The 2024-25 college basketball season is up and running, and so were the Tar Heels... for the first chunk of the first half until Elon deployed a variety of zone defenses. North Carolina was eager to run, as they did not have the size to dominate Elon in the halfcourt, but did have the horses to attack on the fast break, and a point guard in Elliot Cadeau who could drop pinpoint passes.
But Elon eventually gummed the works, settling into a 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone to grind the game down. The North Carolina basketball program had to show several faces in order to solve these problems, but it helps to have a cheat code wearing No. 4. Let's look at some lessons learned from the UNC basketball program's win over Elon.