Well that was ugly. Here is the bottom line on this game. UNC shot the ball poorly. That was basically it and anyone who wants to whine about effort or intensity can kindly refrain from dropping a comment below. This wasn’t about effort. The team focus may have been a little off but for the most part UNC got plenty of good looks at the basket. The number of point blank range shots missed was bordering on ridiculous. Most of the perimeter shots were badly off and looked short. The execution seemed to be there up to the point of finishing the play and there it seemed to fall apart.
Was it tired legs from three games in six days? Playing in a completely dead building? The suckitude of Wake Forest was so massive it affected UNC? I have no idea but it should be noted that this game was not dissimilar to the one the Heels won over Wake Forest last season in Chapel Hill. In that game UNC shot 36% and went 5-27 from three but won by 14. Whatever the reason, we know bad shooting nights are inevitable. You just hope they don’t come against the wrong team. If UNC was going to have a crappy shooting game, Wake Forest is a good opponent to have it against.
Despite the poor shooting Tyler Zeller and John Henson put up double-doubles. Zeller had a personal best 18 rebounds which broke his previous best of 17 set against NC State last week. Kendall Marshall hit two threes, scored 14 points, six assists and zero turnovers. Harrison Barnes had 13 points but shoot poorly from the floor and the line. He also injured his ankle but returned to the game and did not appear to suffer any ill effects from it. Reggie Bullock did not impact the game offensively but hounded Wake’s C.J. Harris all night keeping him mostly in check.
That’s essentially it. You take the win and move one. On a historical note, this was UNC’s 600th ACC win making it the first school to reach that mark. Ironically UNC scored 14 fewer points in the 600th win that it did in the first won, an 82-56 throttling of South Carolina.
Now, let us never speak of it again.
