UNC Basketball: Three positives from Tar Heels scare against Boston College
UNC survived a scare against Boston College but there were actually some positives from the game. We break them down for you.
What’s this? The KIH Rankings Guru is doing a non-rankings piece? I know that sounds crazy but I do dabble away from the tiers every now and then.
I watched the Boston College game the other night and like many of you was shocked to see that not only was the game close but that the Heels were trailing to a team winless in conference play.
I remember after the win texting a friend of mine. I told her we survived but we are in trouble. She wrote me back and said “Don’t say those things. Be Positive.” So taking her advice I decided to look at the game in a positive light, not my forte, and came out with three positive takeaways.
1. UNC won the game
I know this seems obvious but at the same time I believe it can easily be missed. I mentioned in my last rankings that if UNC lost to BC then some red alarms should start sounding. Since the upset was avoided, those alarms stayed quiet but you know somebody had their hand over the button.
Due to the competition, I assumed this would be a walk in the park for the Tar Heels and there is a good chance they thought the same. Thankfully though, UNC did not become the first casualty to the Boston College conference season.
It is hard to win on the road and though it wasn’t pretty UNC added another road win to their resume even if the win wasn’t against a ranked team. Also by winning UNC maintained its slight lead over Virginia for the ACC regular season crown. With as good as Virginia is playing any advantage is a big one.
2. Justin Jackson broke out
Fans and coach Roy Williams have been waiting all season for Jackson to have a breakout game. Sure he had three twenty point outings back in late November, but those were not great scoring games.
In ACC play he already had six single digit scoring contests, including five in his past six games. Against Boston College, not only did he have an ACC season high, but he also did it efficiently going 9-11 and 2-3 from three point range.
Last season he had his breakout late and ended up scoring double digits in 11 of his last 12 games. That breakout started three games later in the season. There is nothing wrong with this, Harrison Barnes was a late season guy too. If Jackson is on target the Heels become a much more dangerous team and start to look like the unit many picked to win not just the ACC but National Championship as well.
3. The Virginia effect
I talked about this game in one my rankings a couple of weeks ago, but here’s a quick recap. Virginia trailed Wake Forest by 10 with 83 seconds remaining. They went on an 18-7 run and won the game on a bank in three pointer at the buzzard. Up until that game Virginia was 0-3 on the road. That game started a three game road winning streak where they have beaten their last two road opponents 127-97. It also was the Cavs third win in what is currently a seven game winning streak.
I mention this because the Boston College game could be Carolina’s wake up call. Like Virginia they too trailed on the road against an inferior team. UNC was down seven with seven and half to play. Not only did they end the game on a 19-9 run, but they also held Boston College to just two made field goals in that stretch. Comebacks like that have a way of changing a team’s season, and this could be just what UNC needed to turn the corner.
Of course it may not have been either. When my friend told me to be positive, I told her “How many wake-up calls does a team really need?” And therein lies the rub. UNC could turn the corner and start dominating like everyone has been waiting for. Or they could just not get it like so many times before.
The real answers will be seen not just in their next game at home against Pitt, but in their future road games against State, Virginia, and Duke. How they respond to this latest survival will not only shape the ACC picture but the National one as well.