Rutgers University
North Carolina
North Carolina Defeats Rutgers, 78-55
Dec 28 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – Senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) led Rutgers with a game-high 20 points but it was not enough as North Carolina (9-4) defeated the Scarlet Knights (9-3) 78-55 Tuesday evening at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. The Tar Heels used a hot-shooting opening 20 minutes to secure a 20-point lead at halftime (42-22) en route to the victory.
UNC opened on fire, jumping out to a 14-2 lead six minutes into the contest. The Tar Heels shot 56.7 % from the field in the game’s opening 20 minutes and held the Scarlet Knights to just 30% shooting from the field during the first half.
The three-pointer was a major weapon for UNC as the Tar Heels drained six treys in the opening half, compared to just two for the host Scarlet Knights. Carolina was 6-of-13 from behind the arc in the game’s opening 20 minutes, led by two threes by Leslie McDonald.
Mitchell and senior guard James Beatty (Wilmington, N.C.) opened the second half with the first five points of the second stanza to cut the deficit to 15, 42-27. Mitchell scored 15 of his 20 during the second half to pace the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers would not be able to get any closer as UNC’s hot shooting from behind the arc continued as McDonald drained two more treys moments later to push the lead past 20.
The Tar Heels connected on 11-of-23 shots from downtown, led by McDonald’s team-high 14 points.
Rutgers returns to the hardwood on Sunday (Jan. 2) to open BIG EAST play at Villanova. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with live national television coverage on ESPNU.
Postgame Notes
- For the second time this season, Jonathan Mitchell scored 20-plus points (20). It was the fifth time this season – 11thin his career – that the senior has led the team in scoring. It was the first time this season Mitchell has led the Scarlet Knights in a loss (4-1).
- The 20 points marked the 31sttime Mitchell has scored in double-figures - eighth time this season.
- Mike Poole dished out a career-high four assists. The freshman added four points, three steals and two rebounds.
- For the fourth time this season, Gilvydas Biruta led the team in rebounding (nine). The freshman added four points and three steals.
- Rutgers moves to 18-49 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference schools, including a 1-12 mark against North Carolina.
- Mitchell took his team-leading eighth charge on Larry Drew in the first half.
- North Carolina shot .567 from the floor in the first half, the best shooting effort allowed by RU since at Georgetown (.600) last season (Jan. 23, 2010).
- For the game, the Tar Heels made .468 (29-63), the best percentage allowed by RU since Princeton in the first game of the season (.491).
- After allowing UNC to come out to a 14-2 start, the Scarlet Knights played the Tar Heels 28-20 the rest of the half. After being outscored 42-22 in the first stanza, RU played a 33-36 second half.
- Frank Mitchell matched his career high with two rebounds.
- For the first time since at Syracuse on March 3, 2009, just one Scarlet Knight scored in double-figures.
- Of the 11 players that saw action, nine had at least one point.
- Head coach Mike Rice went with the starting lineup of James Beatty, Mike Coburn, Dane Miller, Jonathan Mitchell and Gilvydas Biruta for the 12th-straight game. The Scarlet Knights have started a freshman in 29-straight contests.
Postgame Quotes
Rutgers Head Coach Mike Rice
On tonight’s game:
“Interesting gauge; the first five or six possessions we played frantic basketball. We weren’t really disciplined; didn’t make the simple play starting with the 2-on-1 that we do every single day. And that led to transition points, which we all know North Carolina lives on. From there it seemed their confidence from the perimeter grew, knocking down shots. We just didn’t exactly follow the formula very well. A lot of it had to do with their athleticism and talent and our lack of determination.”
On team’s toughness:
“I just think we had a lack of determination… We were soft and had no determination. So when you have those two and you’re strength maybe was your toughness and your togetherness, those were out the window. We decided to just make a play for ourselves tonight for the most part.”
On team’s defense:
“Tonight I saw individuals, again, carrying over may be a missed shot, a poor pass and being sad on defense. And again, if you’re building what we’re building, a defensive mindset, a toughness, you can’t have that… it’s a game. We’re going to see our weaknesses, we’re going to improve, we’re going to keep scratching and clawing. But we can’t get sad, we have to get to the next play and become tougher; just a tougher minded team.”
On team’s mental toughness:
“It’s been frustrating because of the fact that too much of my practice has been going on effort. And you can’t have that. In the BIG EAST, teams with winning records in the BIG EAST, that’s a given, that they’re going to do everything they can to improve, to get better, attack their weaknesses. This team, they don’t come with the right mindset and mentality every single day. So I’ll have them, but again, will I have them maybe after someone else has a good game against another team? It’s about maturing, it’s about toughening up. You never say this is going to help, but they’ll learn from it absolutely. It’ll be an interesting film session tomorrow.”
