By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: ROBERT WILLETT
UNC men’s basketball team continues to rack up victories. The Tar Heels defeated Wake Forest, 68-59, in a revenge game and moved on to the ACC Conference Tournament.
RJ Davis led the team with 23 points and three rebounds. He made 5-of-6 three-pointers. Davis started slowly, but he picked it up in the second half.
Davis is a ferocious leader, and he impacts this team in many ways besides scoring. Carolina executed against Wake Forest, making exceptional plays.
It was an ugly game for both teams. Overall, neither team shot the ball well. Wake Forest went 2 of 22 from the three-point line. There were too many air balls and ugly jump shot attempts, but the Tar Heels did a little enough to come away with the victory.
In the first half, UNC got off to a slow start in the early minutes, but then they went on a 10-0 run. Wake Forest’s defense showed Davis respect. The team made it difficult for him every time there was a screen, but Davis had too much experience and didn’t try to do too much.
The second half felt like a long second half. The referees took over the game and made questionable calls. The game got physical, with technical fouls and personal fouls.
Physical play and foul trouble were factors in the second half. Elliot Cadeau and Ven-Allen Lubin were in foul trouble.
However, Lubin sealed the deal for the Tar Heels and head-dunked the ball.
“It was electric,” Lubin told the media. “Coach always emphasized that the boards are getting us second chance points.”
Lubin can play physically as long as it’s fair. He was aggressive and did everything he could to help the team win. Lubin had 13 rebounds in this game.
“We’re built for that,” Coach Hubert Davis said. “So proud of how they’ve stayed connected, stayed the course through ups and downs.”
Duke and UNC will meet for round three. The Blue Devils won the two meetings this year. The stakes are much higher, as it’s the ACC semifinal tournament.
The Blue Devils won’t have Cooper Flagg and Malik Brown due to unfortunate injuries. However, the Blue Devils are lengthy in size and have depth. UNC is going to approach them the same way before. Nothing has changed.
Tar Heels and Blue Devils will go at it on Friday at 7 pm. The winner will take on either Clemson or Louisville for the ACC Championship game.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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