Offense struggles, defense rolls in UNC win

The Smith Center opened in 1986 and has hosted hundreds of games, but on Saturday North Carolina did what no UNC team had done before.

Against Boston College, the Tar Heels recorded the fewest points by a UNC squad in the Smith Center — 48.

It was the third straight game in which UNC shot below 40 percent from the floor and less than 20 percent from beyond the arc. And yet, the Tar Heels still got the win.

“Three games in a row, we’ve got wins,” freshman point guard Kendall Marshall said. “That’s the main statistic that we’re worried about. Of course we want to shoot the ball better. We’re getting in the gym, taking extra shots.”

It’s not very often that a team can score 48 points and win, and UNC couldn’t have done it without defense.

The Tar Heels held Boston College scoreless for almost the first eight minutes of the game. North Carolina’s defense was so effective that it forced Boston College to take challenged shots before the shot clock expired.

“Defensively we have been doing a great job,” Marshall said. “We held them to 20 points in the first half and 20 some-odd points (in the second half).”

Defense has been the one thing that’s kept North Carolina above water in its last three games. The Tar Heels held Clemson and Wake Forest to below 40 percent shooting, and Boston College only made 26.9 percent of its shot attempts.

“I was really impressed defensively with some of the things we did,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

“I think just defensively to get them to shoot 26 percent; and they had some open shots, but so did we. Sometimes you miss shots and feel very lucky to get out but I’ve been on that other side too.”

Stout defense is certainly important, but based on how UNC has played offense over the course of its last three games, it may not be long before Williams and his team wind up on “that other side.”

Still, even after its third straight poor shooting contest, the Tar Heel players didn’t seem too concerned heading forward.

“You can’t read that much into it,” freshman Harrison Barnes said.

“You just have to rely on muscle memory and shoot the ball.”

The Tar Heels are making a push in the national standings and have four games remaining before the ACC Tournament. Two of those are against Duke and Florida State — the first- and third-ranked teams in the ACC, respectively.

Next on the Tar Heels’ watch is N.C. State, and sophomore forward John Henson said he doesn’t expect UNC to be able to squeak out a win against the Wolfpack if UNC shoots poorly again.

Henson and the Tar Heels know the team’s potential to shoot well is still there.

“We’re a team. I think, by the time the season comes around, we’re going to be one of the top teams in the ACC,” Marshall said. “I think we have a chance to be one of the top teams in the country.”

Of course, if the Tar Heels hope to continue to rise in the national standings, their shooting percentage will have to rise, too.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.