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North Carolina completed a massive comeback win over North Carolina at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
The win, UNC’s second Quad 1 victory of the season, gives the Tar Heels a marquee nonconference victory ahead of the start of ACC play. Carolina trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half against the Bruins, but found a way to come back and win the game 76-74.
Unsurprisingly, it was RJ Davis who came up with the big moment for the Tar Heels. The senior guard sunk 2 free throws in the final seconds to give UNC a 1-point lead over UCLA. Carolina added another free throw after forcing a miss on UCLA’s ensuing possession.
Freshman Ian Jackson continues to be a standout performer for North Carolina. He had a team-high 24 points and got there on just 13 shots. He also made a trio of 3-point attempts, which led the team as well. Davis (17) and Seth Trimble (12) were the only other UNC players to score in double figures.
Carolina went 24-of-35 from the free throw line. While the percentage is far from pristine, the volume of attempts from the charity stripe played a big role in Carolina’s comeback.
UNC’s defense was also crucial in the late comeback effort. UCLA did not make any field goals in the final 3:41 of game time.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright is optimistic about the rest of UNC’s future after seeing the Tar Heels win this game in come-from-behind fashion.
“I think North Carolina and a lot of us are going to look back on this day and it’s gonna be the day that Carolina figured out how to play with 4 guards,” Wright said. “Not Hubert Davis. He knew how to do it. He’s had to convince his team how to play with 4 guards. I think the team understood it today. I think you’ll see Carolina start to role a little bit from here.”
The victory takes a lot of pressure off of UNC going into ACC play. The Tar Heels will still need to perform well in the coming weeks and months in order to reach the NCAA Tournament, but this victory should go a long way toward securing an invite to the Big Dance.
Carolina will be in action again next Sunday against Campbell.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
