ANALYSIS: UNC needs strong bench play to keep up in the ACC title race

The bench play for the North Carolina men’s basketball team has been inconsistent all year long. A 25-point explosion from the UNC reserves in a win over then-No. 4 Gonzaga was followed by just 13 points in a loss to then-No. 19 Kentucky.

At times, the reserves have been fully locked in, led by first-year forward Nassir Little and junior guard Seventh Woods. That was the case on Tuesday night, when No. 13 UNC needed every bit of help it could get from its non-starters in a 75-69 win over Notre Dame at the Smith Center.

It was the reserves, not the starters, who won the game for North Carolina on Tuesday. It was Little, Woods and junior guard Brandon Robinson who provided the spark to lead their team past the Fighting Irish in a game that was crucial to stay in the thick of the ACC regular season title race.

“I don’t think I’ve been completely myself, but I think next half of the season, for the team to be as good as we want to be, I gotta be me,” Little said in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel on Dec. 14. 

His words rang true. Coming into the game against Notre Dame, Little had scored just 14 points in three ACC contests, while shooting 5 of 17 from the field. In the first half against the Fighting Irish, Little’s scoring woes continued as he failed to record a point in seven minutes.

But in the second half, something clicked. Four field goals and a free throw gave Little 11 points on the night and brought the Smith Center crowd to its feet. 

His play also helped turn a three-point halftime deficit into a six-point victory as UNC narrowly avoided a second consecutive home loss. Little was himself in the second half, and as a result, North Carolina emerged with a victory. But he wasn’t the only one.

Robinson, who had only scored more than five points once in the 10 games coming into the showdown with the Fighting Irish, exploded for nine points in the first half on three made 3-pointers. Three different times, Robinson caught the ball beyond the arc and watched it sail through the net to pad his team’s lead in the first 20 minutes.

On the season, he is now 11-for-21 from deep. With a roster that includes just two other consistent threats from deep (Cameron Johnson and Coby White), Robinson’s ability to shoot from three will be vital as UNC kicks off a rough five-game stretch that includes a match up with No. 9 Virginia Tech, a road game at Louisville and a home game against No. 17 N.C. State. 

Perhaps the biggest moment of the night belonged to Woods. With 12:01 left in the second half, it looked like Fighting Irish big man Nate Laszewski had a wide open layup. Doing his best LeBron James impersonation, Woods calmly tracked the big man’s path, leapt and swatted the ball away. 

The ball was rebounded by Robinson, and Woods was fouled on UNC’s next possession. He hit both free throws to give his team a one-point advantage in a huge turning point in the game.

When Woods plays well, it’s hard to stop UNC. Against Gonzaga, he erupted for a career-high 14 points and was a key reason why the Tar Heels pulled off the upset. 

With sophomore forward Sterling Manley still sidelined with a knee injury, the Tar Heels rotation is considerably thin and will need its help from those three players, as well as first-year guard Leaky Black and sophomore big Brandon Huffman. As fatigue starts to set in for starters, North Carolina’s reserves must be locked in and ready to go every night to give the team the best chance to win and stay alive as a threat to take home the ACC title.

@christrenkle2

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