No. 18 North Carolina will seek another stress-free outcome when it plays Navy on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
There’s plenty to gain from these types of games, something the Tar Heels appreciate as they face teams with various styles.
“It’s good to see different kinds of defense,” North Carolina guard Luka Bogavac said. “When the big games come around, we should be ready for all kinds of defense. So seeing different looks now can be very useful.”
The Tar Heels (4-0), who are coming off a 97-53 victory over North Carolina Central on Friday, have scored at least 87 points in every game this season. In part, that’s a product of the team’s ability to push the pace.
“Coach (Hubert) Davis always wants to pitch the ball ahead,” freshman guard Derek Dixon said. “Carolina has always played fast, and that’s what we’re trying to do. He’s always getting on us to pitch ahead and that the guy ahead of you is the best option.”
Caleb Wilson has back-to-back double-doubles, becoming the first North Carolina freshman to do that since Day’Ron Sharpe in the 2020-21 season.
For North Carolina, which has an average margin of victory of 28 points this season, players said they’ve sensed upgrades defensively since the beginning of the season. They don’t want any drop-off in that area because they expect to see more well-versed opponents.
“It will only get better,” Wilson said of the defense. “And just got to be more physical and limit teams to tough shots, for sure.”
Navy (2-2), meanwhile, is fresh off a 97-64 victory against Washington (Md.) College on Friday.
The Midshipmen have been emphasizing defense as well. Against an overmatched opponent, Navy held Washington without a basket for 12 consecutive possessions during one juncture.
“We changed our defensive coverage on ball screens and really started to pressure the ball,” Navy coach Jon Perry said.
Senior center Aidan Kehoe matched a career-high total with 20 points vs. the Shoremen, though he’ll receive a great deal more resistance in the lane against a larger North Carolina frontcourt.
The Midshipmen are bound to seek a more deliberate pace than the Tar Heels. Navy averaged 71.7 points across its first three games against Division I opponents.
Navy has a perimeter threat with Jinwoo Kim, who has made 9 of 23 shots from 3-point range on the way to averaging 15.5 points per outing.
“He has two years under his belt, and he’s fully recovered from his knee injury as a freshman,” Perry said. “His hard work is starting to show, and the team believes in him.”
North Carolina has had uneven moments. In the rout of North Carolina Central, the Tar Heels committed 10 first-half turnovers and didn’t have any turnovers in the second half.
That left Davis in a good mood because the Tar Heels followed through on his insistence to be more focused.
“We don’t need home runs,” the coach said of ball security. “We just need singles. Simple. Simple works perfectly — everything, and try to get them to understand that it’s important for us to get shots and not turn the ball over.”
North Carolina needs one victory to reach 2,400 wins in program history. This will be Navy’s final regular-season game against an opponent from a power conference.
–Field Level Media
