was dug out of the wing and hit a crosscourt his pass from Baccott on the opposite baseline. This gave UNC he a 37-19 lead.
A bouncy Trimble made the cut and hit a big dunk off a pass from Styles in the first half.
Injury Missed, Lineup Shuffle
Sophomore guard Dan joined prospective starters Love, Baccott, Nance and Leakey Black in the UNC starting line-up after RJ Davis sprained his right hand and was out of a uniform on Friday night. Hubert Davis used eight of the nine available scholarship players in the rotation in the first half, with a ninth Shaver joining the mix in the second half.
next to the schedule
UNC, the No. 1 preseason team nationally and favorite to win the ACC for the first time in seven years, is second under Davis to visit UNCW here at the Smith Center on November 7. season begins.
