Joel Berry previews Oklahoma and provides solutions for Armando Bacot’s struggles and UNC’s defense.
North Carolina is looking past its defeat to Kentucky on Saturday in order to get ready for another highly anticipated game: the Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. against No. 7 Oklahoma. On this week’s episode of Up in the Rafters, former Tar Heel star Joel Berry gave a preview of the game against the Sooners. Among other things, the 2017 national champion addressed Armando Bacot’s recent struggles and offered suggestions for improving the Tar Heels’ rebounding and defense. These are his main takeaways from the program.
“Under Coach Williams, we had to run when we didn’t rebound well or if someone neglected to box out during practice. Coach Robinson would do this by raising his hand on the sideline. I’m not sure how it works in reality, but something needs to shift. Teams cannot be awarded more possessions or opportunities to score. Whether you’re running or something else, you have to convince your players to buy in. This is not what you want to become a habit. They must act now to eliminate it before it worsens in the future.”
“I would issue a challenge to Armando to confront his teammates and request that they pass the ball to him. The defender is frequently on his back when he sprints down the court. There’s a circle, and he’s got his two feet in the paint. Just turn over your left shoulder for a layup, and it could be a catch. To get him the ball, I would dare him to speak up to his teammates. That’s within his rights. On his team, he leads by example. He has worked hard and has the background necessary to take that to his teammates. They’re not throwing him the ball very often. To have one of your top players
“I don’t think switching off the ball is all that great. Although I’m not the coach and I don’t make the decisions, occasionally they may become engrossed in switching when it’s not necessary. Elliot Cadeau is suddenly on someone you don’t want him to be. I’m not sure what the underlying philosophy is or how to address it. But, it’s challenging to simply turn off the ball because they will look for and take advantage of any mismatch. Keeping a smaller guard on the floor while doing that is difficult, particularly if your backcourt includes players who are 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2.”
“I’m watching him go forward. It’s good for Carolina to break out of that rut. He can continue to build on this momentum going forward. They will need him to get going, particularly as they approach conference play and even in this upcoming matchup with Oklahoma. They still need to start working on a few other pieces. However, Cormac was the one who needed to get going when it came to adding that final piece to the puzzle.”
“Guard play will be prevalent. Oklahoma puts its guards through a lot of drills. The point guard matchup excites me. This is an undefeated team from Oklahoma. It will rise and fall. There’s no time for you to mope around in your misery. You need to move on from the previous game. Prepare yourself for this matchup. It is currently 9:15 p.m. It’s a late tip-off, so grab your Red Bull and get set to go. This presents an additional chance to improve. It’s time for them to apply what they’ve discovered and learned from that Kentucky game. This is going to be an advanced game. I’m thrilled. This is going to be another frantic
“Whenever you can rally your supporters, it always gives you a little extra push to keep going. You have to generate your own energy in order to travel to those neutral sites. This is pretty much a home game in Charlotte. Having the crowd behind them will be beneficial. They have another chance to recover with this. You have another opportunity to secure a very high caliber victory. Having that mob behind you is a major advantage.”
We still have a long way to go, but I think we’re doing well. There is much for us to learn and much room for improvement. We were ahead by one with five minutes remaining, so we’ll be in this scenario once more and have the opportunity to improve. As players, one of the things Coach (Dean) Smith would often remind us is that mistakes can be beneficial as long as you own up to them, learn from them, and move on. Therefore, let’s learn from the things that need to be adjusted, changed, and pivoted. Hubert Davis, the coach of UNC, following the Tar Heels’ 87-83 defeat to Kentucky on Saturday.
“Coach Davis has more faith in us than anyone else in the locker room to carry out our plays. We won’t discuss the play’s intricacies because we will run it again, execute it, and win the game the following time. — Guard for UNC Cormac Ryan, regarding colleague Elliot Cadeau’s error in the final moments against Kentucky.
Last Ranked Opponent of Historic Stretch: The Tar Heels’ historic run over the past month comes to an end on Wednesday night when they play Oklahoma in the second Jumpman Invitational. It will be the first time Carolina has ever played five ranked opponents in a six-game stretch during the regular season when they take on the seventh-ranked Sooners, who are ranked fifth in the AP Top 25 poll.
Over the course of four weeks, UNC will have played teams ranked No. 20 in the AP rankings at the time the Tar Heels played them, as well as No. 10 Tennessee, No. 5 Connecticut, No. 14 Kentucky, and No. 7 Oklahoma. The 2019–20 season marked the last time UNC faced four teams in the rankings over the course of six games. After hosting Charleston Southern on December 29, Carolina will host three straight road games to begin ACC league play on January 2. According to Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball database, the Tar Heels have the toughest schedule in the country, ranking seventh among teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC.
Getting UNC big man Armando Bacot Back to Form: Lately, Bacot has fallen short of his preseason All-American billing. With 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan and 6-10 Samson Johnson anchoring the Huskies down low and 7-1 Aaron Bradshaw and 7-footer Ugonna Onyenso patrolling the paint for the Wildcats, Bacot struggled against the interior length posed by UConn and Kentucky.
Bacot is averaging 11 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field (7-for-16) over the past two games. Bacot, a senior in his fifth year, tied his career-low for turnovers in a game with six against Kentucky, despite only trying four field goals.
Considering Oklahoma: The Sooners are off to their best start (10-0) since the 2015–16 campaign under head coach Porter Moser. Thanks to the play of standout guard Buddy Hield, Oklahoma won its first 12 games and qualified for the Final Four along with UNC, Villanova, and Syracuse that season. Moser joined the Sooners for the third season after leaving Loyola Chicago, where he captained the 11th-seeded Ramblers on an incredible journey to the 2018 Final Four.
Together with Houston, James Madison, and Ole Miss, Oklahoma is one of the final four unbeaten teams in college basketball. Oklahoma’s perfect start has been largely a result of the Sooners’ defensive prowess. OU is ranked eighth in the country for adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom. The Sooners have kept five teams under 60 points this season, and only Arkansas-Pine Bluff has scored more than 70 points against Oklahoma. Oklahoma is ranking in the top 15 nationally and second in the Big 12 by limiting opponents to 37.5 percent shooting from the field.
The Tar Heels will pose the biggest test for Oklahoma thus far. The Sooners’ only other opponent this season that is ranked is then-No. 23 Southern California, which they met in San Diego last month. Oklahoma’s schedule strength ranks No. 336 on KenPom, outside the top 300 nationally.
Otega Oweh’s sophomore leap: Now in his second year in the program, Otega Oweh, a guard, is a mainstay for Oklahoma. Oweh leads the Sooners in scoring this season with 14.9 points per game, after starting nine games as a freshman and averaging 13 minutes of playing time per game.
