Carolina beat #2 Maryland and Davidson at home to move to 7-1 on the season.
Carolina basketball capped off a stellar week with a win over #2 Maryland and Davidson. The Heels were boosted by the triumphant return of Marcus Paige who lived up to the hype and helped propel the Heels to a signature win over Maryland. The Heels then cruised on Sunday against Davidson. On Sunday the Heels got out to a 10-0 lead in the first few minutes and never looked back, eventually winning by 33. Carolina fans have no reasons to worry about this team right now as the Heels appear to be humming along as one of if not the best team in the country.
Grades:
Marcus Paige Shakes Off Rust: A
Marcus Paige shot 50% from the field and 60% from three in his first two games back. Paige looked sharp and fully ready to go against any team in the country and justified all of the preseason hype. Paige's return seemed to fix all of the Heels' offensive foes as the half court offense was smooth and effective with his return.
The Heels' Outside Shooting Picks Up: A
Carolina shot 17-36 from behind the arc this week. That number improves to 17-34 if you discard the two threes the walk-ons took trying to gun for 100 points against Davidson. If the Heels' main players shoot 50% from three every week for the rest of the season then Carolina should be favored to win a national title.
Meeks Back to Pounding the Defensive Glass: A-
Meeks was very assertive against Davidson, picking up 8 defensive rebounds to lead the team in that category. Against Maryland, Meeks was not as impressive, getting only 3 defensive rebounds. However there were only about 30 rebounds up for grabs in that game as Maryland hit more than 50% of their field goals. Meeks needs to keep working on getting defensive rebounds against top ranked front courts but he was more impressive this week and has shown a desire to get back to fundamentals.
Justin Jackson Keeps It Up: A-
With Paige's return there was not as much of a need for Jackson to create offense. Jackson remained effective when he got his looks and he played much better defense. Jackson shot 50% on the week but was only 2-7 from three. Jackson still needs to get his jump shot to fall a bit more if he is to live up to his potential; however, he was much better this week than he was in the first few weeks when he really struggled.
Efficient Offense From the Other Guard Spot: A
Joel Berry and Nate Britt were each excellent this past week. Britt played limited minutes against Maryland but made his only three and helped the Heels when he was on the floor in that game. Britt then came out and lit up Davidson and tied his career high with 17 points in only 16 minutes. Berry kept his starting spot and adopted the perfect attitude as the point guard in Carolina's system. Berry passed when there was a better opportunity on offense but was not shy about taking his own shots. Berry had 14 points on 7 shots against Maryland and added 11 more points against Davidson. Berry's shooting has been his most impressive feature this season and he kept that up, going 6-11 from three this past week. If Berry and Britt each keep this up, then Carolina could have one of the best offenses in the country and they will have a great shot at the national title.
