#6 is pretty fair I think. If the pitching can stay healthy, this team should be in Omaha again. The talent is there.

...and it was nice to take a breath and not have to rely on buzzer heroics, so, I'll give this thing one more try:

- We showed a refreshing commitment to get into transition, and Drake's coast-to-coast forced an early Cal timeout. In general we were looking to run as a default and Eliot's pitch-aheads kept constant pressure on Cal's retreating defenders.

- Bad news about that was Cal has size inside and is notorious for offensive rebounding and they hurt us there when we either neglected to block out, or we fought our own guys for rebounds that were then lost --- happened like 4 times --- somebody needs to be yelling "SAME!". Good news was, after allowing 7 ORs in the first half, we tightened down in the 2nd half, allowing only 4 more, and cleaning the defensive glass with the chances afforded by our defense for a big final margin

- Back to transition, there were SO many times that pointed up the negative impact of not running the Secondary correctly, where a rim-run or block-dive would've given us easy ops. I just don't get not doing that.

- Really good to see JWash shoot the face-up. Now, take some of those open 3s! Lubin also was much more aggressive tonight, I suppose he was inspired going up against his old teammate (and there was some talking going on between them). Withers also gave good energy off the bench and Brown got a little run.

- We looked a bit clunky in half-court sets for a couple of reasons that I could see: First, Cal had clearly scouted the NCState film (especially in two-man game stuff) and committed to anticipating the pass, and second, our guys were not at all crisp or decisive in cuts and/or rolls. As a result of these factors, on a few occasions both EC and RJ ended passing to where they thought someone was gonna be, or forced to guys who were covered.

- I liked the 2nd half intensity and effort to extend the lead without any long lull. That showed itself early in the half when Eliot's dumbass frustration foul sent him to the bench with 3. After we let them pull it to 6, we stayed aggressive and guys started hitting shots. Speaking of that, Ian has assumed the get-us-a-bucket role that RJ was always counted on for --- kid has an uncanny knack for willing that ball into the basket.

- On a night with few whistles, good to see us get back to good FT shooting --- 12/13

- Seth is starting to look more like himself and Lubin had probably his best game here,

- OK... as I've been trying to get across, (despite tired narratives to the contrary) we are becoming a much-improved defensive team. We showed it tonight, and particularly the number we did on the ACC's leading scorer. And if you watched, it wasn't any one defender --- he had to deal with being passed off and confronted with a phalanx of our guys 1-thru-4. As we know, we're still vulnerable to bruisers in the post, but the best way to deal with them is snap-help to force dribble pickups outside the block (note going forward...)

- One last head-scratcher is about what we're doing with Tyson. So, he gets in a few minutes the first half, gets wide open in the corner in transition but RJ has his head down and misses him, then he breaks open for a run-out but Ian tries to dribble behind his back instead of looking ahead. Then just like that, Cade gets taken out. My point is, we're never gonna see what the kid can contribute without opportunities.

- Finally, this is a team that still has room and potential for quick growth. If everything starts clicking, we are capable of making a night like this a biscuit game. One thing that can still improve is guys recognizing on the fly how we're being played. Example tonight was that it was pretty obvious early that Eliot was Item #1 on their scouting sheet after what he did to State, and if they decide to overplay the pass, well then, take it to the rack. JWash still needs to get even more aggressive offensively. At some point, RJ will find his stroke, so meanwhile, keep playing within the flow and don't force... etc etc...

Anyway, this was a TCB game, and we did just that and got another conference W. The same and more needs to be our goal Saturday. We've found the right starting lineup and our 6th man, but also a lot of guys who can be a part of this. Most impressively, the team is developing an identity on the defensive end, and that is becoming obvious to commentators (if not to all of our fans ), as well as on the stat sheets. And that starts with the perimeter guys meshing. RJ has quickness and experience, both freshmen are improving by the game in the crucial off-ball phase, Seth has returned as a holy terror, and EC has turned himself into an actual plus-defender. Moreover, we are getting better at fundamental 4-man shell force-and-help principles, while getting some rim-protection on the back end. The key moving forward is to, well, keep moving forward...

UNC 79, CAL 53
JANUARY 15, 2025
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

UNC Scoring Leader: Ian Jackson 20
UNC Rebound Leader: Ven-Allen Lubin 8
UNC Assist Leader: Elliot Cadeau and RJ Davis 3
Team Records: UNC 12-6, 5-1 ACC, Cal 8-9, 1-5 ACC

• Carolina has won four in a row for the first time this season.
• Carolina has won 24 straight games when holding its opponent below 70 points and 24 in a row when holding its opponent to below 60.
• Carolina shot 56.7% from the floor in the first half, its highest shooting percentage in a first half this season.
• Carolina went on a 15-0 scoring run in the second half, the ninth game this season the Tar Heels have gone on at least a 10-0 run. UNC is 7-2 in those games. This was the fourth time this season UNC made a run of at least 15 straight points.
• Carolina’s largest lead was 27. The Tar Heels are 8-0 this season when it builds a double-digit lead.
• It was the third time in the last four games UNC built a double-digit lead in the first half (Notre Dame, SMU and Cal).

• Carolina shot 56.7% from the floor in the first half. UNC is 4-1 this season when shooting at least 50% in the first half.
• Cal scored 29 points in the first half, the fourth time this season an opponent scored fewer than 30 points in the first half. UNC is 4-0 in those games.
• Carolina held NC State and Cal below 30 points in the first half, the first time the Tar Heels have held consecutive opponents below 30 points in the first half since Pitt and Charleston Southern in 2022-23.
• Cal shot 34.8% from the floor for the game. UNC is 7-0 this season, 41-4 in four seasons under Davis and has won 12 straight games when holding opponents below 40% from the floor.
• UNC shot 92.3% from the free throw line (made 12 of 13), a season high percentage.
• Cal shot 12% (3x25) from three, the lowest percentage by an opponent with a minimum of 20 attempts since NC State shot 10% (2x20) on 1/10/24.

• This was the fourth time Carolina defeated an opponent by at least 25 points this season (beat American by 52, La Salle by 26, Campbell by 26 and Cal by 26).
• Carolina outrebounded the Bears by 12 (45-33). Both teams had 11 offensive rebounds. This was the fifth straight game UNC’s opponent had at least 10 offensive rebounds. The last time five straight opponents had at least 10 offensive rebounds was in 2017-18 by Duke, Pitt, Clemson, NC State and Virginia Tech.
• Carolina scored 44 paint points, most in an ACC game since scoring 50 vs. Georgia Tech on December 7.
• Cal made two free throws, fewest by an opponent since Syracuse made two on 1/24/23.
• Hubert Davis is 48-18 in regular season ACC games in his four seasons as head coach.

• Ian Jackson has scored 159 points in the last seven games, one shy of the UNC freshman scoring record over seven straight games. Tyler Hansbrough scored 160 in a seven-game stretch in 2005-06.
• Jackson has scored 20 or more points seven times this season, the most by any Tar Heel this season and the most times by a Tar Heel freshman since Cole Anthony had nine 20-point games in 2019-20.
• Jackson tied his season high with seven rebounds (also had seven against La Salle and SMU).
• Jackson has made a three in each game he has played in this season, the only Tar Heel to do so, and has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games.
• RJ Davis played in his 156th game as a Tar Heel, passing Leaky Black for the second-most games in UNC history. Armando Bacot is first with an ACC-record 169.
• Davis passed Steve Hale for 12th on UNC’s all-time assists list. Davis has 504 assists, one more than Hale.

• Davis (2,397 points) passed Duke’s Kyle Singler for seventh on the ACC’s all-time scoring list.
• Davis made his 309th three-pointer, tying Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim for 12th in ACC history.
• Seth Trimble scored 12 points, reaching double figures for the 12th time this season and the first time since returning from a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury. He scored in double figures seven times over his previous two seasons.
• Elliot Cadeau scored 15 points, the 11th time he has scored in double figures this season. UNC is 7-4 when Cadeau has at least 10 points.
• Ven-Allen Lubin tied his career high with three blocks. He blocked three while playing for Notre Dame vs. Boston University on 12/7/22 and for Vanderbilt at Auburn on 1/31/24.
• Lubin led UNC with eight rebounds, the fourth time he led the Tar Heels in rebounds.

• Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic entered the game leading the ACC in scoring in conference play (24.2 ppg). UNC held Stojakovic to six points on 3 of 13 shooting. It was the first time this season Stojakovic was held below double figures.
• UNC is 5-1 all-time against Cal, including 3-0 in Chapel Hill and 2-0 in the Smith Center. Carolina faced Cal for the first time since losing to the Bears in Oakland on 12/29/98.
• The 26-point victory is UNC’s largest over Cal (previous was a 24-point margin in the Smith Center on 11/22/97).

Next Game: vs. Stanford, Saturday, Jan. 18 (2:15 p.m., The CW)