Roy Williams must feel like he’s battling a severe case of déjà vu right now. Two years after a top-10 North Carolina team lost to Butler in a beautiful location during a November tournament, the Bulldogs pulled the trick against the Tar Heels once again, this time at the Battle for Atlantis. Butler used a huge second-half surge to upset the No. 5 Tar Heels by the score of 74-66 on Wednesday in the Bahamas.
Butler vs. North Carolina final score: 3 things we learned in the Bulldogs’ win over the No. 5 Tar Heels
Butler clamped down on defense and upset No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday in the Bahamas.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
North Carolina held a three-point lead at halftime, but Butler clamped down in the second half by packing the paint and forcing North Carolina to settle for three-pointers and foul shots. The Bulldogs made UNC star point guard Marcus Paige work hard all night. The All-American finished only 5-of-17 from the field and 3-of-10 from three to end the game with 18 points and three assists.
Butler can credit the inspired work of Alex Barlow for that, as the senior guard got the job done on both ends of the floor. Barlow finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs also got a big boost off the bench from Kelan Martin, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Butler entered this game as the No. 56 team in the country according to KenPom (UNC was No. 16 in KenPom’s rankings), but the underdog status did not matter. Butler had a clear gameplan and executed it to perfection. Here’s what we learned in the Bulldogs’ victory:
1. North Carolina still can’t shoot
Coming into the season, North Carolina looked like a team with a group of great big men, a few major athletes on the wing and an All-American point guard. The Heels had just one problem: they struggle to shoot from almost every spot on the floor, most notably from the three-point line and the foul line. Butler exploited that weakness in a big way on Wednesday.
Carolina finished the night shooting 38.6 percent from the floor. The Heels went 4-of-16 from three-point range and shot only 56.3 percent on free throws. After Carolina's big men found success against the Bulldogs in the first half, Butler started collapsing on Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks whenever they touched the ball and forced UNC to settle for jumpers. When Carolina had a good look at the rim, Butler simply fouled them.
2. Butler’s whole is once again greater than the sum of its parts
Butler became an unlikely national power under Brad Stevens a few years back, but it’s clear that the program is smart enough to sustain itself even under new leadership. Butler coach Brandon Miller took a leave of absence just before the season started, but interim coach Chris Holtmann has the program rolling.
As the ESPN announcers stated throughout the game, no one considered Barlow a DI prospect out of high school. Roosevelt Jones is a bit of an odd player, too -- a 6'4 forward with guard skills -- but Butler always finds a way to make these mismatched pieces work.
Butler gives up a lot of size inside to Carolina, but a measured gameplan and solid execution at both ends gave the Bulldogs the ability to defeat a top-five team.
3. North Carolina’s rebounding effort was embarrassing
For a team with Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Brice Johnson, the Tar Heels rebounded way too poorly given their talent level. Butler finished with a 57-40 advantage in rebounding, which included a 29-14 advantage on the offensive glass.
Carolina should not be getting bullied on the glass by anyone this side of Kentucky, but it just happened against Butler. The shooting struggles are obvious for Carolina, but there’s no excuse for losing a game because of an inability to rebound.
See More:
