UNC basketball program begins their Maui Invitational journey against Dayton

The hard part of the UNC basketball program's Hawaiian adventure is over. That's right, after making the initial 11-hour flight from Raleigh-Durham to Honolulu, the Tar Heels only needed to make a 40-minute hop from Honolulu to Kahului, and their bodies are well on their way to getting adjusted to HST.

Hawai'i proved a tougher test than perhaps anticipated, but North Carolina came out on the other side unscathed and perhaps hardened after playing without Elliot Cadeau for such a large chunk of time in the first half.

Dayton will be a tougher test, but Hubert Davis will have to be careful not to go full bore in order to save legs for the Tuesday and Wednesday games.

2024-2025 Season

North Carolina Tar Heels

Overall Record: 3-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 1-1
Neutral Site Record: 0-0

Dayton Flyers

Overall Record: 5-0
Conference Record: 0-0
Home Record: 5-0
Away Record: 0-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-0

Key Players

North Carolina

RJ Davis (Gr. Guard) - 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists
Elliot Cadeau (So. Guard) - 16.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists
Seth Trimble (Jr. Guard) - 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists

Dayton

Enoch Cheeks (Sr. Guard) - 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Zed Key (Sr. Forward) - 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Nate Santos (Sr. Forward) - 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists

Keys to Victory for North Carolina

The UNC basketball program was outrebounded 40-27 at Hawai'i. They survived because they were the better team, but now the level of competition will rapidly ramp up. Dayton is another tall team, so the Tar Heels will need to compete on the boards like animals.

Also, if the game is close, it would be nice to see UNC shoot from the free-throw line better. After an outstanding performance from the charity stripe at Kansas (28-31, 90.3%) and against American (28-34, 82.4%), the Tar Heels slipped a bit against Hawai'i (26-34, 76.5%). Hubert Davis would like to get that number back in the mid-to-high 80s.

Something to Watch For

North Carolina isn't getting production from the four spot. Is there a possibility that Ven-Allen Lubin in the starting frontcourt, or go ultra small with Drake Powell in the mix?

Powell has been an intriguing piece for Hubert Davis, showing great defensive intensity and soaring blocks that block out the sun for penetrating guards. Is he familiar enough with all of the team's schemes to take on more minutes? He'll have three games in three days to show he can.

Projected Starters

No. 3 Elliot Cadeau (So. 6'1)
No. 4 RJ Davis (Gr. 6'0)
No. 7 Seth Trimble (Jr. 6'3)
No. 13 Jalen Washington (Jr. 6'10)
No. 24 Jae'Lyn Withers (Gr. 6'9)