Tag: Elliot Cadeau

Tar Heels minimize turnovers in second half, down FSU behind 10-0 run

UNC was in trouble Saturday afternoon at Florida State, facing a halftime deficit. The Tar Heels rode a hot second half to a key victory.

Just like the Atlantic Coast Conference-opening matchup for both teams back in December, Saturday afternoon’s North Carolina-Florida State basketball game proved to be an instant classic.

The Tar Heels appeared to be pulling away with a 10-0 run midway through the second half, only for the Seminoles to punch right back and close their gap to two points late.

Even during a late stretch in which it missed six consecutive field goals, North Carolina held off a pesky FSU squad for a 75-68 victory.

RJ Davis made a clutch runner in the lane that extended UNC’s lead to four points, then sank two free throws to seal the win.

The win kept UNC (17-3, 9-0) atop the ACC standings ahead of Tuesday’s matchup at Georgia Tech.

Early on, the story was FSU’s defense. The Seminoles forced North Carolina into 13 first-half turnovers, which is a season-high, scoring nearly 20 points off those turnovers. FSU sped up the likes of Davis and Elliot Cadeau, as the Tar Heels’ two point guards made some uncharacteristic mistakes and faltered under the pressure.

UNC cleaned up its act big-time in half two, turning the ball over just four times. It took a while, but shots also started falling against the ‘Noles.

Cormac Ryan gave North Carolina its second-half scoring spark, hitting 3-pointers to score nine of his 10 points on the day. Cadeau grew up a little bit, looking extremely confident en route to a collegiate career-high 16 points.

Last year’s Tar Heels would’ve folded in a game like today’s.

This year’s Tar Heels are destined for something greater, though. They truly do look like one of the country’s best teams – it’ll be an exciting fight to the finish.

Player of the Game

It has to be freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau, who looked extremely confident in the biggest true road game of his career so far.

Cadeau scored a career-high 16 points on Saturday. He shot just 4-of-12 from the field, but led all players with eight made free throws.

Cadeau will only become a better scorer as he further develops. Look for a strong follow-up performance from him against Georgia Tech.

What’s Next 

UNC heads back to Chapel Hill for a couple days, then hits the road again on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets don’t give the Tar Heels problems like they do in football, but this is easily another game North Carolina could lose if it’s not careful.

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Social media reacts to UNC escaping Tallahassee with win-streak intact

We take a look at the good, bad, and ugly reactions to UNC Basketball’s 75-68 win over FSU to stay unbeaten in ACC.

The UNC men’s basketball program traveled to Tallahassee for an ACC showdown against Florida State, and it got off to a fiery start. 

From tip-off, the energy was oozing off the court onto social media, as college hoop fans reacted to the fast action. [autotag]Elliot Cadeau[/autotag] was receiving love early, showing another aggressive offensive attack to score the Tar Heel’s first four points. 

UNC was able to create separation, leading by 11, before FSU surged back with a physical attack and got hot behind three. The physical play brought high emotions and one of the bigger moments in the first half with a near scuffle taking place between De’Ante Green and Armando Bacot.

As tempers flared up, so did social media with UNC being down 41-36 at the half, leaving fans hoping for deja vu from the first game. 

UNC caught up quickly in the second half, snagging the lead back in the first five minutes. 

Shortly after, FSU came crawling back, putting UNC on upset watch. FSU cut the lead to two, but the Heels were able to pull away thanks to…who else, but RJ Davis. 

The Tar Heels showed their resilience once again, with a dominating second half to push UNC’s winning streak to 10. It was a great win, filled with emotion, as RJ Davis kept up his hot scoring finishing with 24 points while Harrison Ingram dominated the boards once again with 17 rebounds..

It was the ideal away game to prepare UNC for next week’s games against Georgia Tech and Duke. Before we get ahead, let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly social media reactions to UNC’s 75-68 win over FSU. 

 

UNC Basketball rolls over Wake Forest to ninth straight victory

The North Carolina Tar Heels snag their ninth straight victory as RJ Davis delivers career night, improving to 16-3.

The No. 3 UNC men’s basketball program was in action Monday night, taking on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

It was a slow start to the game, as both teams struggled to find a rhythm, going a combined 5 for 23 in the first seven minutes of action. However, it didn’t take long for the shots to start falling as UNC and Wake Forest traded buckets.

In the first half the Tar Heels leaned on their guard play, with [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Elliot Cadeau[/autotag] wowing the crowd. Davis drives to the buckets resulting in tough finishes, while Cadeau’s defense and ankle tanking boosted cheers in the Dean Dome.

Unlike the recent ACC teams UNC faced, Wake Forest didn’t need physicality to keep pace. Instead, they matched their offensive output. The second half continued to about the guard play as Cadeau and Davis kept attacking Wake’s defense, slowly creating separation in the process.

What was a close game, quickly ballooned to a sizable lead in the Tar Heels favor mid-way through the second period after a 26-11 run. Wake Forest’s attempt at any runs was quickly squashed, as the home crowd gave UNC everything and more, pushing the Tar Heels to their ninth straight win.

Player of the Game

There’s no question Davis is the player of the game after another remarkable scoring output. Davis finished with a career-high 36 points while breaking Justin Jackson’s record for most consecutive games (16) with multiple three-pointers. Davis’s impressive outing echoes the belief that he should be in the running for player of the year.

What’s Next 

UNC will enjoy a four-day break before their ACC road matchup against FSU on Saturday. The Tar Heels already claimed a victory over the Seminoles earlier in the season, winning 78-70 in Chapel Hill. FSU has shown to be beatable at their house with a 7-4 home record, giving UNC a good chance at extending their win streak to 10 games.

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Social media reacts to UNC flying past Boston College trap

Social media reacts to UNC flying past Boston College trap, extending their win streak to eight.

The UNC basketball program was in enemy territory Saturday afternoon, taking on Boston College.

Despite the Tar Heels scorching play as of late, often ending in a lopsided victory, they would have to work twice as hard, with Boston College benefiting in the turnover battle. Every time UNC found a rhythm to create separation, the Eagles came flying back.

But in the end, UNC proved again why they are a top 5 team in the nation, slowly wearing out Boston College as they did to NC State and Pitt. The Tar Heels offensive pressure was too much for Boston College, beating the Eagles 76-66.

This game featured many highs and lows for UNC, with big swing plays being the deciding factor. Despite the too-close-for comfort-back and forth, many moments took center stage with the game showcasing an aggressive [autotag]Elliot Cadeau[/autotag], a [autotag]Harrison Ingram[/autotag] double-double, and another clutch performance by[autotag] RJ Davis[/autotag].

A game that was neck to neck throughout usually would’ve had college hoop fans in arms, but another bad refereeing performance caught the attention of most backlash.

UNC will return to Chapel Hill on Monday with an ACC showdown against an underrated Wake Forest team, but before we get there, we take a look at the good, bad, and ugly from the Tar Heels win over Boston College.

Can the Sooners slow down a talented UNC Tar Heels squad in the Jumpman Invitational?

The Oklahoma Sooners are undefeated, but can they slow down the UNC Tar Heels in their toughest test to date?

Oklahoma has passed every nonconference test with the ease of a hot knife slicing through butter. And now, the Sooners are set to all but wrap up the marquee part of the nonconference schedule with one final showcase. This last test is unlike the others as the Sooners will take on one of the sport’s most prestigious brands, the UNC Tarheels.

Hubert Davis used the offseason to retool and reconfigure his team after they had one of the most drastic falls from grace last season after entering 2022 as the prohibitive favorite to win the national title and failing to not only get to the Final Four but not even make the NCAA Tournament.

His team is still spearheaded by seniors R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot, but the supporting cast around them is different.

For Oklahoma, head coach Porter Moser had to retool his roster as well. He lost eight of last year’s players to the portal or graduation. His staff worked tirelessly this offseason to rebuild this roster. Through 10 games, the results have been magical. The Sooners have risen from unranked to No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the AP Top 25. They are competitive and play an exciting brand of basketball, yet they remain hungry for more.

We decided to check in with Zack Pearson of Tarheels Wire to get more insight about UNC, how they plan to attack the Sooners, and their season to date.

Elliot Cadeau accomplishes feat in win over Tennessee

UNC basketball freshman Elliot Cadeau accomplished a feat during Wednesday’s win over Tennessee.

Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau has been the hot topic around the UNC basketball program in their win over Tennessee on Wednesday night.

The Tar Heels jumped all over the Volunteers in the Dean Dome, jumping out to a 61-39 lead at halftime. They did have to hold off a late comeback from Tennessee before eventually putting it away. With the win, they move to 6-1 on the year and the vibes are high going into the game against Florida State.

For Cadeau, while he only scored five points he did impact the game in a big way with 10 assists and 0 turnovers. It was a throwback performance for the point guard and in the process, he accomplished something that hasn’t been done since one of his coaches did it.

Per the Tar Heels’ X account, Caduea became the first Tar Heel to have 10 assists and 0 turnovers since Marcus Paige did it:

Paige was a fantastic four-year player at North Carolina, helping get the Tar Heels to the Final Four in his senior season. He’s now an assistant coach at UNC and is helping Cadeau along the way.

That should mean good things for the freshman’s season ahead.

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Elliot Cadeau draws praise from college analyst

UNC basketball point guard Elliot Cadeau earned some praise from a college basketball analyst.

North Carolina freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau put together one of his best games so far on the early season. While he only scored five points in the win over Tennessee, Cadeau ran UNC’s offense like a vintage point guard.

Cadeau had 10 assists and 0 turnovers in the win, helping facilitate the basketball and run Hubert Davis’ offense like it’s supposed to be run.

And after the game, Cadeau earned some praise from the national media for his performance. Analyst Jon Rothstein praised Cadeau’s game and compared him to a former UNC great.

“I will say this, this is the first time since the 2022 Final Four game against Duke where North Carolina won a game in a big spot where it looked like North Carolina. A dominant performance against the best defensive team in college basketball,” Rothstein said. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Elliot Cadeau is the best passing point guard North Carolina has had since Kendall Marshall.”

That’s some HIGH praise from someone like Rothstein. You can watch the segment below:

If Cadeau can play like this the rest of the season, the Tar Heels will be a tough team to beat.

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Elliot Cadeau finds way to make impact in UNC basketball’s win over Tennessee

UNC basketball point guard Elliot Cadeau had a throwback performance against Tennessee with 10 assists and 0 turnovers.

Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau arrived on North Carolina’s campus with a lot of expectations. After reclassifying from 2024 to 2023, Cadeau was a five-star recruit for Hubert Davis who would come in and make an impact right away.

And the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason Rookie of the Year is doing just that.

In Wednesday’s game against Tennessee, Cadeau didn’t hit a shot from the field, going 0-of-5 from the field with just five made three throws. But he found a way to impact the game in a throwback fashion.

Cadeau got the start and played 31 minutes, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds while not turning the ball over once. Now, that’s impressive.

With Cadeau leading the offense, it felt like Carolina Basketball. The offense was flowing for the most part, getting up and down the court with a point guard to also facilitate in the half-court game. It felt normal. It felt like something we haven’t seen from this team a while, at least in the Hubert Davis era.

Following the game, Davis praised Cadeau’s game.

“Elliot has a gift and a talent to not only distribute and pass the ball but also distribute and pass the ball to a player where he can actually do something with it,” Davis said. “He’s just instinctively really special in that area.”

Cadeau put together this performance with a few really damn good UNC guards in attendance including coach Marcus Paige as well as Ed Cota.

If Cadeau can continue to play like this and get even better, North Carolina will be a tough team to beat this season.

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UNC Men’s Basketball vs. Cal-Riverside: Game preview, info, prediction and more

The UNC men’s basketball team welcomes UC-Riverside to Chapel Hill for an 8 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Nov. 17. What should you look out for?

If you’re looking for ways to kick off your last weekend before the busy Thanksgiving week, might we suggest attending or watching some UNC basketball on Friday, Nov. 17?

The Tar Heels will be hosting Big West school UC-Riverside for an 8 p.m. EST tip-off. This allows plenty of fans to get home from work, eat dinner and take care of their pets before heading into Chapel Hill.

Despite a couple of slow starts against Radford and Lehigh, UNC is 2-0. The Tar Heels have shown an ability to close out games in dominant fashion, something we hardly saw last year. Armando Bacot continues climbing up the all-time scoring list, R.J. Davis continues showing why he’s UNC’s best shooter, while transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan have brought some much-needed scoring reinforcements.

UC-Riverside already has one win under its belt, 76-69 against NAIA school Cal-Merced on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The Highlanders have struggled against Division-I competition, though, getting 29-pieced by Utah and 11-pieced by Portland U. (Oregon).

It’s too early to tell how good a team is this early in the season, but Riverside has five guys averaging at least five points. Its top two scorers, Barrington Hargress and Isaiah Moses, both average double-digits.

UNC basketball guard works on shot after win

UNC basketball freshman Elliot Cadeau put in some more shooting work after Sunday’s win over Lehigh.

North Carolina has opened up the 2023-24 college basketball season 2-0 with wins over Radford and Lehigh both at home. Before the schedule gets tougher in a few weeks, the Tar Heels are trying to stack as many wins as possible.

With it being early in the season, it’s important to win these non-conference games that you should win. So far, through the first two games it’s been Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis who have carried the load with others contributing as well.

We’ve also seen both freshmen get key playing time including point guard Elliot Cadeau who has come off the bench. While Cadeau hasn’t been a liability, he’s struggled with his shot just a little bit, shooting 35.7 percent from the field while averaging 6 points per game.

On Sunday, Cadeau went 3-for-8 from the field and missed all three of his three-point attempts. And now, he’s making sure to work on that aspect of his game as he was spotted in the Dean Dome getting up shots on Sunday night:

The five-star freshman has earned a lot of praise going into the year including being named the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year.  He’s also a player that could challenge for a starting spot at some point as well.

And you love to see his dedication after a game in which he struggled to shoot in.

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