UNC vs. Northern Iowa college basketball Battle for Atlantis

NASSAU, Bahamas

The Atlantis resort here in the Bahamas, tucked away along the edge of what they call “Paradise Island,” is a place of endless fountains and waterfalls and various island accouterments. It is a land of indulgence, with tropical-themed everything; a place of drinks with little umbrellas in them, where people send themselves down a giant water slide and gawk at the scenery and the sunsets.

It is not supposed to be a stressful place. The entire idea of it all, in fact, is to eliminate stress. To offer an atmosphere of calm, where if the island music isn’t playing in a literal sense, right in front of you, it’s perhaps the soundtrack of the mind, offering relaxing rhythms while you walk past the dolphin statues shooting water out of their mouths, and into the ballroom with the basketball.

It was here, inside that ballroom, where North Carolina apparently did not get the memo on Wednesday. The one about how stress isn’t allowed here; that you’re supposed to leave your concerns behind. For 20 minutes, at least, there was in fact much for the Tar Heels to be concerned about, after their worst half of this young season, another in a long line with so much expectation.

The Tar Heels found their way eventually — and in a big way — during a 91-69 victory against Northern Iowa. But UNC had to earn it in this environment of weirdness, playing on a court atop a tropical-themed carpet, in a ballroom filled with temporary bleachers and bright lights and, at halftime, a Bahamian marching band that offered a memorable performance.

Six UNC players scored in double figures, led by Harrison Ingram with 16 and Cormac Ryan and Elliot Cadeau with 15 apiece, and the Tar Heels, eventually, came alive in their first game in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Onto the takeaways:

1. UNC showed what’s possible during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

If the first half was Bad UNC (and more on that momentarily) then the second half was Good UNC. The first 10 minutes, especially, were Very Good UNC.

The Tar Heels trailed 41-35 at halftime. Ten minutes into the second half, the Tar Heels held a 69-47 lead. We’ll do the math for you: That’s a 33-6 run start to the second half. After a dreadful shooting performance (and more on that momentarily) during the first half, UNC began the second half on a rare kind of shooting hot streak.

UNC went 8-for-10 on 3-point attempts during the first 10 minutes after halftime and, while that sort of success is unreasonable and can’t be counted upon, it did show what the Tar Heels are capable of on the perimeter. Which is good news for UNC, since upgrading its shooting was a major point of emphasis after it was among the worst shooting teams in the country a year ago.

2. Hubert Davis learned a thing or two about his team on Wednesday.

No coach would ever admit to wanting their team to play poorly, necessarily, but here’s the reality: It’s difficult to grow and improve without some rough stretches. Without, even some very rough stretches — like the one the Tar Heels endured during the first half Wednesday.

“It’s the first time that I’ve been with this team to see if they’d respond,” Davis said, though he noted the other bits of mini-adversity the Tar Heels experienced during their first few games — the moments of sluggishness against Radford, for instance, in the opener. Coaches never know how a team might react to adversity until they’re in it.

And then UNC was in it, down six at the half against a lesser opponent.

“We were down at halftime, and they responded. And so that gives me great confidence as a coach that they can and they will respond,” Davis said. “And one of the things that we talked about was putting two halves together. And so for the growth, for us, is to put two halves together, on both ends of the court.”

Undoubtedly, that will be part of the challenge for UNC on Thursday. For Wednesday, it came alive, and just when it most needed to.

3. The Great (Cormac Ryan) Awakening.

Ryan is among the five players who transferred into UNC after the end of last season, and his arrival was especially anticipated because he addressed a glaring weakness: outside shooting. The Tar Heels ranked in the 300s nationally in 3-point shooting last season and Ryan, who came from Notre Dame, arrived in Chapel Hill with something of a sharpshooter’s reputation.

In UNC’s season-opening victory he made three of his seven 3-point attempts. A good start.

But then came 10 consecutive misses, a stretch that extended into the first half here Wednesday. Finally, after halftime, the slump ended. Ryan in the second half scored 13 of his 15 points and made three of his five 3-point attempts. He had good reason to smile, and did, during the postgame press conference.

“I think the biggest thing is just the guys around me, and my coaching staff, just always having confidence in me,” Ryan said of his performance after halftime. “And myself, you know — I know I’m a great shooter, they know I’m a great shooter.

“And I’m not going to make every shot. But, playing with that confidence, and especially when your backs up against the wall a little bit, it’s really important. And I think, not only myself, but the group, like we really showed a lot of fight and toughness coming out of halftime, not just physically but mentally to kind of step up and take big shots, and make big shots.”

4. But yes, that was a rough first half.

They’re not always going to be pretty in a 35-game season (give or take, on the number of games) but Wednesday brought the first ugly half of this young season for the Tar Heels. The numbers during those painful first 20 minutes: 33.3 percent shooting from the field. Three-for-13 on 3-point attempts. Plenty of long stretches without made shots from the field (though UNC did do a good job of getting to the free throw line, going 14-for-16 there).

While the offense labored the defense lacked. Northern Iowa shot 60 percent from the field — a stat Davis mentioned at halftime, with some frustration — and sometimes had its way with back cuts to the basket, which the Tar Heels were sometimes slow to pick up. How much of Northern Iowa’s shooting success was the result of mediocre (or worse) defense, and how much was that the Panthers were just hot?

It’s a matter of debate, though this much was clear enough: UNC did not sustain its defensive intensity after taking a brief lead about six minutes before halftime. The lackluster showing in the first half made what followed all the more impressive for the Tar Heels. It really was a Charles Dickensian kind of game: a tale of two halves, indeed.

It was the best of times (those first 10 minutes after halftime, for UNC). It was the worst of times (almost the entire 20 minutes). The age of wisdom? That may be where the Dickens reference ends.

5. Davis continues to experiment and mix things up with his lineup(s).

Four games into the season, a new guard entered the Tar Heels’ starting lineup.

No, not the one a lot of folks are waiting to see start. Cadeau, a highly-regarded freshman who reclassified and joined UNC a year ahead of schedule, continues to have to wait for his time — though he did turn in his best performance of his first four games (those 15 points, to go with three assists).

But Davis swapped out Paxson Wojcik with Seth Trimble, who made his first start of the season (and third overall at UNC). Trimble did not score in only 12 minutes of playing time, and Wojcik finished with a relatively quiet game, as well (six points in 13 minutes). Cadeau, meanwhile, continues to show flashes, and continues to earn more and more of an opportunity.

Overall, Davis continues to go deep into his bench, which is something he didn’t often do during his first two seasons as head coach. Nine players received at least 12 minutes of playing time Wednesday, with RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram (who turned in an excellent all-around performance, with 16 points and nine rebounds) both playing more than 30 minutes.

6. Basketball in a ballroom remains a very strange thing.

No matter how many times anyone comes to Atlantis for this Thanksgiving week tournament, the reaction is always the same: “man, this is a weird set-up.” But also, pretty cool. The staffers here once again transformed a huge ballroom/convention center kind of space into a college basketball arena.

It works because it’s intimate, with every one of the few thousand seats close to the court. There’s not a bad view in the place. Spectators can hear coaches calling out plays, or instruction; or players yelling out defensive switches or words of encouragement to teammates.

Very strange. Very neat.

This story was originally published November 22, 2023, 2:18 PM.