UNC Basketball stats: What a day for R.J. against Georgia Tech

Thanks to a stellar effort from sophomore guard R.J. Davis, the UNC basketball program picked up their first conference victory of the season against Georgia Tech.

On Sunday, the UNC basketball program got their ACC schedule underway, as they traveled to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Hubert Davis’ first conference battle went as planned, as the Tar Heels took home a 17-point victory.

You already know what this article is about. We are here to name the “Tar Heel of the Game” for the victory. Given how well North Carolina played in this one, it’s hard to mention just one Tar Heel.

Sophomore Caleb Love made his case to win the award for a second consecutive contest, as he scored 17 points while recording six rebounds and five assists. Similar to how Love filled up the stat line, fellow captain Armando Bacot put together another double-double performance, as he’s now recorded 12 or more rebounds in three of his last four games.

You could also consider Brady Manek, who made six of his 10 shots from the floor while coming off the bench. Although he didn’t score much, senior Leaky Black deserves some recognition, as he played a key role in holding Michael Devoe, the nation’s leading scorer coming into today’s game, to just 15 points, 10 points under his season average.

All of the players mentioned had noteworthy performances, but R.J. Davis was the standout performer in the Tar Heels victory over the Yellow Jackets.

When Davis is on, North Carolina is very tough to stop offensively. We saw vintage Davis on Sunday afternoon, as the sophomore guard led all scorers with 23 points on 8-11 shooting. He also made an impact in other ways, as he hauled in five rebounds to go along with five assists.

Davis has shot the ball extremely well through the first eight games of the season, as he’s shooting over 48 percent from the floor and over 51 percent from three-point range. With more shooting ability on this Carolina roster, guys like Davis have reaped the benefits of seeing some more open shot opportunities.

We’ve also seen the maturation of both Davis and Love early on this season, as both guards appear to be much more comfortable now with a year of experience under their belt. They are making smart plays and have a good grasp of how to effectively run the offense, and their development has been critical to the team’s early-season success.

R.J. Davis becomes the third different UNC basketball to win the “Tar Heel of the Game” award this season. He joins fellow co-captains Bacot and Love as the trio who have won the award multiple times so far during the 2021-2022 season.

Can another UNC basketball player join the list next Saturday, or will a reigning Tar Heel take home the award once again? You’ll have to check back after the Tar Heels upcoming matchup with Elon to find out!

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding R.J. Davis and the rest of the UNC basketball program.