North Carolina overwhelms Tulane without Kennedy Meeks

North Carolina guard Marcus Paige pulled up from beyond the arc and splashed home a 3-point shot, his fourth of the game. 

Paige’s hand extended in front of his body as he ran to the other end of the floor. But instead of three fingers held out to celebrate his basket, only his index finger pointed — directly at Justin Jackson.

Jackson’s drive-and-dish gave Paige the open look from 3-point distance, and Paige wanted to make sure Jackson’s effort didn’t go unnoticed.

UNC fans saw this gesture from the Tar Heels 30 times on Wednesday night at the Smith Center, as No. 11 North Carolina passed its way to a 96-72 victory over Tulane. Assisting on 83 percent of its field goals, UNC’s ball movement gave the team the open looks it needed to put together a commanding victory.

Missing starter Kennedy Meeks for the first time all season because of a bone bruise on his left knee, the Tar Heels (8-2) needed to put together a well-rounded performance. Meeks, a talented passer at the forward position, saw his team string together more than four times as many assists as turnovers against the Green Wave (6-5).

The Tar Heels expect to be without Meeks for at least two weeks, and the team will need more strong passing performances to be successful without the junior. 

And each Tar Heel will make sure to point to the passer.

Quotable

"Once we start getting stagnant, and trying to go one-on-one, that's when we start breaking down. Today was a whole lot better as far as moving the ball, getting the ball inside (and) rotating the ball. If we can do that, we're a hard team to stop offensively." — Jackson on his team's passing performance. 

Notable

Before the game started, Paige was honored at halfcourt alongside Tulane assistant coach Shammond Williams, who played at UNC from 1995-98. Paige broke Williams' school record of 233 made 3-pointers in North Carolina's game on Saturday against Texas and extended his lead with four more 3-pointers against Tulane. 

Three numbers that matter

25: Points scored by Brice Johnson, a new career-high for the senior. 

30: The number of assists the Tar Heels had on 36 made baskets. 

17: Offensive rebounds for the Tar Heels as a team, more than quadrupling the four they put up in Saturday's loss to Texas. 

What's next?  

UNC will take on No. 22 UCLA at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

@_Brohammed

sports@dailytarheel.com