A band of Catamounts nearly derailed Michael Malone's honeymoon with North Carolina on Monday night. Though UNC avoided a disastrous loss, its 80-72 win over Western Carolina came layered in red flags. The Catamounts gave UNC everything it could handle, cutting the Tar Heels' lead to one twice in the second half.
It wasn't until Western Carolina's lead guard, Jaeden Roberts, fouled out with 5:57 remaining that UNC gained a bit of breathing room. Moments later, a questionable over-the-back call on Western Carolina wiped off a putback and begat a technical foul on the Catamounts. By the time North Carolina was done shooting free throws, the sequence had produced a 6-point swing at the 5:25 mark, extending UNC's lead to 69-62.
Without Roberts on the floor, Western Carolina couldn't climb all the way back as Malone's squad avoided catastrophe. On a night when other unranked high-major teams with first-year coaches like NC State, Syracuse and Providence all cruised to easy wins in buy games, North Carolina's ugly slog made it an outlier. After entering as 22-point underdogs, the Catamounts — picked to finish eighth in the SoCon — looked like nearly an even match for UNC in Malone's coaching debut.
Prunty's third triple of the night has us within two late in Chapel Hill.#CatamountCountry | #WTD pic.twitter.com/tzYUyf2cme North Carolina jumped out to a 10-0 lead behind eight straight points from NC State transfer Matt Able. It looked like the Tar Heels might be off to the races, like in the only prior meeting between the in-state foes. UNC won that game 104-61 in December 2017.
That's what this game should have been for the Tar Heels. It should have been an easy start that engendered optimism for the start of a new regime. Instead, it underscored fears that arose during North Carolina's 2-1 exhibition slate, which included an uncomfortable overtime win over Charlotte.
UNC was outworked 12-6 on the offensive glass vs. Charlotte in the exhibition game, resulting in an 18-10 edge in second-chance points for the 49ers. Western Carolina followed a similar blueprint, using a 13-7 advantage in offensive rebounds to create a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points.
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