1. Carolina never ran away from USC Upstate but were still able to roll to a 80-62 victory.
2. The Heels put four in double figures, including the usual post duo of Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson, plus Luka Bogavac. Wilson’s 20 points marked the ninth time in ten games that either he or Veesaar has led the team in scoring. And, just for good measure, Wilson’s 11 boards was also the ninth time one of that duo has led the team in rebounding.
3. But the most eyebrow-raising showing came from Jonathan Powell. The reserve guard scored 17 points–tying his career high–and hit three three-pointers. But in a bit of an odd quirk, he was also just eighth on the team in plus-minus (0 overall) when he was on the court. Regardless, the Heels need the perimeter offensive firepower and he’ll continue to get minutes if he shoots that way.
4. Carolina’s defense again played a decisive role. The Heels limited Upstate to a 1-for-11 stretch late in the first half that propelled a 14-0 Carolina run and eventually led to a 37-28 halftime edge. The Spartans shot just 32.4 percent in the first 20 minutes. Six of those makes were from three-point range, which kept them in the game. Upstate shot 37.9 percent for the game, so Carolina is now 51-4 under Hubert Davis when holding opponents under 40 percent.
5. Davis went a little deeper in his bench in the first half. James Brown was the first substitute, and UNC reserves contributed 10 points in the first half. Thanks largely to Powell, the Heels had 25 bench points in the game.
6. Luka Bogavac continues to add a mature presence to the UNC chemistry. He was very effective on Saturday, including five assists and five rebounds to go with his 15 points. It also appeared that Bogavac at least considered throwing the ball off the backboard to Caleb Wilson on a first half fast break. His thought process was probably immediately clouded by an image of Davis screaming, “Make the easy play!” Bogavac wisely just laid the ball in.
7. The Kyan Evans–Derek Dixon minutes distribution continues to evolve. Evans scored just two points but did hand out four assists with zero turnovers (and was +12). Dixon had three points and four assists with two turnovers.
8. No opponent yet has scored 75 points against Carolina. That’s ten straight sub-75 games to start the season, tying the 2019-20 team for the second longest streak in school history. The 1997-98 team holds the record at 12 games.
9. Saturday’s halftime excitement was provided by Mr. Beast, who went to midcourt to preview some postgame activities that included the very, very popular YouTube star giving away cash. The frenzy related to his appearance should remind you: never underestimate YouTube.
10. As Carolina continues a string of December theme games, Saturday was the toy drive for UNC Children’s Hospital. Fans filled the entire women’s tennis team van with gifts, which will make for a great holiday for some very deserving families.
11. The next theme: a puppy race at Tuesday’s game against East Tennessee State, a solid club that has an 8-3 record and is a capable squad.
