UNC Basketball: Tar Heels get hot in blowout win over Michigan

The UNC basketball program has a unique and fun history with the Michigan Wolverines, and on Wednesday night the two teams added another chapter to that storyline. And in the process, North Carolina ended a losing streak.

In a battle of head coaches at their alma maters, Hubert Davis’ team came out shooting hot in the Dean Dome en route to a 72-51 win over the No. 24 Wolverines on Wednesday night.

North Carolina shot 46 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line in an impressive showing to snap a three-game losing streak in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. But more importantly, this game helped build confidence for the program moving forward, giving them a big win over a ranked team.

Both teams seemed nervous at the start of the game as things got off to a frantic start. Prior to either team scoring in the game, Michigan committed three turnovers to North Carolina’s one turnover. Both teams missed a slew of shots in the first few minutes of the game. It took nearly three minutes until UNC’s R.J. Davis scored the first points in the game. The first half was back and forth. UNC would take the lead by a few points. Then, Michigan would go up by a few points.

In the first half, both teams scored the majority of their points in the low post. Likewise, neither team performed well from the three-point line in the first half.

North Carolina led at halftime 29-27 when Caleb Love nailed a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the first half. Love led UNC with 10 points at halftime whereas Moussa Diabate led Michigan with 11 points.

At the start of the second half, the Tar Heels led 41-33 with 15:44 left in the game. Dawson Garcia and Armando Bacot started dominating the boards in the second half. Love and Leaky Black contributed points as well. Four minutes later, the lead was pushed to 46-35.

North Carolina continued to gain more momentum when Brady Manek entered the game. He scored five points very quickly pushing the lead to 51-38.

The Tar Heels were clicking on all cylinders in the second half backed by the strong play of Caleb Love who finished with 22 points on the day to lead all scorers.

Love had back-to-back threes as well as an assist to a Bacot dunk to push the lead to 63-43 with five and a half minutes left in the game. His tenacity on both ends proved to be too much for the Wolverines as they eventually waived the white flag.

Michigan’s leading scorers were Moussa Diabate (13 points, three rebounds) and Eli Brooks (11 points, six rebounds, three assists).

Next, the Tar Heels will face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. EST.

For more on the UNC basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.