CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — It was, perhaps, the best single possession of North Carolina’s basketball season and it perfectly summed up its 75-59 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday in its ACC home opener.
R.J. Davis passed up an open 3-pointer from the top of the key to lob a pass to Armando Bacot inside. Before even coming down with the ball, Bacot passed the ball out to Pete Nance, who was open for 3 in the left corner. But Nance swung the ball to Davis, who had a clearer look.
Davis instead pump faked the shot to send a defender flying past and took a dribble inside the arc. As Georgia Tech’s Kyle Sturdivant left Nance to contest the dribble, Davis passed it back to Nance in the corner.
Nance knocked down just the Tar Heels’ second 3-pointer of the half and it boosted UNC’s lead to double digits for the first time.
When Davis scored on a layup in transition off a Seth Trimble assist, it concluded a 16-2 run as Carolina took a 39-26 lead into halftime.
For all the consternation about the Heels’ offense, they showed why they were not panicking. Carolina entered the game with an assist rate of just 40.1%, which ranked 350 out of 363 Division I teams, according to Ken Pomeroy.
The ball moved. There was no over-dribbling. There were far fewer bad shots. Even when the Yellow Jackets resorted to a 1-3-1 zone, Carolina was deliberate in its attack in finding good shots.
The Heels finished with 15 assists on 27 made baskets.
Aside from looking better in halfcourt sets, Carolina got back to running. In losses at Indiana and Virginia Tech, UNC combined for 17 fast-break points. The Heels outscored the Yellow Jackets 17-3 in fast-break points, which was their biggest margin this season.
Bacot, who missed Sunday’s loss at Virginia Tech with a right shoulder injury, showed no signs of being slowed by his injury. He was back in the starting lineup, although he had a small scare in the first half.
Georgia Tech’s Rodney Howard fouled Bacot as he completed a dunk and it sent him tumbling to the floor. He got up from the floor grabbing his shoulder and rotating his right arm as if to stretch it out.
Bacot didn’t show any lingering effects from the play, as he went on to score 21 points with 13 rebounds. In doing so, Bacot tied Billy Cunningham for the most games in program history with 10 or more rebounds at 61.
Davis also posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
