Tar Heels Win and Maintain ACC Lead Prior to a Strategic Mid-Week Break
North Carolina will have a week off following their home victory over Virginia Tech before heading to Virginia.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina — During the first seven weeks of 2024, North Carolina traveled the entire East Coast. The Tar Heels will have a strategically planned break after playing 14 games in the current calendar year and 26 games overall this season.
Among the six teams without a mid-week bye as of yet is UNC (Notre Dame did not play on Saturday). In non-conference play, North Carolina went for eight and ten days without playing a game; however, in conference play, they have played two games every week.
The team returned to winning ways before Saturday’s game at Virginia with a 96-81 victory at home against Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels will now have an opportunity to polish their performance’s details and lessen the strain on their bodies during the week off.
Hubert Davis stated, “It’s a practice week where we can practice (and) not necessarily prepare.” “We have been training, but the focus of our practice has been game preparation. Of course, we have to do that for Virginia the following week, but we can actually practice at the start of the following week.
The team will practice on Tuesday, watch film on Wednesday, have individual “run-and-shoot” sessions on Monday, and start full Virginia prep on Thursday and Friday of next week.
In the past three weeks, UNC’s results have fluctuated. The Tar Heels lost their next six games in a row after going on a winning streak of ten games in January.
When playing the Hokies, the Tar Heels appeared more like their regular selves on the offensive end. With four players scoring in double figures, North Carolina easily reached 50 points in the first half. With Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram establishing a steady rhythm inside and Cormac Ryan and RJ Davis making baskets outside, the offense found a flow.
With a 51.5% shooting percentage, UNC is second in the ACC.
For the fourth time in the previous five games, North Carolina gave up 80 points or more, indicating a lack of sharpness on defense against the Hokies. Despite shooting a combined 6-23 from the field, Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor were able to limit UNC’s offensive output. However, the Hokies went on scoring runs at key points in the game to cut into double-digit leads and remain in contention.
With a 51.5% shooting percentage, UNC is second in the ACC.
For the fourth time in the previous five games, North Carolina gave up 80 points or more, indicating a lack of sharpness on defense against the Hokies. Despite shooting a combined 6-23 from the field, Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor were able to limit UNC’s offensive output. However, the Hokies went on scoring runs at key points in the game to cut into double-digit leads and remain in contention.
The Tar Heels have played five of their last nine games away from North Carolina, and with Seth Trimble back in the lineup, all 11 scholarship players are currently active. The team hopes the mid-week break will allow players to get healthier heading into the final five regular season games. Rest and recovery will be another focus this coming week.
“We had plans to go,” Trimble stated. “We were traveling at that time. For us, it was a difficult stretch. Every night we knew we were in competition. We weren’t playing at our best when we played Syracuse. We have no excuses, but our legs were changed somewhat.
With a 12-3 ACC record going into the week, North Carolina will be safe in first place going into Saturday’s matchup with Virginia. If Duke defeats Miami on Tuesday, they could match UNC’s conference record; however, the Tar Heels have the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker.
UNC has only once finished in the top three since 2019, and it hasn’t won the ACC regular season championship since then. The players have been getting used to life as the most sought-after team in the league ever since North Carolina started to expand its lead at the top of the conference.
The outcome of the ACC standings will probably be determined in large part by North Carolina’s game against the Cavaliers, and the Tar Heels’ much-needed bye week prepares them for the pivotal conference stretch.
