1. Carolina led the entire way in notching a 109-70 win over Wofford to move to 2-0 on the season.
2. The story of that game was the bench. With Carolina building an early lead and sustaining it, Michael Malone was able to give plenty of playing time to the reserves. And they responded, amassing 58 points and nearly outscoring Wofford on their own. Five of the six players who played the most minutes came off the bench.
3. It’s hard to pick a standout from the bench, because everyone contributed, but Maximo Adams was excellent. Sean May said Monday night that the Heels needed Adams to be more active on the glass. He took it to heart, collecting his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
4. Jaydon Young also had a great shooting day, hitting four three-pointers and scoring a UNC-high 15 points.
5. After taking over half their field goals from three-point range on Monday, Carolina’s offensive approach changed dramatically on Friday. The Heels took just eight 3s out of 32 first half field goals and finished the game having taken just 25 out of 73 shots from distance.
6. The Heels announced on the game’s very first possession that this was going to be a different performance than Monday night’s win over Western Carolina. Jarin Stevenson took the ball directly to the rim at the first opportunity and slammed through a two-handed dunk through contact. That set the tone for an aggressive, gritty outing. Stevenson had 10 points and three rebounds.
7. It was also the best overall outing (if it’s starting to sound like almost everything was good, that’s because it was) for Terrence Brown in his very young UNC career. The guard had a team-high 21 points, shot an efficient 7-for-11, and only had one turnover. As a team, Carolina had just eight turnovers as it continues to perform well in an area Malone emphasizes.
8. Carolina’s transition game was the best it’s been in this young year. The Heels had 24 points in the first eight minutes of the game and finished in Bojangle’s territory. That included 20 fast break points.
9. The UNC bench was a big part of that first half performance. Reserves contributed 21 points (Alex Samodurov had nine on his way to 13 for the game) and 14 rebounds (Adams had seven, including two offensive). Angelo Brizzi also added some energy and was +21 for the game.
10. Carolina has now won 20 straight games at the Smith Center. It’s the tenth-longest home winning streak in program history.
11. Some people just know how to handle a microphone, and you can put Roger Ayers in that category. When the official was reviewing a bodycheck by Wofford’s Cam Lowe in the first half, Ayers completed the review by grabbing the in-arena mic and announcing, “After review, it was an obvious flagrant one foul.” You have to appreciate the honesty.
12. The “We want Holbrook” chants started with 3:26 left in the game, and Malone quickly complied. He inserted Holbrook almost immediately and the Hickory native complied with a rebound.
13. The Heels are back in the Smith Center Tuesday night against Wyoming. It will be Carolina’s 600th game in the Smith Center.