CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— No. 17 North Carolina played its best first half of the season and outlasted Tennessee in a wild second half, beating the 10th-ranked Volunteers, 100-92, on Wednesday night in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge in the Smith Center.
After trailing by as many as 24 points early in the second half, Tennessee cut the Tar Heel lead to as few as six points in the final minutes before finally succumbing.
"I thought our spacing and ball and player movement were good," Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said. "I felt like we were able to beat them off the bounce and get into rotations. From an offensive standpoint, it was one of the better halves that I've seen since I've been here for 12 years as an assistant and head coach."
Armando Bacot and RJ Davis both scored over 20 points for the second time this season, Harrison Ingram added 20 of his own and freshman Elliot Cadeau had a season-high 10 assists without a turnover for UNC.
Bacot posted his 71st career double-double, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds while hitting 10 of 13 free throws.
Davis scored 27 after tying his career high with 30 in last week's win over Arkansas in the Bahamas. He has 80 points in his last three games, averaging a blistering 26.7 points in that span.
Ingram tied his career high with four three-pointers, and his 20 points matched his top scoring night at UNC.
The Tar Heels couldn't have played much better in the first half, using a 13-0 run and shooting 57.6 percent to build a lead that reached as high as 23 points before halftime. Carolina shot 7 for 16 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes and led, 61-39, at the break.
"I told our team at halftime that it is the worst half by a basketball team I've ever coached," said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. "I've never seen a team that has the ability that we have to be that bad in the first half."
UNC started strong after halftime, hitting six of its first eight shots to widen its lead to as many as 24 before the Vols crept back by hitting 15 of their first 21 shots (71.4 percent) of the second half. Overall after halftime, Carolina shot just 32.1 percent while Tennessee was 57.6 percent.
Dalton Knecht scored 37 to lead the Volunteers, tying the Smith Center record by an opponent originally set by Lionel Simmons of LaSalle on Jan. 9, 1988.
Carolina improved to 6-1 with the victory, while Tennessee fell to 4-3. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with the Vols, 11-2, including 4-0 in Chapel Hill and 3-1 in the Rick Barnes era.
How It Happened
First Half
•UNC used a 13-0 spurt to take a 28-12 in the opening 10 minutes and led the entire first half.
• Ingram scored eight of Carolina's first 10 points, draining two three-pointers and a breakaway dunk after a steal in the early moments.
• Bacot, who scored in single digits in both of Carolina's last two games in the Bahamas last week, had 15 points and was 7 for 7 from the free throw in the first half.
• Ingram, Bacot, RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan combined for 52 of Carolina's 61 first-half points.
• UNC potentially could have put the game away if it hadn't allowed the Volunteers to shoot 53.3 percent before the break.
• Tennessee shot 1 for 12 from three-point range in the first half.
Second Half
• The Tar Heels increased their lead to as many as 24 in the second half before foul trouble and a three-minute stretch without a field goal allowed the Vols to creep back into it.
• Tennessee hit 9 of its first 12 field goal tries after the break, including 4 of 5 three-point tries.
• UNC shot just 32 percent from the floor in the second half while the Volunteers shot at a 58 percent clip.
Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Bacot posted the 30th 20-point game of his career. The Tar Heels are 25-5 when he scores 20 or more.
• Bacot and Davis both scored 20+ in the same game for the ninth time and second time this season.
• It was the first game three Tar Heels scored 20 or more since Bacot (28), Caleb Love (22) and Davis (21) did so in overtime against Ohio State on Dec. 17, 2022.
• Ryan, who missed last week's win over Arkansas with an ankle injury, was not in the starting lineup but entered the game at the 14:54 mark of the first half and played 24 minutes before fouling out with 15 points.
•Tennessee entered the game ranked first in the nation in defensive efficiency but allowed the Tar Heels to score 100 points.
• The Tar Heels have won 16 consecutive games in the Smith Center against non-ACC opponents.
• The Tar Heels also improved to 467-86 all-time in the Smith Center, including 227-18 against non-conference opponents.
• Cadeau tied his season high with six assists in the first half. He added four more in the second half for a new season high of 10 without a turnover. He is the first Tar Heel with double digit assists since Davis had 12 against Marquette in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He scored five points, all of which came on crucial free throws in the final 1:29.
• A bevy of former Tar Heel players and coaches attended the game: Phil Ford, Antawn Jamison, Ed Cota, George Lynch, Terrence Newby, Shammond Williams, Eddie Fogler, Dave Hanners, Marcus Ginyard, Pete Chilcutt, Buzz Peterson, Roy Williams and Joe Holladay (among others).
Up Next
Carolina will host Florida State in the ACC opener for both teams on Saturday December 2 (2 p.m.) in the Tar Heels' last home game until Dec. 29.
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