UNC Basketball: Manek’s monster game not enough for Tar Heels

In a game where the UNC basketball program did not look sharp at all, Brady Manek proved to be the lone bright spot for the Tar Heels.

Not much went right for the UNC basketball program on Sunday afternoon, as they lost their second consecutive contest in the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. In this game, the Tar Heels were outplayed throughout, suffering a 89-72 loss to No. 17 Tennessee.

Unlike Saturday’s performance, the Tar Heels simply did not come to play on Sunday. A lot of factors could contribute to this, but simply put, this is not the type of performance you could put out on any given day, especially when your opponent is a top-25 program.

Although it’s very easy to point at all the things that did go wrong in this game, you have to give credit to Brady Manek for the performance that he put on display against the Volunteers. Essentially, the senior shot the basketball at a high level and was efficient with the basketball, two areas in which the majority of his teammates struggled with on Sunday.

If you take Manek and fellow big man Armando Bacot out of the equation, the Tar Heels made just 9 of their 34 shots from the floor. Combine that poor shooting performance with the 13 turnovers overall (Bacot included) and it just shows that this game could’ve definitely had a much worse outcome.

However, Manek did all he could offensively, scoring a game-high 24 points off the bench. The Harrah, Oklahoma native made seven of his 12 shots, including six of 10 from beyond-the-arc, and was a consistent offensive presence throughout.

Although he did not contribute much elsewhere on the stat line (only recording three rebounds), the veteran big man was able to avoid making any turnovers, which is big for a team that has struggled taking care of the ball early on this season.

Although Hubert Davis and company will need Manek to provide more in regards to rebounding and passing the basketball, his offensive production is something the Tar Heels will hope to continue getting throughout the season. Hopefully, we’ll see Manek, Bacot and sophomore Dawson Garcia getting hot offensively together at some point this season, as the trio could be a true matchup nightmare for any opposing defenses.

For the fifth straight game, we have a new “Tar Heel of the Game” recipient, as Brady Manek has joined the party. Will we see a new winner on Tuesday night, or will someone who has already earned the honor be the first Tar Heel to be awarded it twice? You’ll have to check back on Tuesday night after the UNC basketball program’s game against UNC Asheville to find out!

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